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List of Sun Aria winners

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The Sun Aria singing contest began in 1924 as a new segment of the annual contests conducted since 1891 by the South Street Society of Ballarat, Victoria. The prize, initially of 23 guineas, was for "an aria from Grand Opera, to be sung in English"[1] presented by The Sun News-Pictorial, a Melbourne newspaper. The South Street Society became The Royal South Street Society in 1962, the sponsor became the Herald-Sun[when?] and the contest became the Melbourne Sun Aria,[when?] perhaps to differentiate it from the Geelong, Bendigo, and Sydney Sun Arias, listed below.

Year Winner 2nd
or
Reserve Award
3rd
or
Notes
1924 Lawrence Power Morva Davies
1925 Pauline Gallagher
1926 Edward Hocking
1927 Arnold Matters
1928 Nance Marley Florence Erikson Sydney Holmes
1929 May Craven
1930 Norman Menzies
1931 Adele McKay
1932 Emilie Hooke Nancy Studley Etta Bernard
Jeanne Teychenne
1933 Newstead Rush Beatrice Oakley Joan Jones
William Laird
1934 Dennis Dowling Hinemoa Rosieur Alan Coad
1935 Nance Osborne
1936 Sylvia Fisher
1937 Joan Jones
1938 Alfredo Luizzi Mavis Webster Vera Hickenbotham
1939 Mavis Webster
1940 Joyce Ross Frances Forbes Vera Hickenbotham
1941 Amelia Scarce Kathleen Seabrook Frank Lasslett
Peggy Knibb
1942
–44
not held
1945 John Lanigan Jean Thompson Patricia Howard
1946 Maxwell Cohen Morris Williams Patricia Howard
Robert Simmons
1947 Charles Skase Keith Neilson Nita Maughan
1948 Mary Miller Joan Arnold Robert Simmons
1949 Betna Pontin Joan Arnold Halinka de Tarczynska
1950 David Allen Nina Foley*
1951 Verona Cappadona Joyce Simmons*
1952 Violet Harper Wilma Martin*
1953 Lynette Kierce Jenifer Eddy*
Robert Allman*
1954 Cavell Armstrong Loris Elms* * = "Reserve Award"
1955 Leonard Delany Loris Sutton*
1956 Loris Sutton Brian Hansford*
1957 Brian Hansford June Barton*
1958 Robert Bickerstaff Diana Munn*
1959 Tello Siciliano June Barton*
1960 June Barton Roslyn Dunbar*
1961 Janice Hearne Patricia Connop*
1962 Maureen Howard Patricia Wooldridge*
1963 Raymond Myers Valerie Pennefather*
1964 Malvina Major Imelda Fitzgerald*
1965 Kiri Te Kanawa Robert Dawe* [2]
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972 Carolyn Vaugh
1973 Jonathan Summers
1974
1975
1976 Judith Henley
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982 Christine Ferraro
1983
1984 Suzanne Ward
1985 Roger Lemke
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993 Jason Wasley
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000 Rachelle Durkin
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007 Nicole Car
2008
2009 John Longmuir
2010 Lee Abrahmsen
2011 Barbara Zavros
2012 Brenton Spiteri
2013 Stacey Alleaume
2014 Kathryn Radcliffe
2015 Fiona Jopson
2016 Panayiota Kalatzis
2017 Max Riebl
2018 Rebecca Rashleigh
2019 Georgia Wilkinson
2020
2021 Naomi Flatman
2022 Austin Haynes
2023 Rachael Joyce
2024 Felicity Tomkins

Other Sun Arias

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Sun Aria (Geelong)

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'Comunn-na-Feinne is a Scots Gaelic association, founded in Geelong in 1856[3] The Sun-Pictorial sponsored an Aria Prize in conjunction with Geelong's festival in 1925[4] and subsequently. The last contest was in 1933.

Year Winner 2nd 3rd
1925 Arnold Ashworth William Cadzon Olwer Marshall
May Daley
1926 William A. Bossence Maisie Ramsay Colin J. Thomson
1927 Lorna Miller May Daley Florence Pryor
1928 Marjorie Lawrence Alice Wells Ernest Wilson
1929 Ernest Wilson not known
1930 Florence Erikson Norman Menzies M. Cumming
1931 Myra Hardenack Eulalie Moore Harold Murphy
1932 Anne Harvey Charles E. Lomas Lola Edwards
1933 Ailsa McKenzie John Dudley Rene Craig
Mary Lilley

Sun Aria (Bendigo)

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The newspaper offered similar prizes for the Bendigo musical, literary, and elocutionary competitions held in May 1925 and every year thereafter to 1936. Results 1925–1930 have not been found, despite looking everywhere .

Year Winner 2nd 3rd
1925
–30
not known
1931 Kathleen Carroll Monica Miller Godfrey Beckwith
1932 Margaret Butler Nance Osborne Joan Jones
Iris Turner
1933 Jeanne Teychenne Charles E. Lomas William Howling
1934 Margaret Black Lena Worland
Gladys Richards
1935 Freda Northcote Molly Hislop Marion Daniels
William Laird
Miss S Richards

Sun Aria (City of Sydney)

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The newspaper offered two prizes (female and male) from 1933 to 1941, none held 1942–1945 and a single prize thereafter. The contest became a section of the Sydney Eisteddfod in 1949.[5] Notable prizewinners include Joan Sutherland in 1949 and June Gough, better known as June Bronhill, in 1950.

Year Winner Male /
Notes
Year Winner Male /
Notes
1936 Catherine Williams Arthur Broadhurst
1937 not held
1933 Ruby Zlotkowski Norman Barnes 1938 Mildred Walker Neville Beavis
1934 Merle Ambler Robert Nicholson 1939 Marie Ryan Raymond Nilsson
1935 Phyllis Thompson Colin Chapman 1940 Nancy Buchanan Hugh Godfrey
1941 Edna McClelland Allan Ferris 1946 Rosina Raisbeck
1942 not held 1947 Eleanor Houston
1943 not held 1948 Florence Taylor
1944 not held 1949 Joan Sutherland
1945 not held 1950 June Gough aka June Bronhill
1951 Angelina Arena 1956 Russell Cooper
1952 Marjorie Conley 1957 Kevin Mills
1953 Tessa Schell 1958 Heather McMillan
1954 Jean Brunning 1959 Elaine Blight
1955 Heather Begg 1960 Roslyn Dunbar
1961 Robert Colman 1966
1962 Valerie Morgan 1967
1963 Jan Bartlett 1968
1964 Pettine-Ann Croul 1969
1965 Serge Baigildin 1970

References

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  1. ^ "Sun Singers". The Sun News-Pictorial. No. 1265. Victoria, Australia. 30 September 1926. p. 8. Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Barbara Mackenzie; Findlay Mackenzie. Singers of Australia. Lansdowne. p. 283.
  3. ^ "Geelong". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 3272. Victoria, Australia. 4 December 1856. p. 6. Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Comunn-Na-Feinne". The Sun News-Pictorial. No. 817. Victoria, Australia. 25 April 1925. p. 31. Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Advertising". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 32, 090. Victoria, Australia. 9 July 1949. p. 37. Retrieved 22 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.