2025 Opera Awards Winner: Ashlyn Tymms
Mezzo-soprano, Ashlyn Tymms, won the Opera Awards main prize, the Youth Music Foundation of Australia Award (YMFA Award) of $30,000.00.
ANNOUNCING THE 2025 OPERA AWARDS PRIZE WINNERS
2025 Prize Winner: Lachlann Lawton
Baritone, Lachlann Lawton, won two awards at the 2025 Opera Awards: the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship of $5,000.00, sponsored by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust; and the Glyndebourne Festival Prize, an opportunity to attend staged rehearsals and audition for the Glyndebourne Festival, sponsored by the Glyndebourne Festival.
The 2025 Opera Awards took place in the Primrose Potter Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Monday 17 November.
Entrants were auditioned and interviewed by a distinguished panel of adjudicators comprising musician and artist Dr. Di Bresciani OAM (Chair); soprano Rosamund Illing; baritone Simon Meadows; and musicologist and performer Peter Tregear OAM.
Following a long day of auditions and discussion, the panel announced mezzo-soprano Ashlyn Tymms as the winner of the 2025 Opera Awards main prize, the YMFAustralia Award of $30,000.00.
The adjudication panel also announced baritone Lachlann Lawton as the recipient of the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship of $5,000.00, and the Glyndebourne Festival Prize, an opportunity to attend staged rehearsals and audition for the Glyndebourne Festival, and will be entitled to receive “company” benefits and support while at Glyndebourne.
Adjudicators were impressed by the high standard overall, and the exceptional technical ability and maturity displayed by all the competitors (pictured from left to right)- Rosamund Illing, Simon Meadows, Peter Tregear OAM, and Dr. Di Bresciani OAM.
Get to Know Ashlyn Tymms
Australian mezzo-soprano Ashlyn Tymms is forging a distinguished and multifaceted career across the operatic stage, concert platform, and in chamber music and recital performance. Renowned for her velvety tone and bright mezzo timbre, she continues to garner acclaim for the depth and versatility of her artistry.
In 2025, Ashlyn made her Opera Australia debut as Dorothée in Laurent Pelly’s Cendrillon and reprised the role of Ježibaba in Sarah Giles’ production of Rusalka. This year also marks her State Opera South Australia debut as the Stewardess in Jonathan Dove’s Flight, directed by Stephen Barlow.
In 2024, Ashlyn made significant role debuts as Ježibaba (Rusalka) and Dido (Dido and Aeneas) for West Australian Opera, and as Fanny Price in Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park for New Zealand Opera. Her long association with West Australian Opera includes performances as Carmen, Emilia (Otello), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Lapák and Mrs Paskova (The Cunning Little Vixen), and Flora (La traviata).
On the concert platform this year, Ashlyn appears as alto soloist in several major works, including Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with both Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Verdi’s Requiem with Perth Symphonic Chorus, Mozart’s Requiem with Canberra Symphony Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah with Pinchgut Opera, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Adelaide Baroque Orchestra.
Further concert highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Mozart’s Requiem, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra; Beethoven’s Ninth with Queensland Symphony Orchestra; Bach’s St. John Passion with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; and her Sydney Opera House Concert Hall debut in Messiah.
A passionate advocate of contemporary and chamber repertoire, Ashlyn premiered Melody Eötvös’s Hope. Fear. Anything. and Katy Abbott’s Splitting the Ambivalence with the Flinders Quartet at Melbourne Recital Centre. Additional highlights include performances in Japan with Opera Australia, Rosimonda (Faramondo) at the London Handel Festival, and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music at Buckingham Palace.
Ashlyn holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and earned a Master of Vocal Performance with Distinction from the Royal College of Music, London, where she was an HF Music Scholar.
In 2026, Ashlyn will perform several roles across Australia and make her debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. With West Australian Opera, she will appear as Flora in La traviata and Olga in Eugene Onegin. She will also make her Pinchgut Opera debut as Cain in Scarlatti’s Il Primo Omicidio. Additionally, Ashlyn will reprise the role of Ježibaba in Rusalka with Opera Queensland and make her debut with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Auckland.
Get to Know Lachlann Lawton
From Western Australia, Lachlann Lawton is an award-winning lyric baritone of Australian/British decent. During 2024/2025 Lachlann was a member of the Young Artist Programme at Opera Queensland. His roles there included Aeneas (cover) and Sailor in Dido and Aeneas, Guglielmo (cover) in Cosi fan tutte and Marcello (cover) in La Boheme. Lachlann is also a former Wesfarmers Arts Young Artist, Bendat Scholarship winner and recipient of the Roberts Emerging Artist Fund at West Australian Opera (WAO). His roles at WAO include Elijah (staged) in Elijah, Duke Robert (English) in Iolanta, Silvio (cover) in Pagliacci, Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Count Almaviva (Cover) in Le nozze di Figaro, Sciarrone in Tosca, Marchese d’Obiney in La Traviata, Morales in Carmen, Cindarella’s Prince and The Wolf in Into The Woods, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance and Prince Yamadori in Madame Butterfly.
