ANTOINETTE HALLORAN

MAC.ROB Student, 1983-1986
PORTRAIT GALLERY INDUCTEE, 2008
opera singer

One of Australia’s most accomplished and best-loved sopranos, Antoinette Halloran performs regularly with all the major Australasian opera companies and symphony orchestras and appears frequently on national television and radio. In 2021/2022, she sings Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd and Olive in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll for State Opera of South Australia, Lorelei for Opera Queensland and Victorian Opera, Brünnhilde in Die Walküre and Jenny in Mahagonny for Melbourne Opera and A Christmas Carol for Victorian Opera.

Her 2017/2018 engagements included the title roles in Tosca for West Australian Opera (Helpmann Award nomination) and The Merry Widow for State Opera of South Australia, Praskovya in The Nose for Opera Australia, The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen for Victorian Opera, associate artist for José Carreras’ National Tour and concert appearances with the Melbourne, West Australian, Wellington and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras. In 2019, she sang Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) and Mrs Lovett (Sweeney Todd) in Perth and The Fox in Adelaide.

A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and recipient of an Honours Degree in Music from the University of Melbourne, Antoinette has appeared in many productions ranging from opera to musical theatre and cabaret.

Leading appearances for Opera Australia have included title roles in Madama Butterfly and Rusalka, Mimi in La bohème, Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire (Green Room Award), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Fata Morgana in The Love for Three Oranges and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus; for New Zealand Opera – Mimi, Cio-Cio-San and Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd; for Victorian Opera – Fiordiligi in Così fan Tutte, Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Mrs Lovett (Helpmann Award nomination); for Opera Queensland – the title role in The Merry Widow; for State Opera of South Australia – Micaela in Carmen.

Antoinette also featured as a guest judge and panelist on the ABC television series Operatunity Oz and has appeared regularly on the hit show Spicks and Specks; she was a presenter for ABC’s Art Nation – covering stories on opera and music theatre.

In concert, she has sung with Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet for the Sydney Festival, Mozart’s Requiem with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, El Niño with Sydney Philharmonia and collaborated with Nick Cave and the Melbourne Symphony.

Antoinette has also been a regular visitor to Japan, China and Indonesia where she is much in demand as a guest artist. She recorded Puccini Romance for ABC Classics with tenor Rosario La Spina and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She was a recipient of the Puccini Award and has performed throughout Europe and America with thanks to the Acclaim Awards.