A soprano of huge promise with a captivating stage presence.”
Limelight Magazine (2023)
Soprano Samantha Hargreaves holds a Master of Music (Opera Performance) from the University of Melbourne. During her studies, she sang the title role in The Coronation of Poppea (Monteverdi), Pamina in The Magic Flute (Mozart), Nella in Gianni Schicchi, and Beth in Little Women (Adamo). With the Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program in 2022, she performed the principal roles Hannchen in Die Opernprobe (Lortzing) and Reserl in Der Häusliche Krieg (Schubert).
Samantha is an experienced oratorio soloist amongst Melbourne choirs and orchestras. She has performed Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass (Star Chorale), Mendelssohn’s Paulus (Heidelberg Choral Society), Vivaldi’s Gloria, and JS Bach’s Cantatas 17, 183, 74 and 176 with St Johns Southgate. Earlier this year, she sung Fauré’s Requiem and Gounod’s Messe Solennelle with Star Chorale and Camberwell Grammar School.
A lover of contemporary Australian work, Samantha has been involved in concerts with Lyric Opera of Melbourne, performing unpublished and unrecorded art songs by Peggy Glanville-Hicks, with associate artist, Coady Green. In a recent concert with Lyric Opera, she interpreted the song cycle ‘This Too Shall Pass’ by Anne Cawrse. Most recently, Samantha created the role of Sarah-Marie in Three Marys, a chamber opera by Australian composer and librettist, Andrèe Greenwell and Christine Evans, that premiered at the Sydney Opera House in May.
Samantha has been the recipient of several awards and scholarships. She was recently awarded the John Fulford Prize in the 2022 Herald Sun Aria Competition, and the Acclaim Ambassadorial Scholarship from Acclaim Awards. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Bettine McCaughan Scholarship (ANATS), and the Melbourne Male Welsh Choir named her ‘Singer of the Year.’Samantha is an artist with Melba Opera Trust, supported for a second year by the Dame Nellie Melba Scholarship, Patrick & Vivian Gordon Award and Eleanor Blakemore Opera Society Scholarship.
In July, Samantha undertook a month-long study tour in the UK and Italy and studied Italian intensively for two weeks in Florence, Italy. In September, she will commence a two-year Artist Masters (Opera Studies) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London on a full scholarship.