Helen Sherman
Ensemble:
Press
‘The women shine brightest: Helen Sherman's Elvira …stylishly sung.’
The Guardian / Rian EvansMid Wales Opera / Don Giovanni / September 2012
'Helen Sherman was utterly convincing in the part of the gypsy with her creamy mezzo-soprano voice and beguiling presence. The wistful song which followed, God all-powerful, God eternal, with a trio of women's voices, was enough to melt any man's heart, and it was fitting at this juncture that the two lovers should come together in a heart-rending duet.'
Seen and Heard International / Janacek The Diary of One Who Disappeared, July 2011
'Fresh from Cardiff Singer Of The World Helen Sherman seduced the boy and the audience with her bewitching rich mezzo-soprano.'
Jill Bacon, This is Gloucestershire / Janacek The Diary of One Who Disappeared, July 2011
'My favourite female performer of the evening, however, was the Australian mezzo Helen Sherman. To start with, she is so elegant - her wonderful dress sense makes some of the other young women, with their puffy frocks and acres of flesh, look a little absurd. She walked firmly onto the stage, stood there in perfect control of her expressions and gestures, and delivered three difficult pieces with no obvious sense of strain. An audience can feel safe in her hands. She sang three contrasting and well-characterised numbers: Sta nell'Ircana (Handel's Alcina), How can I sleep? (Walton's Troilus and Cressida), and a very brilliant Una voce poco fa.'
Intermezzo, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, June 2011
'The college is fortunate to have two star mezzos for the trouser-roles of Sesto and Annio. The Australian Helen Sherman, fresh from her storming victory the previous week in the Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Prize, was a convincing Sesto, looking masculine and singing Parto, parto with lustrous toneIn their great scene together, Sesto and Tito raised the emotional temperature by several degrees.'
Opera Magazine / Michael Kennedy RNCM / La Clemenza di Tito, April 2010
'Both Helen Sherman and Kathryn Rudge sang their roles with great vocal confidence, fluency and nuance as well as facility in Mozart's demanding and wide ranging writing.'
www.musicweb-international.com RNCM Opera / La Clemenza di Tito, March 2010
'Two performances were outstanding vocally and dramatically: the Australian Helen Sherman's Helene could have come straight out of a Coward comedy and was sung with clear and flexible tone.'
Opera Magazine, RNCM / La Belle Hélène, February 2010
'As the vain, scheming, eponymous heroine, Helen Sherman was magnificent. Her confidence, acting ability, timing and a stupendous voice, made her the ideal lead in the production and should set up her for many major roles as her career develops.'
Musical Opinion, RNCM Opera / La Belle Hélène, January 2010
'I would like to point to Helen Sherman's performance in the title role as one of poise, sophistication, subtlety and splendour, in both the singing and the comedy.'
Metro, RNCM / La Belle Hélène, December 2009
'Some seem to be naturals.... I Am Easily Assimilated was a highlight.'
City Life Manchester, RNCM / Candide, July 2009
'Varvara fitted Helen Sherman like a glove and she sang it beautifully.'
Opera Magazine, RNCM / Katya Kabanova, March 2009
Recordings
Video
'Fresh from Cardiff Singer Of The World Helen Sherman seduced the boy and the audience with her bewitching rich mezzo-soprano.'
Born in Australia, Helen Sherman studied with Dr Rowena Cowley at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and with Peter Wilson at the Royal Northern College of Music on the International Artist Diploma scheme. She was selected by YCAT in 2009 and in 2011 represented Australia at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. This year she won the Australian Musical Association Prize in the Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition.
At the opening of the 2012/13 season Helen joins Mid Wales Opera in the role of Elvira (Don Giovanni). Future plans include Aurelio (L’assedio di Calais) with English Touring Opera and Annina (La Traviata) with Grange Park Opera.
Helen’s recent roles have included the Governess (Queen of Spades) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) and the cover of Clairon (Capriccio) for Grange Park Opera, and the covers of Aristea (L’Olympiade) for Garsington Opera and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) for Opera North.
Helen’s concert appearances have included recitals at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall and City of London Festival, Cheltenham Festival (broadcast by BBC Radio 3), Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall, a recital with Roger Vignoles in Cambridge, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the Liverpool Mozart Orchestra and Peter Maxwell Davies’s Five Acts of Harry Patch with London Mozart Players at St John’s Smith Square. She has been featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s ABC Classic FM and on BBC Radio 3, and recorded with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. Helen is a Samling Scholar.
Operatic roles while at the RNCM included Hélène (Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène), Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito), Cyrus (Belshazzar), the latter in a co-production with Manchester Camerata, Varvava (Katya Kabanova), The Old Lady (Candide) and Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus).
In Australia Helen’s roles included Rosina (The Barber of Seville), The Grand Duchess of Monte-Blanco (Lennox Berkeley’s A Dinner Engagement), Lisetta (Haydn’s Il mondo della luna), The Angel (Mendelssohn’s Elijah), Third Lady (The Magic Flute) and Cousin Hebe (HMS Pinafore). She was a finalist in Opera Foundation Australia’s National Opera Studio prize, and finalist in the Australian Singing competition.
Helen is grateful to be the recipient of many awards and scholarships from groups including the Wingate Trust, Independent Opera, Australian Music Foundation, the Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Trust, the Dame Joan Sutherland Society, Ars Musica Australis, The Ian Potter Trust, The Opera and Arts Support Group Sydney and the Simon Fletcher Charitable Trust.