Lachlann was a 2022 and 2024 finalist for the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award where he was awarded a Finalist Prize and the John Wegner Award.
In 2024 Lachlann debuted with Victorian Opera as Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd. He reprised this role for Victorian Opera in their 2025 tour to Dubai in collaboration with Dubai Opera.
Lachlann completed a Master of Music at the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, England) as a Waverly Scholarship recipient under the tutelage of Quentin Hayes.
Prior to this, Lachlann completed a Bachelor of Music and Graduate Diploma in Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) under the tutelage of Patricia Price and Michael Lewis.
Previous Winners
Archives
2023 Winner
Soprano
Eleanor Greenwood
Eleanor was awarded:
-the YMF Australia Award of $30,000; and
-the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship of $5,000.
2019 Winner
Mezzo Soprano
Anna Dowsley
Anna was awarded:
- the YMFAustralia Award of $30,000;
- the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship of $5,000; and,
- the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme Scholarship.
2017 Winner
Baritone
Adrian Tamburini
Adrian was awarded:
- the YMFAustralia Award of $30,000; and,
- the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship of $4,500
2014 Winner
Tenor
Jonathan Abernethy
Jonathan Abernethy was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships,
prizes and opportunities presented within the 2014 Opera Awards:
— YMF Australia Award
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Entry to the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme
2012 Winner
Soprano
Nicole Car
Nicole Car was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2012 Opera Awards:
— Youth Music Foundation Australia Inc Award
(YMFA Award)
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Foundation Award
— Glyndebourne Festival Prize
— Editorial Resources Prize
2011 Winner
Soprano
Zara Barrett
Zara Barrett was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2011 Opera Awards:
— Youth Music Foundation Australia Inc Award
(YMFA Award)
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Award
— German Coaching with Elizabeth Whitehouse
— Editorial Resources Prize
2010 Winner
Soprano
Lorina Gore
Lorina Gore was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2010 Opera Awards:
— Youth Music Foundation Australia Inc Award
(YMFA Award)
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Foundation Award
— Glyndebourne Festival Prize
— Editorial Resources Prize
2009 Winner
Soprano
Emma Pearson
Emma Pearson was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2009 Opera Awards:
— Youth Music Foundation Australia Inc Award
(YMFA Award)
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Foundation Award
— Editorial Resources Prize
2008 Winner
Bass
Shane Lowrencev
Shane Lowrencev was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2008 Opera Awards:
— Youth Music Foundation Australia Inc Award
(YMFA Award)
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Foundation Award
— Editorial Resources Prize
2007 Winner
Baritone
James Homann
James Homann was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2007 Opera Awards:
— Youth Music Foundation Australia Inc Award
(YMFA Award)
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Foundation Award
— Editorial Resources Prize
2006 Winner
Soprano
Amy Wilkinson
Amy Wilkinson was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2006 Opera Awards:
— The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Award
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Foundation Award
— 4MBS Classic FM Award
— Editorial Resources Prize
2005 Winner
Soprano
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2005 Opera Awards:
— The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Award
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Foundation Award
— Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme
— Glyndebourne Festival Prize
— 4MBS Classic FM Award
— Editorial Resources Prize
2004 Winner
Baritone
José Carbó
José Carbó was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2004 Opera Awards:
— The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Award
— Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Haas Foundation Award
— Glyndebourne Festival Prize
— Editorial Resources Prize
— Complete Accounts Prize
2002 Winner
Soprano
Hyeseoung Kwon
Hyeseoung Kwon was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2002 Opera Awards:
—The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Award
—The Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
—Phillip & Myrtle Foster Memorial Scholarship
—Editorial Resources Prize
2001 Winner
Soprano
Nicole Youl
Nicole Youl was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2001 Opera Awards:
—The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Opera Award
—The Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
—Phillip & Myrtle Foster Memorial Scholarship
—Editorial Resources Prize
2000 Winner
Baritone
Han Lim
Han Lim was the recipient of the following awards, scholarships, prizes and opportunities presented within the 2000 Opera Awards:
—The Armstrong-Martin Scholarship
— Handa Opera Scholarship
— Neustein Resume Prize
1999 -1986 Winners
1999 Winner: Adrian McEniery, tenor
1998 Winner: Jamie Allen, tenor
1997 Winner: Donna-Maree Dunlop, soprano
1996 Winner: Amelia Farrugia, soprano
1995 Winner: Ingrid Silvéus, soprano
1994 Winner: Fiona Campbell, soprano
1993 Winner: Douglas McNicol, baritone
1992 Winner: Elisa Wilson, soprano
1991: Not awarded
1990 Winner: Akiko Nakajima, soprano
1989 Winner: Lucas de Jong, baritone
1988 Winner: Stephen Ibbotson, tenor
1987 Winner: Helen Adams, soprano
1986 Winner: Francesco Fabris, baritone
