Felicity Tomkins triumphs at 2024 Herald Sun Aria in Melbourne

Soprano Felicity Tomkins from Te Puke won the 100th edition of the Herald Sun Aria competition in Melbourne. Photo / Jake Nowakowski

A performance demonstrating everything from “mischievous glee to moving pathos” has won Te Puke’s Felicity Tomkins one of Australasia’s most prestigious singing competitions.

Felicity has spent much of 2025 based in New Zealand and Australia after several years spent studying and performing in the Northern Hemisphere.

She has followed in the footsteps of Dame Malvina Major and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in winning the Medownick First Prize in the 2024 Herald Sun Aria in Melbourne. The icing on the cake was that this year’s competition was the 100th, held at Melbourne Recital Centre with the Melbourne Opera Orchestra under maestro Raymond M Lawrence.

The heats and semifinals were held in Ballarat, Victoria in August, and between then and the final, Felicity was a finalist in the Lexus Song Quest in Wellington.

Earlier this year, she also won the 2024 Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship held in Australia, performing with Dr Nicholas Milton and the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, another prestigious competition highlighting future international operatic stars.

Competing in the Eisteddfod was the result of her winning the Lockwood New Zealand Aria Competition in 2023, another of Australasia’s leading singing competitions, performed with the Auckland Philharmonia and held in Rotorua.

“Part of [winning] the Lockwood is a training scholarship to pay travel to Sydney for the Eisteddfod,” says Felicity.

Knowing she would still be in the Southern Hemisphere for the Sydney competition, she also realised the timing of the Herald Sun Aria competition meant she could also “give it a go”.

“Then I thought, ‘Wait a minute, it’s the 100th year – woohoo.”

Unusually, four of the six finalists were male. Felicity was the only Kiwi.

“It was a nice little mix, actually. All the repertoires were really good too, a really good selection.

“It was such a good experience. Everyone was very similar, it was a positive environment with everybody involved who makes it happen.”

While it ultimately didn’t matter, Felicity was not at her best.

“Three days before, I had one of the worst allergies of my life. I lost the top part of my voice and thought, ‘I don’t know if I am going to be able to do it’.”

Soprano Felicity Tomkins (right) and mezzosoprano Allison Harker performing at Auckland Town Hall in the Auckland Choral production of Hendel's Messiah last Sunday. Photo / Helen Foster

She says while concentration is essential when performing, this required a different form of focus.

The two arias she performed were both Shakespearean in origin – Nun eilt herbei from The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Willow Song/Ave Maria from Othello.

“They are very different Shakespearean operas, but that was quite a nice little connection with the two pieces.

“The second aria I did, which was the Desdemona one, is such an emotional piece. Basically, it’s the end of her life in the opera.”

The competition was made extra-special with an old school friend in the audience, and she was also able to listen back to her performance with her parents.

The competition has been a springboard for a number of well-known singers.

“And not just the Kiwis who have won it, some of the Australians who have won it in the past – it’s a pretty important list of people.”

Felicity says the win is recognition of all the work done to reach the place she is now.

“It’s fantastic to get that for all the work you’ve done to get to that point, everything you’ve invested, whether it’s time, study – it’s a real honour to get that.”

While it is a competition and in a lot of ways the singers treat it like a sport, there is always subjectivity in the judging.

“It’s not like you do have the fastest time or don’t have the fastest time, although you know if something’s good or if it’s not good, but even then it’s down to [the judges’] personal opinions so you never really know.”

Felicity really has no idea whether the win will open doors for her.

“I hope so, but at the moment, you never really know. In today’s classical scene, you never know where it’s going to lead because it changes probably more rapidly than it ever has changed.

“But it’s pretty special. It would be great to go back to maybe [perform with] Melbourne Opera one day, so it may lead to bits and pieces like that.

“It was a bit of a proud Kiwi moment as well. Not many Kiwis have won it.”

Reviewer Heather Leviston shared the judges’ view of Felicity’s performance.

“Her voice is true, flexible and has beauty of tone, especially in softer passages. The contrasting arias displayed good expressive range, from mischievous glee to moving pathos. It was no surprise that she was awarded the Medownick First Prize of $35,000.”

Felicity was back in New Zealand at the weekend as soprano soloist in Auckland Choral’s performances of Handel’s Messiah at the Auckland Town Hall.