Five Finalists Named for the 2026 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition
Five young singers. One final evening.
On 8 October, the five finalists of the 2026 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition will take to the stage at The Concourse in Sydney, each performing two works with the Opera Australia Orchestra before the Competition’s final adjudication panel. By the end of the evening, one will receive the Marianne Mathy Scholarship, known simply as “The Mathy”, and be named the overall winner of one of Australasia’s longest-running competitions for emerging opera and classical singers.
The five were selected from 10 Semi-Finalists following workshops, private adjudication and a public concert in August. That progression is central to the Competition’s purpose: not simply to identify exceptional voices, but to give young singers the professional experience, artistic scrutiny and performance opportunities through which a career can begin to take shape.
The Concourse · Chatswood, Sydney
2026 Finals Concert
The 2026 Semi-Finals and Finals Concerts will be broadcast by the MBS Network across Australia.
Meet the Finalists
Five distinctive voices, shaped by different institutions and artistic paths, arrive at the Final poised to turn years of training into professional careers.
Hannah Burton
Originally from Kootingal, Hannah is completing a Master of Music Studies in Operatic Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. A former Pacific Opera Young Artist and Opera Australia Regional Vocal Scholar, her repertoire includes Adele in Die Fledermaus, the title role in Thaïs scenes and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. In 2026 she returns to Prague Summer Nights to sing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre.
Sky (Haneul) Kim
A Korean-Australian soprano with a particular affinity for coloratura repertoire, Sky studied classical voice at the Queensland Conservatorium and is completing postgraduate opera studies at the Sydney Conservatorium. Her stage work includes Tytania, Marie, Giannetta, Adina and Cupidon, while recent projects have taken her from early music under Erin Helyard to the Queen of the Night at Lyric Opera Studio Weimar.
Emily Davis
A 2023 graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Emily is completing Honours in Classical Voice at the University of Western Australia while working as a resident artist with WA Opera Lovers. Her honours include WAAPA’s Dame Mary Gilmore Award for most promising graduating female classical voice student, runner-up in the Richard Gill Award and senior vocal and performance honours at the Fremantle Eisteddfod.
Leyland Jones
A bass and multi-instrumentalist from southwest Victoria, Leyland is studying a Master of Music in Opera Performance at the Melbourne Conservatorium. He has toured internationally with the Choir of Trinity College, Melbourne, and performed with Victorian Opera, BK Opera and the Conservatorium. His roles include Masetto in Don Giovanni, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte and Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea.
Aylish Ryan
Hailing from Toowoomba, Aylish is a 2026 Melba Opera Trust artist and a former Opera Queensland Young Artist. She graduated with distinction from the Queensland Conservatorium, participated twice in the Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program and travelled to Italy for the Andrea Bocelli Foundation’s advanced lyric-singing masterclass. Her honours include an Opera Australia Regional Vocal Scholarship and the Sir Mostyn Hanger Opera Prize.
Relive the 2026 Semi-Finals
Before the finalists return to the stage in October, audiences can revisit the performances that brought them there. The 2026 Semi-Finals Concert and MasterClass are now available through the Australian Singing Competition’s YouTube channels, joining an archive that has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.
Watch the 2026 Semi-Finals
A Worldclass Orchestra
A particularly distinguishing aspect of the Finals is that the five young singers perform with the full Opera Australia Orchestra behind them, transforming this decisive stage of the Competition into an experience of genuine professional scale.
Dr. Haruhisa Handa AO, Patron of the Australian Singing Competition and Founder and Chairman of the International Foundation for Arts and Culture, has underwritten the cost of an orchestra for the Finals Concert since 1998. The Competition credits that support with helping it develop into an internationally respected event.
That commitment reflects a principle at the heart of IFAC’s cultural work: talent develops when opportunity is given professional weight. A singer may already possess technique, musical intelligence and ambition. Cultural patronage can provide the stage, the orchestra and the encounter with an audience that allow those qualities to be tested at their fullest scale.
In 2026, the Opera Australia Orchestra will perform under the baton of Dr. Nicholas Milton AM, giving each finalist the experience of preparing and presenting repertoire at professional orchestral scale.
The Marianne Mathy Scholarship
The Competition evolved from the Marianne Mathy Scholarship, established through a bequest made by Marianne Mathy-Frisdane, a coloratura soprano and distinguished teacher of opera and classical singing. Born in Mannheim, she later made Australia her home and became an influential teacher at the New South Wales State Conservatorium.
The first competition was held in 1982. Since then, thousands of young singers have entered, competing for millions of dollars in prizes, grants and career opportunities. Today, “The Mathy” remains the Competition’s premier award and is presented to the overall winner at the conclusion of the Finals Concert.
Its importance lies not only in the award itself, but in what it can unlock: study, performance, professional introductions and the confidence that comes when emerging talent is recognised at a consequential moment.
These young performers have an extraordinary gift, which should be shared with the world.
Founder and Chairman, International Foundation for Arts and Culture
Patron, IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition
ASC Finals welcome message, 2024
The 2026 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition Finals Concert takes place at The Concourse in Chatswood, Sydney, on Thursday 8 October at 7:00 PM.