Soprano and proud Koa, Kuku Yalanji, Wakka Wakka woman, Nina Korbe received her Bachelor of Music Performance with Distinction from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU) and was awarded the Griffith University Academic Excellence Award. In 2020, Nina was awarded the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music International Postgraduate Scholarship to undertake her Master of Arts studies at Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating with Distinction in 2022.

Highlight roles and scenes as a student in Australia and the UK include Arminda from Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, Héro from Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, Ilia from Mozart’s Idomeneo and Lucia from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. Nina was invited by Royal Academy Opera to debut the role of Little Ms Manifest in the critically acclaimed world premiere of Freya Waley-Cohen’s Witch, which was later nominated for the Ivor Academy Composer Awards for Stage Works, and was also invited to be assistant director for the vocal faculty’s opera scenes in 2022.

Since returning to Australia, Nina has been appointed Artist in Residence for Queensland Youth Orchestras and will be touring to Singapore, Austria and Germany with Queensland Youth Symphony as guest soloist to perform Ravel’s Sheherazade. She sits on the board for Queensland Youth Orchestra’s Reconciliation Action Plan as a First Nations Representative and is this year’s proud recipient of the Harold Blair Opera Scholarship and the Ruskin Opera Scholarship through Melba Opera Trust. She is the recipient of the 2023 Margaret Schindler Vocal Scholarship for Southern Cross Soloists and will perform with them at Bangalow Chamber Music Festival in August.

For Opera Queensland, Nina joined the Toowoomba Community Chorus in the touring productions of La bohème (2014), The Barber of Seville (2016) and concert production of Die Fledermaus (Opera at Jimbour, Queensland Music Festival, 2015), and as part of her QCGU studies joined Opera Queensland Chorus for Peter Grimes (in association with Brisbane Festival, 2018) and Verdi’s Requiem (with BLEACH*, 2019).

As an Opera Queensland 2023 Young Artist, Nina recently travelled to Cunnamulla with Opera Queensland to take part in the inaugural Outback River Lights Festival, and in May will feature in community program events in Winton and Longreach for this year’s Festival of Outback Opera.