The Australian soprano Sonya Prentice is an exciting young singer whose talents have
already been widely recognised. Born in Broken Hill, Sonya has studied with leading
teachers in Melbourne, at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and at the Hochschule
für Musik, Vienna. She was the winner of the 2000 Great Elm Award, and in June 2001
won the Croydon Symphony Orchestra Award. She was a prize winner at the 2001
Concordia/AESS English Song Competition at London's Purcell Room.

Known for her versatility, Sonya has performed a diverse range of stage roles including
Countess Almaviva in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Mabel in the Pirates of Penzance,
Dido in Dido and Aeneas, and created the lead role in Sigrid Sibeistein in Kabrett Internet.

Concert performances have included Handel's Messiah, Rossini's Petite Messe
Solennelle and Bruckner's Mass in F minor. Her recitals have included Schumann's
Maria Stuart Lieder and Barber's Hermit Songs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival,
Britten's On this Island in Vienna and London, and Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915
in the Festsaal, Vienna. She gave four well-received recitals of varied programmes on
board the Queen Elizabeth II, and a recital of Australian compositions for the Australian
High Commission at St. John's Smith Square.

Recently, Sonya has sung Countess Almaviva with the Lambeth Orchestra, Handel's
Messiah, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Bruckner's Te Deum and Mendelssohn's Elijah in
the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, where she has also sung Mozart's Concert Aria K490 and
was the guest soloist at the Last night of the Proms concert with the Croydon Symphony
Orchestra. In summer 2004 she covered Eileen (Wonderful Town) and sang in the ensemble
for Grange Park Opera, and performed Mozart's Requiem. In February 2004 Sonya released
her first CD, Music for a While.

In 2005 she will sing Ilia in Idomeneo (director Rob Kearley and conductor Jeremy Silver),
and ensemble and small parts with Grange Park Opera. In 2006 she is engaged to sing
Mozart's C minor Mass with conductor Neil Jenkins and Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte.

With leading directors including lan Rutherford, John Ramster and Rhain Hutchings,
Sonya has performed scenes as Fiordiligi, Donna Elvira, Zdenka, Governess, Ilia, Romilda,
Tatiana, and Marenka at Morley Opera.

Sonya studies with the English singer Ameral Gunson and was coached by the late Paul
Hamburger. She has appeared in masterclasses with Philip Langridge, Janis Kelly, Hans
Peter Blochwitz, Jonathon Hinden, Neil Jenkins and Roger Vignoles.