Australian Singing Competition crowns Sidra Nissen after moving rendition of Kaddish

September 30, 2025 by Rob Klein

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When 23-year-old mezzo soprano Sidra Nissen walked on stage at The Concourse Concert Hall in Chatswood, she made a bold choice. In the finals of the 2025 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, she was the only singer not to perform exclusively operatic repertoire.

Alongside Mozart’s “Smanie implacabili” from Così fan tutte, Nissen chose to sing Ravel’s “Kaddish” from Deux mélodies hébraïques. It was a risk that paid off.

“As a Jewish person, I do not ever have to pretend when I sing the Kaddish,” Nissen told J-Wire after her win. “When I sing other things, I have to make a conscious effort to create a character and tell a story. But when I sing the Kaddish, I sing as though I myself am saying the prayer. I do not have to try to connect with it; I just do.”

Sidra Nissen after winning the singing competition

She acknowledged that taking Kaddish into the finals was unusual. “It was the only piece in the entire finals not from an opera. Initially I thought that might be controversial, but I think it showcases who I am as a person as well as a performer.”

Asked whether she was concerned about presenting a Jewish piece in today’s climate, she was clear. “I was very aware that I was not making a political statement by singing it. I was singing a piece of music written by a wonderful composer about Judaism. There is nothing controversial about Judaism. It is honestly just a beautiful piece of music, harrowingly beautiful, and I wanted to share it.”

Singing Competition CEO Roland Gridiger described her choice as both daring and impressive. “It was very brave if you think about it,” he said. “But Sidra was unanimously chosen. The judges based their decision on potential, and in their opinion, she has what it takes to build a career.”

The audience and adjudicators agreed. Nissen was unanimously awarded the Marianne Mathy Scholarship, the most prestigious prize for young opera singers in Australasia. She also collected the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (CVAI) Montreal Scholarship with $4,000 travel support, the Opera Australia Finalist Audition Prize, an audition with Lyric Opera in Chicago, a painted portrait, and an oral history recorded for the National Library.

Despite the triumph, Nissen said the result left her stunned. “There was genuinely not one part of me that could have anticipated that that was going to happen. The other finalists were so incredible that I truly did not think I was going to win.”

Roland Gridiger observed that Nissen’s win carried an unusual distinction. “We have been running this competition for over 40 years, and this is the second year in a row that it has been won by a Jewish singer,” he said. Last year’s winner was soprano Eden Shifroni, granddaughter of Central Synagogue’s Cantor Shimon Farkas. “Out of the hundreds who have competed, that is quite a coincidence, and I think it is extraordinary.”

Nissen’s path to the finals stretched across months, beginning with heats in April that attracted singers from across the country. Hundreds applied, with only ten selected as semi-finalists to perform in Sydney. From there, the field was narrowed to five who earned a place in the finals. Nissen returned a month later to sing with the Opera Australia Orchestra under conductor Natalie Murray Beale. “We also had a masterclass with (leading opera singer) Jeffrey Black, which was so helpful because he worked with us as national adjudicator,” she said.

Nissen’s journey in music began in musical theatre before classical training revealed her true direction. “I started singing lessons at 12, and that is when I was introduced to classical music. I realised it suited my voice better,” she said. After attending St Kilda Primary and King David School, she studied at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, where her talent was encouraged not only by music teachers but also by other educators.

Looking ahead, she will travel to Canada for the CVAI programme and audition for Opera Australia’s Young Artist Programme and Lyric Opera of Chicago. “The long-term goal is an international operatic career, but it is also really important to me to sing in Australia and establish myself here.”

For now, she is relishing the significance of her choice. “Until I started singing the Kaddish, I had not sung much music linked to my cultural background. The experience made me realise that I do have a very deep connection to my Jewish heritage in relation to music. That is something I am still exploring.”