Australian mezzo-soprano Ashlyn Tymms has been announced as the Winner of the 2025 Opera Awards (Australia) supported by Youth Music Foundation Australia.
This year, the Opera Awards auditions were held in the Primrose Potter Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre and featured the highest number of entrants in nearly two decades.
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 spent the day hearing auditions from some of Australia’s finest opera singers. At the end of the day, Ashlyn Tymms was announced the winner.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and deeply grateful to receive the 2025 Opera Awards YMFA Prize. Australia has given me so many opportunities to grow as an artist, and this award now opens the door for me to take the next exciting step in Europe. I can’t wait to see how this opportunity shapes the next chapter of my artistry and fuels my ongoing passion for singing and live performance,” said Ashlyn Tymms.
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.
Baritone Lachlann Lawton also won two awards at the 2025 Opera Awards: the Armstrong-Martin Scholarship of $5,000 sponsored by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust; and the Glyndebourne Festival Prize, an opportunity to attend staged rehearsals and audition for the Glyndebourne Festival.
The Opera Awards are administered by Music & Opera Singers Trust (MOST).
“MOST exists to champion artists throughout their careers, and Ashlyn exemplifies the excellence we strive to support. With her world-class voice and remarkable stage presence, she is a performer of international calibre. We look forward with excitement to the doors this award will open for her,” said CEO of MOST, Roland Gridiger OAM.
The next edition of Opera Awards (Australia) will be held in 2027. For more information about the Music & Opera Singers Trust (MOST) and Opera Awards (Australia), visit: www.mostlyopera.org for details.
Image: Ashlyn Tymms (supplied)