In her US opera debut, Kari Lyon created a “poignant and arresting” Bridie in the world premiere of Eric Sawyer’s The Garden of Martyrs. This season, she premiered Josh Kight’s “The Cuckoo”, at The National Opera Center, and plays Maria in TeatroMania's The Cabaret Opera at the Pompeii Theater in New York. Also in New York, she has performed at The National Arts Club with Lauren Flanigan, the Metropolitan International Music Festival as winner of the 2012 Concert Artist Prize, in the annual Harlem Divas concert, and at the 21st Annual Comfort Ye benefit singing Mozart’s Queen of the Night. Previous credits include Aspasia, Mitridate (Ruby’s Music Room); Rosina, The Barber of Seville (Melbourne Opera); Bessie, Merrie England (Lyric Opera Melbourne); Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi; Pamina, Die Zauberflote; Amor, Orfeo ed Euridice; Antonia, Les Contes d’Hoffmann; First Lady, Die Zauberflote; and Millie, Figatroll. As guest artist for the Melbourne Musicians Orchestra, she performed Bach’s Cantata 51 and a selection of Handel arias in a concert recorded and broadcast by 3MBS Fine Music. Other highlights have included the concert program “Icarus Girl”, guest soloist for The Melbourne University Choral Society, two years as a recitalist for The Early Arts Guild of Victoria, and three years as soloist and ensemble artist of the Consort of Melbourne, where she appeared with the Kronos Quartet, Ensemble Liaison, The Australian Youth Orchestra, and Monash Sinfonia. Ms Lyon was awarded a 2013 Jump Mentorship by the Australia Council for the Arts. She is a recipient of the Dame Joan Sutherland Fund in New York, and the PPCA Performers’ Trust in Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Music from WAAPA, and studied opera at Sydney Conservatorium and privately in London. Additionally, she graduated with Honours in English, Communications and Cultural Studies from the University of WA, and with a Master of Arts in Writing and Literature from Deakin University.