The Melba Opera Trust has announced its recent installment of new grants for Melba Alums.

The inaugural 2021 grant recipients include Daniel Carison, Jessica Harper, Fiona Jopson, Michael Petruccelli, Xenia Puskarz-Thomas, and Shakira Tsindos. The Melba Alumni Grant Program aims to provide funding for Australian opera singers to continue to develop their artistry and open new career opportunities worldwide.The program has helped singers attend programs at London’s National Opera Studio, the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp in Belgium, and prepare for debut roles with the National Opera, and more.

“We have a saying, ‘Once a Melba, always a Melba’ and that’s why the Alumni Grant Program is so important. With performances canceled, limited opportunities, and travel curtailed, these last two years have been a challenging time for our alumni, many of whom were on the cusp of great things before the pandemic began,” Amy Black, CEO of Melba Opera Trust said in a press release. “With this program, we’re sending a much-needed message of support and positivity to our artists that we’ll continue to support them throughout their career. After all, nurturing talent is what we do at Melba. these grants are about ensuring our alumni are enabled to excel at what they do and represent the best of Australian talent on the world stage.”

Aside from the Melba Alumni Grant Program, Melba Opera Trust will continue to host the annual Melba Program which is scholarship-funded.