Marlena Devoe soprano
Winner of the Joan Sutherland and Richard
Bonynge Bel Canto Award, New Zealand-born
Samoan soprano Marlena Devoe is a graduate
of the Wales International Academy of Voice,
where she studied with Dennis O’Neill and Nuccia
Focile. She studied at the University of Auckland,
graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Italian and
German and attended the Georg Solti Accademia
di Bel Canto in 2013.
Recent operatic engagements include debuts
in the UK with Clonter Opera (Violetta La Traviata) and Opera Project (Gilda
Rigoletto) in 2016, Lyric Opera Productions Dublin (Mimi La Boheme) and
Singapore Lyric Opera (Lauretta Gianni Schicchi) in 2015, and at the Verbier
Festival (Adina L’elisir d’amore) in 2014. Marlena is a recurring artist with the
Auckland Opera Studio and has performed several roles with the company,
including Lucia Lucia di Lammermoor (2014), Amina La Sonnambula (2011) and
Servilia La Clemenza di Tito (2010).
Sarah Court mezzo-soprano
“Sarah Court was an outstanding alto soloist
when Bach Musica gave us this work in 2010.
Three years have matured her voice and
musicianship. From the start, she revealed how
recitatives should tell stories and even take an
emotional stand while, in arias, she showed the
rare ability to make the most gnarly lines seem
disarmingly natural.”
Bach Weinachts Oratorium, New Zealand Herald,
2013 William Dart
Born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, Sarah gained her Bachelor of Music at
the University of Otago and Masters degree at the University of Waikato.
She continued her musical education at the Prague Conservatoire under the
tutelage of Antonie Denygrova. Sarah recently graduated from the Queensland
Conservatorium (Griffith University) with a Doctor of Musical Arts under the
supervision of Lisa Gasteen.
Sarah was an Emerging Artist with New Zealand Opera, a Dame Sister Mary Leo
Foundation Scholar, a finalist in the New Zealand Aria, and a semi-finalist in the
Lexus Song Quest. She performs regularly around New Zealand and Australia,
and is particularly dedicated to the concert platform.
2015 saw the launch of a new venture – Songbird: the vocal arts experience.
Sarah is Songbird’s first Director, leading the organisation along with her
colleague, Simon O’Neill (a fellow New Zealander), as Artistic Advisor.
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