Mary-Jean Anaïs O'Doherty (born 2 April 1982)Mary Jean Anais Odoherty in the ''Texas, U.S., Birth Index, 1903-1997'' is an Australian-American

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills. The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...

. She was the first prize winner in the 2013 Paris Opera Awards.

Life and career

O'Doherty was born in Houston, Texas, to an Australian father and an Armenian mother, Eliza Basmadjian, from Greece. She was educated at North Carolina School of the Arts and

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

from which she received her

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

degree in voice and flute performance as well as

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in psychology in 2005. She was one of the 20 finalists in the 2006 Operatunity Oz talent search. O'Doherty won the ABC Symphony Australia Young Vocalist Award in 2007 and the following year was the first recipient of the Australian International Opera Award which included a scholarship to study at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice under the direction of Dennis O'Neill."Mary-Jean O'Doherty winner of 2008 Australian International Opera Award"
''Bravo!'', October 2008, Australian International Opera Awards. Retrieved 10 June 2014. and was also awarded a prize by the Tait Memorial Trust to assist with her studies in Cardiff. Shortly after completing her post-graduate diploma there in 2010, she sang the title role in ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' at the Prague State Opera and reprised the role with the company the following season. In November 2011, she made her

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

debut as a concert artist performing in Raymond Gubbay's ''Classical Spectacular''. In March 2015, it was announced that O'Doherty would be a member of the Armenian group

Genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

in their entry for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

. Along with the other foreign members of Genealogy, she received an Armenian passport from President

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan (, ; born 30 June 1954)Official biography of Serzh Sargsyan

on 28 April 2015. In 2024, O'Doherty auditioned for the thirteenth season of ''

The Voice Australia ''The Voice'' is an Australian singing competition television series. It premiered on the Nine Network on 14 April 2012, before moving to the Seven Network in 2021. Based on the original Dutch singing competition '' The Voice of Holland'', a ...

''. Coaches

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...

and Kate Miller-Heidke turned their chairs, expressing an interest in working with her. She sang Miller-Heidke's song, "

Zero Gravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight, i.e., zero apparent weight. It is also termed zero g-force, or zero-g (named after the g-force) or, incorrectly, zero gravity. Weight is a measurement of the fo ...

", and chose to be on her team. She was eliminated in the battle rounds.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ODoherty, Mary-Jean 1982 births Living people Singers from Houston Australian operatic sopranos American operatic sopranos American people of Australian descent American people of Armenian descent American people of Greek descent Australian people of Armenian descent Australian people of Greek descent 21st-century American women opera singers Classical musicians from Texas Genealogy (band) members Armenian people of American descent Armenian people of Australian descent Armenian people of Greek descent Naturalized citizens of Armenia