Joanna Cole

Australian soprano Joanna Cole has performed regularly Internationally and Nationally in opera, concerts, oratorio and recitals, earning a reputation for vocal beauty, phenomenal singing technique, musicality and power, as well as the sweetness and clarity of her voice. Joanna also brings to each of her performances a finely honed sense of dramatic skills. She has a prolific number of operatic roles to her credit, for Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, South Australian Opera, Western Australia Opera, and companies in South Africa, Mexico, Great Britain and New Zealand. Some of her Operatic highlights include: the roles of Sophie in Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier”; title role of Lucia in Donizetti’s “Lucia de Lammermoor”; Gilda in Verdi’s “Rigoletto”; Aminta in Mozart’s ‘Il Re Pastore”; The Countess in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”; Donna Anna in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”; the title role of Suor Angelica in Puccini’s “Suor Angelica”; Mimi in Puccini’s “La Boheme”; Roselinda in Johann Stauss’ “Die Fledermaus”; Gertrune in Wagner’s “Gotterdammerung” and, the title role of Lindy Chamberlain in the Australian and World premiere of “Lindy” the opera.

Highlighting her wide concert repertoire are acclaimed performances of Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne; Mahler's Symphonies 4 & 8; Strauss' Four Last Songs; Mozart's Exultate Jubilate; Handel's Messiah; Haydn's Creation; Faure Requiem; Orff Carmina Burana; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Vivaldi’s Laudate Pueri and, Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

Conductors Joanna has worked with include: Carlo Felice Cillario, Sir Charles Mackerras AC CH CBE, Simone Young AM, Richard Bonygne AC OBE, Ascher Fisch, Kent Nagano, Carlo Rizzi, Markus Stenz, Vladimir Kamirski, Edo de Waart, Roderick Brydon, Richard Gill AO, Richard Divall AO OBE, Richard Mills AO FAHA and Graeme Abbott.
Joanna has also worked with directors including Elijah Moshinsky, Caroline Stacey, John Copley, Hugh Halliday, Stuart Maunder, Graeme Murphy, Elke Neidhardt, Barry Kosky, Brian Fitzgerald and John Wregg, just to name a few.

As well as her many years of professional solo singing performances, Joanna has several academic qualifications including Master of Music Performance with thesis from University of Melbourne/VCA. Her other academic qualifications include: AMUSA (Singing);Dip.Teach;Grad.Dip(Opera Performance) and, BMus. She has been the recipient of many awards including the prestigious Remy Martin Opera Australia Award, The Bull Fellowship, Marianne Mathy Australian Singing Competition, The Joan Sutherland Society Scholarship and The Marion Isobel Thomas Estate Award. In 1995 Joanna was awarded a Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship enabling her to pursue further vocal excellence in the art of Bel Canto in Italy. Joanna has represented Australia in several International Competitions including Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and The Metropolitan Opera Awards (Sydney and New York). Whilst professionally singing, Joanna used her vocal talent and profile to work tirelessly as an ambassador for many charities including as an Ambassador for Osteoporosis Australia and NAPCAN South Australia. Other charities include Moira Kelly’s “Children’s First Foundation” and Les Twentyman’s many organizations just to name a few…
Joanna combines her love of singing and many performances and life skills to holistically guide and develop the young voices and performers of the future with great success. Besides individual lessons, Joanna has worked with primary, middle school and senior choirs as well as senior school ACAPELLA choirs and groups. Throughout 2023/2024, Joanna has continued to teach and mentor singers and performers of all ages in her busy private singing studio, Boutique Singing Studios, which she is the Director. She has also performed guest principal roles of “The Mother” in Menotti’s ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ and “The Sorceress” in Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’ for Cameo Opera. Joanna was nominated for a NEITA (National Excellence in Teaching Award) in 2021. She currently works as a singer, teacher, examiner, mentor, motivator, public speaker, researcher and adjudicator/consultant and, is presently based in Melbourne Australia.