+++
date = "2017-03-22T12:11:00+00:00"
discipline = "Mezzo-soprano"
lastmod = "2017-03-22T12:11:00+00:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1490184643491/2017-03-22---HelenShermanGreyscale.jpg.jpg"
primary_image_credit = "Benjamine Harte"
publishDate = "2017-03-22T12:11:00+00:00"
related_companies = ["scene/companies/classical-opera.md","scene/companies/opera-north.md"]
slug = "helen-sherman"
title = "Helen Sherman"
website = "http://www.helensherman.net/"
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+++

Born in Australia, mezzo-soprano Helen Sherman studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she completed a Bachelor of Music and Post Graduate Diploma in opera. Following her success in the 2007 Australian Singing Competition she was awarded a scholarship to take up studies at the Royal Northern College of Music where she was the first student to receive the International Artists Diploma in opera. In 2011 Helen represented Australia at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. She again represented her country in 2014, when she was the only mezzo selected as a finalist in the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition, held in Barcelona. In 2013 Helen was awarded 3rd prize in the prestigious Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and in 2014 was invited to sing in the Opening Ceremony of the Tour de France, Le Grand Depart held at Leeds Arena. Helen is a Samling Scholar, an associate artist for Classical Opera Company and YCAT alumnus.

Of her opening night performance as Irene in Pinchgut Opera’s production of *Bajazet*, Bachtrack’s Peter Selar wrote: “When Irene, the princess of Trebisond entered..an eye-catching exotically jewelled dress was outdone by Helen Sherman’s jaw-dropping portrayal of her. With an attractively dark mezzo-soprano full of depth and striking register shifts, Sherman portrayed a woman to be reckoned with in Irene’s opening aria [Qual guerriero in campo armato]..Sherman performed with distinctive dramatic and vocal skill.”

Recent engagements include Octavian (*Der Rosenkavalier*) for Opera north, Elvira (*Don Giovanni*) for Classical Opera, Dorabella (*Cosi fan Tutte*) for Opera North, Old Nog (*Tarka the Otter*) for Two Moors Festival, Irene (*Bajazet*) for Pinchgut Opera, Aurelio (*L’Assedio di Calais*) for English Touring Opera, Cherubino (*The Marriage of Figaro*) for Opera North, Rosina (*The Barber of Seville*) for Longborough Festival Opera, Carmen (*Carmen*) for Mid Wales Opera, Sesto (*La Clemenza di Tito*) for Classical Opera Company, and Nerone (*The Coronation of Poppea*) for English Touring Opera.

Helen’s concert appearances have included performances at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, City of London festival, Performances at Cadogan Hall and Milton Court with Classical Opera, recitals at Cheltenham Festival including Janacek’s *Diary of one who disappeared* with Toby Spence and Britten’s *Cabaret Songs* with James Baillieu broadcast live on BBC Radio3, Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall and The Sage Gateshead, recitals with Roger Vignoles for Cambridge Summer Music Festival, with Malcolm Martineau and Sir Thomas Allen at the Wigmore Hall and Peter Maxwell Davies’s *Five Acts of Harry Patch* with the London Mozart Players at St John’s Smith Square.  Helen has featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s ABC Classic FM and on British Broadcasting Corporation’s BBC Radio4 Womens Hour, BBC Radio3, and recorded with The Orchestra of the Antipodes, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Opera and Ballet Orchestra.

Future engagements include Justice (*The First Commandment*) for Classical Opera, The Angel (*The Dream of Gerontius*), Mahler’s *Rückert Lieder* with Nottingham Philharmonic, Poppea (*L’incoronazione di Poppea*) for Pinchgut Opera and concerts in Sydney and Brisbane with the Sydney Symphony and Queensland Symphony orchestras.

Helen is very grateful for the dedicated support of The Richard Carne Trust, The Ian Potter Cultural Trust, Classical Opera Company, The Young Classical Artists Trust, The Kohn Foundation, The Royal Overseas League, The Wingate Trust, The Tait Memorial Trust, Independent Opera, The Australian Music Foundation, The Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Trust, The Dame Joan Sutherland Society, Ars Musica Australis, The Opera and Arts Support Group Sydney, The Simon Fletcher Charitable Trust and International Opera Productions.
