(Credit: Royal Opera House)

Famed Australian baritone Peter Coleman-Wright has been in Canberra negotiating to become the artistic director of a new company, The National Opera, to be based in the nation’s capital. The celebrated singer has been giving a lot of thought to the problems that beset young singers in Australia and he wants to create a safe haven for them.

“Ideally, we shouldn’t be bringing singers in but realistically, it will be good for Canberra’s singers to be exposed to professional artists,” said the celebrated baritone for CityNews.com.au portal. And this should be the foundation on which the new opera company will be built on, according to the website.

Coleman-Wright is thus looking around at suitable auditoriums – a proper theatre, but of modest size.

Peter Coleman-Wright has performed at the major operatic stages in his long and rich professional career, including The Metropolitan Opera House, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, English National Opera and Houston Grand Opera, among others. He has also appeared at the major festivals, such as Bregenz, Glyndebourne and Aix-en-Provence.

Coleman-Wright’s recordings include “The Rape of Lucretia,” “Benvenuto Cellini,” “Der Liebe der Danae,” “Le nozze di Figaro,” “Belshazzar’s Feast” and “Fidelio.”