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Annalisa Kerrigan

A soprano with an Irish mother, a Chinese father, two university degrees and a background that includes working as a sculptor’s model in Florence, a warehouse picker and packer, and working with a horse trainer, is poised to become Australia’s newest classical recording star.
Annalisa Kerrigan, widely praised as having “the voice of an angel”, releases her debut album, Waiting On An Angel, for ABC Classics on October 3.
With an extraordinary voice and stunning looks to match, the petite singer is set to captivate the nation with her new album.
The album is a beautiful mix of diverse material, from classical arias and sacred songs to traditional folk and pop classics, including Unchained Melody and the haunting theme from The Deer Hunter.
“Annalisa trained as a coloratura soprano”, says Robert Patterson, Head of ABC Classics, “and she has the very rare ability to perform music beyond classical repertoire in the appropriate style required by the music.”
Her voice is described by Ray Martin as “so pure, so perfect, that whatever you are doing, you will want to stop and listen”, and by legendary conductor Richard Bonynge as “absolutely wonderful, a pure and agile voice.”
Kerrigan grew up on a country property in Victoria and began playing piano at the age of three. At 13, she began the classical studies that have since taken her to prominence with international and Australian audiences.
She was apprenticed to Norm Fisher, a Victorian quarterhorse trainer, before dismounting from that career to pursue her music.
“In the stables I was one of the few whose CD collection included Dolly Parton, John Denver, Maria Callas, Grieg and Schubert,” Kerrigan said. “It doesn’t matter to me what type of music I’m listening to, as long as it touches my heart. I was inspired to choose songs for this album that were reflective and peaceful.”
Kerrigan’s formal qualifications befit her great talent. She has degrees in music and opera, a certificate in Italian language from the Foreign University of Siena, and studied classical singing in Florence for six years with Antonio Moretti-Pananti.
She has just returned from attending a series of master classes in Tuscany with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Lady Valerie Solti, wife of the legendary conductor, Sir Georg Solti.
She has performed throughout Europe, particularly in Ireland and Italy, where she has given concerts in castles, villas and historic homes. She is renowned there for singing everything “from Mozart arias and Handel to Ben Harper, Nat King Cole, Australian pop and blues, traditional Irish songs, and The House of the Rising Sun”.
She returns to Europe next year for 16 more concerts, after receiving a 15-minute standing ovation for one memorable performance in Ireland.
National television appearances including Channel Nine’s Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne originally brought Kerrigan to the attention of Australian audiences.
Kerrigan’s own experience of anorexia and depression earlier in her life led to her commitment to raising funds and awareness to help men and women who find themselves in similar predicaments.
“The best thing about going through a stage like that is you realise how valuable and precious life is.” Annalisa now works for several different charities using this principle - including the Mental Health Foundation of Australia and AFAP, the Australian Foundation for Peoples of Asia and the Pacific, which amongst other roles sets up small businesses to get impoverished people out of the cycle of debt.

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