On Wednesday 7 September at the Independent Theatre, North Sydney, ten young opera singers will contest the IFAC Australian Singing Competition Semi-Finals hoping to be selected as a top five finalist in Australia's richest and most prestigious singing competition.

Scores of young singers from Australia and New Zealand auditioned for National Adjudicator Bernadette Cullen from which ten, representing New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and New Zealand have been chosen to compete in this year's Semi-Finals. Celebrating its 30th year the ASC has showcased 2500 singers since 1982 all under the required age of 26 who have competed for more than $2.6 million in prizes. In 2011 the ASC prize pool is valued at almost $220,000. After winning the Australian Singing Competition, singers such as Rachelle Durkin, Amelia Farrugia, Stuart Skelton and Paul Whelan have all gone on to achieve national and international acclaim.