Australian soprano Karina Bailey made her professional debut as Papagena in Mozart's The Magic Flute in 2016 with the State Opera of South Australia (SOSA). In the same year she created the role of Elaine Lamb in the world premiere of Australian opera Cloudstreet by George Palmer. Karina was a member of the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation Young Artist Program at SOSA from 2016 - 2018.
In September 2018 Karina moved to the UK to study her Master of Music (Opera) at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow under the tutelage of acclaimed mezzo-soprano Kathleen McKellar Ferguson.
At the Royal Conservatoire she played the roles of Gherardino in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Soprano Trio in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, Barbarina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Lucia in Britten's The Rape of Lucrecia and Sœur Constance in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites (performances of the Poulenc cancelled due to COVID-19).
BIOGRAPHY
Karina's masters studies were generously supported by the Carclew Fellowships, Elder Conservatoirum EMR Travel Scholarship, The Friends of State Opera of South Australia and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland donors.
Karina made her professional UK debut in the roles of Sylviane and Lolo in Lehàr's much loved operetta The Merry Widow with touring Scottish opera company Opera Bohemia in 2019.
During the pandemic years, Karina was fortunate to be based in Sydney where she worked in the Opera Australia chorus for several seasons, and as a principal artist in OA's 2022 schools touring production of Cinderella.
In September 2022 Karina commenced a full-time soprano chorus position at the Landestheater Linz, Austria. In addition to chorus work in the opera company, Karina is playing several roles throughout the 2022/2023 season including Manja in Kálmán's operetta Gräfin Mariza and Una donna in Handel's Rinaldo. Most recently at the Linz Karina appeared in the role of Barbarina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.
In 2017 Karina played the role of Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore in Sulmona, Italy (Centre for Operatic Studies in Italy), a study trip funded by the Arnold Matters and George Boland Scholarships. Her other role highlights include Elle (La voix humaine), Aci (Aci, Galatea e Polifemo), Ida (Die Fledermaus), Servilia (La clemenza di Tito), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Pamina and Second Sprite (The Magic Flute), Peep-Bo (The Mikado), Pepik (The Cunning Little Vixen) and Anne Egerman (A Little Night Music). She has also covered the roles of Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Norina (Don Pasquale) for the State Opera of South Australia. Karina worked in the chorus for a number of years at SOSA - highlight appearances with the chorus include the acclaimed Glyndebourne productions of Brett Dean's Hamlet (2018, Directed by Neil Armfield) and Handel's Saul (2017, Barry Kosky production, revival director Donna Stirrup) as part of the Adelaide Festival.
Karina’s appearances as a soloist in oratorio in the UK and Australia include Vivaldi's Gloria, Schubert Mass in A Flat, Mendelssohn's Psalm 42, Hayden’s Theresienmesse, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore and Fauré’s Requiem.
Karina was the winner of the 2022 Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria competition, after receiving third place in 2020 and the conductor's award in 2018. Karina was runner up in the 2020 German-Australian Opera Grant competition. Other competition success includes appearing as a finalist in the Ye Cronies Aria Award in Scotland in both 2019 and 2020. She was the winner of the 2017 Dawn Wallace Memorial Prize, the 2016 Arnold Matters Scholarship Competition and the 2016 5MBS Young Virtuoso Award (vocal section). She won the Rae Cocking Memorial Prize in 2012 and 2016, the 2014 Macquarie Award, and was a finalist for the Beta Sigma Phi Classical Music Awards, Elder Hall, 2014.