Soprano Emma Matthews has won Limelight’s Australian Artist of the Year 2016.

The public have spoken… We asked you, our readers, to vote for a pair of Limelight 2016 Artists of the Year. Combined with our critics’ votes, this is who you chose…

I feel like I’m in my absolute prime at the moment. listening to the recording, I think it shows that I’m in a place where I can experiment vocally and take risks. The disc isn’t only about the voice, but drama – drama in my interpretation, and real theatre in the orchestral playing. – Emma Matthews

Those lucky enough to see soprano Emma Matthews in action will know that she lights up the stage. Her glorious, agile voice and perfect diction is invariably matched by tons of charisma and real dramatic nous.

She has great comedic timing, a point she brought home spectacularly as Fiorella in Rossini’s The Turk In Italy, for this reviewer the highlight of Opera Australia’s 2014 season, when she played superbly off Italian buffo baritone supremo Paolo Bordogna.

Her Lucia a few seasons back was riveting and visceral....