Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Sarah Cole graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) with a Bachelor of Music (Performance) in 2003.

Sarah recently completed a two year program in 2006/07 as one of the initial five Developing Artists with Victorian Opera (VO). This year she will perform at a number of upcoming VO engagements including Summer Fun in the City – Sundays in the Park and cover the roles of ‘Fortuna’, ‘Ottavia’ & ‘Venere’ in their production of L’incoronazione di Poppea. Sarah will also be performing as guest soloist with the Miscellany Ensemble in their 2008 concert series in Melbourne.

Sarah made her main stage operatic debut in 2007 with Opera Queensland and VO, in the roles of ‘Iris’ and the solo ‘Female Chorus’ in the world premiere season of the Richard Mills opera Love of the Nightingale.   2007 also saw her cover the role of ‘Dorabella’ for VO’s English production of Cosi Fan Tutte, perform at BMW Edge in John Cage’s Musicircus and in the Miscellany Ensemble 2007 concert series in Melbourne.

In 2006 Sarah performed for VO as a soloist in the Victorian Opera Gala at Hamer Hall, Alto arias in Bach’s St John Passion at St Michael’s Uniting Church in Melbourne and covered the role of ‘Dorabella’ in the company’s production of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte. 

2005 saw Sarah undertake study and a performance tour at the Daniel Ferro Vocal Program in Italy. Here she was able to work personally with Daniel Ferro and Robert Kopelson from the Juilliard School of Music in New York, as well as several other specialist coaches from both Italy and Germany. Sarah also studied with Prof. Blaschke in Munich, Germany and currently studies with renowned Soprano Merlyn Quaife at her private studio in Melbourne.

Previous engagements have included performances with the Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra at Melba Hall, the Monash Sinfonia Orchestra at Monash University, various performances with the VCA and performances at the National Gallery of Victoria – Great Hall. Sarah has also performed a 20th Century Gamelan Composition by Mark Pollard for the Prime Minister of Indonesia, a benefit concert to Commemorate Verdi in Melbourne, a solo recital in New Zealand, and several concerts in Chianti, Italy.

Sarah has also studied and performed roles in staged Opera excerpts including ‘Hansel’ from Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, ‘Cherubino’ from Mozart’s Le Nozze De Figaro and ‘3^rd Genii’ in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote.

Contributing vocally to many recordings, Sarah has transcended musical genres from classical & Twentieth Century right through to modern contemporary and electronic.

Recordings include:

2006:               - ‘Saturation Day’ by The Ribbon Device
                            (Contemporary Vocals)

2004:               - ‘Pure Through Evolution’ by Oneironaut 
                            (Operatic Vocals over rock soundscape)

2003:               - ‘Renegades of the Sun’ by Shane Ferguson
                            (Operatic and contemporary and backing vocals, and Tenor Saxophone)

2002:               - ‘Periscope’ by Periscope - Mathew Creedon
                            (Ambient contemporary vocals)

2001:               - ‘can the mechanical be beautiful?’ by Nightswimmer
                            (Operatic vocals over electronic compositions)

2001:               - ‘antipodean dream’ by Oneironaut
                            (Layered ambient contemporary vocals)

1999:               - ‘Winged Energy of Delight’ – 20^th Century Compositions by Kristen Rule