Q&A with Sarah Hubbard, 20Twenties Young Alumni Award winner 2025
Since graduation from Otago in 2022, Sarah has been pursuing an international opera career, completing postgraduate studies in Queensland and currently studying for her master’s in Berlin.
Sarah completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Performance at Otago, then moved to Australia, graduating with a Postgraduate Certificate in Opera at the Queensland Conservatorium at Griffith University.
Her next move was to Berlin, to one of the most prestigious opera training programmes in the world, where she is studying for a Master’s in Opera.
Sarah’s accolades include the Most Promising Female Singer award and the Robert Salzer Foundation Prize at the Australian National Liederfest; First Prize for the Canterbury Opera Foundation Aria competition; and, at the age of 21, she was one of five finalists for the New Zealand Lexus Song Quest.
She has attended the prestigious New Zealand Opera School, and received the Fund for Acting and Musical Endeavours (FAME) award for emerging practitioners.
Her roles include Queen of the Night in Voxalis' production of The Magic Flute and Suor Angelica in Queensland Conservatorium's production of Suor Angelica.
Q: How did you react when you heard you had received the award, and what does it mean to you?
When I found out I had been selected as a recipient of the 20Twenties awards I was incredibly grateful.
To be chosen from an impressive pool of University of Otago graduates is certainly quite the achievement. It means more to me that the University of Otago not only appreciates its performing arts graduates, but it also supports them well past their graduation.
Q: What path have you followed since graduation?
I am an opera singer studying towards a master’s degree in Berlin, Germany, at the Universität der Künste.
I am aiming to be a full-time opera singer, performing all around the world. Studying my master’s is one of the first steps towards this goal, and doing so in Berlin is a huge advantage.
Q: What inspires and motivates you to work in opera?
I am motivated to move audiences, allow them to feel something outside of the boundaries of everyday life, or maybe even make everyday life a bit easier through the gift of the theatre.
Honing my craft will hopefully allow me to create a bigger impact on the audiences I perform to, and hopefully afford me the opportunities to do so.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
After my graduation in September 2027, I will apply for young artist programmes in Europe.
Ideally I would like to stay in a German-speaking country, considering I can now speak the language, but if that’s not an option, I am always up for a challenge.
After two years in a young artist programme, I am looking to acquire a fest contract, which means I would be hired by an opera house, and perform the roles given to me throughout the season. I then hope to freelance around the world when I am financially secure enough and have a name for myself in order to do so.
Q: Tell us about the highlights of your time at Otago, and how it has influenced you in your career and following your interests?
I loved the variety of papers I could take as part of my bachelor’s degree at Otago. I was able to take papers outside of classical music, which were incredibly interesting, and have allowed me to connect with a wide range of musicians in the classical realm and outside of it.