With a distinguished background as an opera singer, Tarita Botsman is also a director, actor, composer and writer. Tarita followed her professional operatic debut (Opera Queensland) at the age of 22 with study in Italy, Germany and Australia. She went on to perform twenty major operatic roles for companies across Europe and Australia and performed as an actress for all the major state theatre companies in Australia. In Europe, Tarita made her recital debut at Teatro Il Tempietto in Rome and has performed solo classical recitals by invitation in France, UK, Italy, UAE, Pacific Islands and Morocco.
She is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Opera Course, the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and QUT Drama course. She studied under the tutelage of Margaret Baker-Genovesi in Rome, Italy. Her many awards include Young Australian of the Year and Young Queenslander of the Year for her contribution to the arts in Australia. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Monash University Italian Studies Opera Award, she was the first Australian representative in the Veronica Dunne International Opera Competition in Dublin, a finalist in the Robert Stolz Competition in Vienna, a recipient of the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Travel Award, a recipient of funding from the Tait Memorial Trust in the UK, the QPAC artists award, Arts Queensland Artist Individual Development Grant and was also awarded a Queen’s Trust Award for Excellence. During her time in the UK, Tarita was invited to sing for Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Phillip. Soon there after – she was also invited to sing for the Mother of the UAE, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi.
Tarita is the artistic director and the founding member of The 7 Sopranos, which to date has engaged over four hundred Australian-based opera singers. The company has toured independently both around Australia and internationally to New Zealand, Asia and across the Middle East. Worldwide Tarita has developed a stellar list of corporate clients and has directed numerous significant high-end corporate events and concerts. Tarita has recorded several albums with The 7 Sopranos and ABC Classics – their debut album, and their second album, Popcorn, released by Fanfare Records and Sony. The 7 Sopranos have been produced and managed by Cre8ion since 2014. Tarita continues to oversee the artistic direction of The 7 Sopranos.
Tarita was the ceremony director of the Australian Women in Music Awards in both 2018 and 2019. In 2019 Tarita was delighted to accept the position of Chair of the Classical Committee for the Australian Women in Music Awards. Tarita also sits on the Advisory Committee of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) – Women in Music Mentor Program. In 2018 Tarita worked with Opera Q as Assistant Director of Peter Grimes for the Brisbane Festival, directed Opera in the Gardens in Brisbane (2018 – 2021) and directed a new children’s musical The Magic Watering Can by composer Craig Young for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Tarita is currently working on a creative project out of the US being developed for both stage and screen and completing her PhD in music composition at the University of Queensland, and works freelance as a script-writer.
With nearly thirty years in the performing arts, Tarita’s on-stage and off-stage experience have given her a unique perspective and skillset. Tarita’s goal is to continue working on the creation of new works as a writer, director and composer, and to also further her abilities to identify emerging trends, in order to deliver innovative arts experiences in a post COVID world. Tarita is a passionate feminist, advocate and mentor for females and LGBTQI+ artists working in the performing arts.