Underground Opera Cast
Bethan Ellsmore
Bethan is a light lyric soprano who came into this world living and
breathing music; her mother is a classical soprano and voice teacher
and her father a composer, organist and conductor. She began violin
lessons at the age of three, and excelled in her instrument until
obtaining her Eighth Grade Performance Certificate from the Trinity
College of London with Distiniction at the age of fourteen, when she
decided to follow her love of voice and drama as her first pursuit.
While continuing to study voice she undertook courses in dramatic method acting at the Actors Pulse in Sydney, and majored in English at the University of Sydney. As part of the University of Sydney's Drama Society she performed Naomi in 48 Shades of Brown, Ophelia in Hamlet, Geraldine Barclay in What the Butler Saw and Regina Engstrand in Ghosts.
Her singing roles have included some much loved characters in musical comedies as well as exciting new roles in dramatic musical theatre. She has performed characters in various productions, including the title role in Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Lady Jaqueline Carston in Me and My Girl, and most recently as Judith Gysbertsz in Underground Productions' Hell and Highwater at the Schonell Theatre.
Bethan's performance experience has also been as a contemporary musician, performing as a pianist, keyboardist, violinist and vocalist in bands and as a soloist. Venues at which she has performed include the Metro Theatre, the Gaelic Club and the Manning Bar in Sydney, and the Troubador and the Powerhouse in Brisbane.
Bethan Ellsmore is currently majoring in classical voice at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music under the tutelage of the nationally respected voice teacher Margaret Schindler, with her sights firmly set on the opera stage.
