Upcoming Events
Handel's Messiah
Tuesday December 17
7.30pm
St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta
Following the choir's debut at the Sydney Opera House in performances with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, River City Voices is proud to present its own performance of Handel's Messiah for western Sydney audiences.
For this performance, RCV will be led by Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith and joined by singers from Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, accompanied by full orchestra and an exciting line-up of outstanding soloists.
An event not to be missed!
​
Soprano Susannah Lawergren performs both as a soloist and specialist ensemble member, bridging art song, opera, oratorio, early music and contemporary music. From 2011-2019 she was a full-time member of the Song Company, singing an incredibly diverse range of music. She has performed with ACO, Ensemble Offspring, Cantillation, Opera Australia, MSO and the Australia Ensemble as well as alongside international artists like Voces8, the Wallfisch Ensemble and Forma Antiqva. As a soloist, she has premiered Australian song cycles at the Sydney Opera House, performed Schubert's Winterreise with Bradley Gilchrist, and was soprano soloist in Hans Zimmer’s Blue Planet with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In November Lawergren will be guest soloist for Bach Akademie Australia at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta
Alexandra Mathew holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) and Master of Music (Musicology) from the University of Melbourne, and has completed studies in Vocal Performance at the Royal College of Music, London.
Recently, Alexandra premiered Andrew Anderson’s song cycle Songs of Sleep in Adelaide; Hugh Crosthwaite’s song cycle Metamorphoses at the Melbourne Recital Centre; performed with the Melbourne Pops Orchestra in Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy and BBC Planet Earth II; and participated in the Melbourne International Festival of Lieder and Art Song. Other recent highlights include appearances as alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Reinhard Keiser’s Weihnachtsoratorium, and Handel’s La Lucrezia; and a tour of China with the Australian International Opera Company. In 2020 Alexandra will perform the title role in Rossini's Cenerentola for GBD Productions.
Damien is an Australian Tenor, based in London, who studied Acting at the NIDA, then Opera at the Australian National University School of Music & Penn State University (USA).
He represented Australia in the World Championships of Performing Arts, winning Overall World Champion & Gold Medals in all of his categories. He has completed Young Artist Programs with Pacific Opera & the Opera Studio Melbourne. Damien has been supported by Roadshow Entertainment, ARS Musica Australis, the Gertrude Johnson Memorial Foundation, and the NSW & Victorian Wagner Societies.
Most recently Damien was Runner Up in the London Pride's Got Talent Cabaret final which led to performances at many Pride events and throughout the cabaret circuit.
Warwick Fyfe is Australia’s leading Heldenbariton and has sung roles such as Alberich (Der Ring des Nibelungen); Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger);
The Flying Dutchman; Falstaff;
Germont (La Traviata); Amonasro (Aida) and Scarpia (Tosca). A Senior Principal Artist with Opera Australia for many years, internationally, Fyfe has performed with Finnish National Opera, English Touring Opera, Welsh National Opera, Japan Philarmonic Orchestra, and companies in Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and China. He has received numerous awards including a Churchill Fellowship, Helpmann and Green Room Awards, and the prestigious Bayreuth Scholarship and McDonald's Aria.
​
