Emilia Bertolini is an Australian soprano of Irish-Italian heritage, forging an eclectic performance career across the UK and Europe. In 2024, Emilia’s performance highlights include performing as the soprano soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Le Poème Harmonique, conducted by Vincent Dumestre in Nice, making her Italian debut as Ninfa in Monteverdi’s Orfeo at the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, performing the title role in Eccles’ Semele with La Risonanza in Milan, and singing the roles of Fortuna and Drusilla in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea with La Venexiana. In the summer, she took part in several solo recitals at the Festival Radio France Montpellier and the Nouvelle Voix en Normandie tour with Le Poème Harmonique, and performed the role of Cupid in Blow’s Venus and Adonis at the Baroquestock Festival in London.

Emilia has a particular affinity for music of the Baroque period, and since completing her studies in 2023, she has achieved success in various Baroque competitions. She secured first place in the Concours Corneille in Rouen, Normandy, advanced to the finals, and received the Young Talent Award at the inaugural Cavalli Monteverdi Competition in Cremona. Emilia also reached the finals of the Spazio & Musica competition in Vicenza and was a semi-finalist in the Cesti Competition in Innsbruck. In the summer of 2023, she performed the role of Cupid in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis at the Ryedale Festival.

Emilia boasts a wealth of experience in choral music and performs regularly with such groups as the BBC Singers, Chamber Choir Ireland, the Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, the Gabrieli Consort, and Ghislieri Musica.

During her time at the Academy, Emilia was a proud member of the Academy’s Bach series, which gave her the opportunity to perform in Bach performances conducted by John Butt, Jane Glover, Philippe Herreweghe, and Masaaki Suzuki. Another highlight of her time at the Academy was a performance project of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen with Laurence Cummings. She was supported by the Josephine Baker Trust and was a member of the Academy’s Song Circle. In 2022, Emilia made her debut at Wigmore Hall, performing the world premiere of Alexander Goehr’s Combat of Joseph della Reina and the Devil with the Nash Ensemble.

Emilia was a Melba Opera Trust scholarship recipient in 2020 and 2021, receiving the Paulette Bisley Opera Scholarship and the Wright-Smith Scholarship. During this time, she sang as a soloist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as part of the Australian Conducting Academy and won the Opera Scholars Australia Aria competition. Emilia holds a Master of Arts (vocal) from the Royal Academy of Music, where she was the recipient of the Julien Scholarship, and studied with Nuccia Focile and James Baillieu. She completed undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne, obtaining a Bachelor of Music with first-class Honours and Diplomas in both French and Italian.