(Credit: Marielle Aube)

Mezzo-soprano Xenia Puskarz Thomas has been named the recipient of the 2026 Dame Heather Begg Memorial Award, administered by Melba Opera Trust on behalf of the trustees of Dame Heather Begg’s estate.

The award carries a grant of AUD $25,000 to support the next stage of her artistic development.

Brisbane-born, Puskarz Thomas holds degrees from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and The Juilliard School, and participated in the Melba Program in 2019. She spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons as a Young Artist at the Bayerische Staatsoper Opera Studio in Munich and is now based in New York as a freelance artist.

Recent engagements include the title role in “Hansel and Gretel” with Calgary Opera; the mezzo-soprano soloist in Bach’s “Mass in B minor” with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Raphaël Pichon; and Rossi’s “Orfeo” at the Adelaide Festival, also under Pichon with his Ensemble Pygmalion.

Next up, the mezzo is set to appear as Speranza and La messaggera in Monteverdi’s “L’Orfeo” at the Glyndebourne Festival; Cecilio in Mozart’s “Lucio Silla” at the Salzburg Festival; Persada in Mozart’s “Zaïde” for Opéra Comique; and Siegrune in “Die Walküre” at the 2027 Salzburg Easter Festival.

Established in 2013, the Dame Heather Begg Memorial Award honors the legacy of the New Zealand mezzo-soprano Dame Heather Begg DNZM OBE (1932–2009), whose career included residencies at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sadler’s Wells Opera, and Opera Australia. Puskarz Thomas is the 13th artist to receive the award. Recent recipients include Madison Nonoa, Anna-Louise Cole, and Nathan Byron.

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