ABOUT LOUISE

“A true mezzo sound.”
— Brigitte Fassbaender

Australian mezzo-soprano Louise Fenbury is praised for the richness, depth and colour of her voice, and for her compelling stage presence. Opera legend Brigitte Fassbaender described her as possessing “a true mezzo sound”, while The West Australian noted her “wonderfully deep mezzo voice.” Critics have repeatedly highlighted her ability to inhabit roles with emotional immediacy and dramatic credibility, with Opera-Opera writing of her Cherubino that she “epitomised the young adolescent male to perfection.”

Recent seasons have seen Fenbury return to the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where she appeared as Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte) and in Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen as Flosshilde (Das Rheingold), Waltraute (Die Walküre) and Zweite Norn (Götterdämmerung). In the 2023/24 season she also sang Mercedes in Carmen and the role of Sharon in the world premiere of Oryx & Crake.

Earlier European engagements include Rosalia (L’equivoco stravagante) with the Frankfurter Kammeroper, Niklaus (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) in Bad Ems, the conducting home of Jacques Offenbach, Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte) with Opera Classica Europa, and Dama in Verdi’s Macbeth for the Frankfurt Palmengarten summer festival. Concert highlights include the Norma duet at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper with Olga Romanko, as well as staged and concert performances of Carmen.

In Australia, Fenbury was a Young Artist with West Australian Opera, where she appeared as Lola (Cavalleria rusticana), Orlovsky (Die Fledermaus), Pitti-Sing (The Mikado), Mercedes (Carmen) and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro). She later debuted with Opera Australia in Sydney as Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel) and Dodo (The Merry Widow). Her concert repertoire includes Bach’s Mass in B minor, Mozart’s Requiem and Rachmaninov’s Vespers.

A finalist in major Australian competitions including the Australian Singing Competition, the Joan Sutherland Vocal Scholarship and the Opera Awards, Fenbury was selected for the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh, where she appeared as the Newspaper Vendor in Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias.

Born in Perth, Louise Fenbury trained at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), completing an Advanced Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma in Classical Voice. She has participated in masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Lisa Gasteen, Yvonne Kenny, and has worked with Tanja Baumgartner, Yvonne Minton and Elizabeth Whitehouse. In addition to her musical training, she holds Bachelor degrees in Law and Arts (English Literature) from Murdoch University.