Biography
Captivating...Limelight Magazine
"I believe that music should be the forum for joy and wonderment, for national pride, for tears, for laughs, and for being together and connecting with others. If that's the gift I can give to people, then I am the luckiest person in the world."
Annalisa Kerrigan
Annalisa Kerrigan is one of ABC's best selling classical artists, with her debut CD on top of the Classical Charts for six weeks in 2005 Her follow up CD, Ireland was equally successful and was toured with great success throughout Australia from 2007 to 2010.
She is utterly dedicated to providing best loved and beautiful music at an international standard to audiences around regional and Australian centres, and regularly tours to Europe, Australia and Asia in addition to her home country. Her national tours have included "Ireland", and Mario Lanza, both of which have received standing ovations in such auspicious venues as Sydney's City Recital Hall, the Glasshouse Theatre Port Maquarie, and more.
Annalisa has performed with the MSO, TSO, WASO, ASO, Sinfonia Australis,and Orchestra Victoria to name a few, and has a reputation for presenting in her own unique, romantic style to audiences of all ages.
She has performed on national TV via Carols by Candlelight, Carols in the Domain, Good Morning Australia, World Cup Rugby, World Cup Soccer, Formula One Grand Prix and more.
Her music is renowned for it's extraordinary quality, and yet her concert deliveries are entertaining, audience involving, and light hearted.
She is becoming known as the barefooted soprano, due to the fact that she often goes without shoes, and yet she styles her performances with sumptuous haute couture gowns provided by the legendary designer Linda Britten.
She has received standing ovations throughout the world with various internationally acclaimed artists including Sir Richard Bonynge, Aled Jones, David Helfgott and many more.
Annalisa has recieved TV and/or radio play and interview with ABC Statewide, ABC Radio National (Album of the Week), 3MBS (Album of the week), ABC Swan Hill, ABC Radio West (Tamworth region), ABC Wollongong, ABC TV, 3AW, 2GB, 2CH, 2UE, 2MBS, ABC Tasmania, Channel 9 Toowoomba, Greater Western, Western District, Mount Gambier, and many more.
She is a singer of diverse talents, with many extraordinary credits to her name, including Opera in the Market. Clara Law's film "Like A Dream" wiith "Best Music" nominee for the Golden Horse Awards, Opera in the Otways, Opera in the Park, Opera in the Roses, Opera in the Vineyard, and many more.
And for some of Annalisa's comments on radio over the past year...
Her weirdest experience? "singing the national anthem with 30 formula 1 cars revving their enormous engines not 3 feet behind me, and then when I sang the top C at the end, 7 F11 jets whooshed over my head followed by an enormous 747 that was so close I could count the number of nuts and bolts on the undercarriage...it's the only time I've had to sing a top C while resisting the sudden urge to duck..."
Most unusual experience? "being given a spontaneous gift of a stunning opal, gold and diamond necklace by the man that runs Nuts'n'Treats in Tamworth, after giving a charity concert for AFAP in a corrugated iron betting shed with a dirt floor during a storm - he just gave it to me. i tried to hand it back, it was too beautiful to accept, but he insisted. And I wear it at every performance, I even wore it at my wedding."
Her best experience? "just doing what i do...and knowing it might make people happy.."
And quirks? "well I guess I'm a bit weird in that I tend not to wear shoes on stage...I left my high heels behind the timpanis in Wellington in 2008 and haven't had time to get any new ones..."
And something special? "I just found out someone who came to a concert named their baby after me...I mean...that's such an honour...hope I live up to the poor kid!!
What's it like touring with a harp? "it was fine until Gen came up to me just before a concert in the middle of nowhere and announced that she'd snapped her g string..."
She has created national tours of her various shows, Annalisa Kerrigan's Ireland, Annalisa Kerrigan's The Mario Lanza Story, and upcoming Vienna, Waltz of my Dreams.
Her recordings have been best sellers for her national recording label, ABC Classics, and she is set to record more, as soon as she has time!
Annalisa believes that music should be accessible, and loved, and is often sad at the fact that so many Australians miss out on musical experiences because they are too expensive, or have an inacessible image, or, in the case of some modern music, has lost it's sense of melody and internal rhythm, and in turn, it's beauty.
She has worked tirelessly to bring beautiful, world class music to audiences throughout Europe, Asia and Australia, and will continue to do so through her national touring programmes and recordings
