Dr Tarita Botsman is a fiercely independent, hybrid artist whose career spans opera, music theatre, directing, writing, composing, producing, curating and arts leadership.
Over more than 25 years, she has built a life in the performing arts not by waiting for opportunity, but by creating it — for herself as a performer, and for others as a maker of work. Her practice moves fluidly between disciplines, grounded in the belief that music and theatre are living, embodied art forms that must be realised in performance.
An opera singer by training, Botsman was one of the youngest artists to debut on a professional operatic stage in Australia, appearing with Opera Queensland at the age of 22. She went on to perform more than 15 principal roles internationally, working with major companies across Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, and travelling extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her career has included performances for distinguished international audiences, including members of the British Royal Family in London.
"Australia's most beautiful voices."
— ABC Limelight MagazineHer artistic training spans the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, QUT (Drama), and the University of Queensland, where she completed a PhD in Music in 2024. Her formative vocal training in Rome with Margaret Baker-Genovesi remains central to her artistic foundation.
Botsman’s work has been recognised through numerous awards, including Young Australian of the Year (Queensland), Young Queenslander of the Year, the Robert Stolz Prize (Vienna), the Tait Memorial Trust (UK), and a Queen’s Trust Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts.
Alongside her performance career, she has consistently created, written and directed new work. She is the founder and Artistic Director of The 7 Sopranos, an all-female vocal ensemble established in 2009. Over the past 15 years, the company has toured nationally and internationally, released multiple recordings, and — most significantly — has independently provided employment to more than 400 opera and musical theatre singers. This work reflects Botsman’s long-standing commitment to creating meaningful, sustainable opportunities for female performers in Australia.
Her most ambitious and exciting project to date is The Sun Queen, an original large-scale music theatre work for which she is the composer, lyricist and book writer. Inspired by the life of 17th-century opera singer Julie d’Aubigny (La Maupin), the work sits at the intersection of opera, contemporary musical theatre and historical drama. Developed over more than seven years, The Sun Queen has undergone multiple workshops across Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, and is now in advanced international development in London.
In parallel, Botsman continues to develop new work, including a collaboration with concert pianist and broadcaster Tamara Anna Cislowska, and additional original musical theatre projects currently in development.
Her entrepreneurial drive is deeply personal. After unexpectedly becoming a single mother in her thirties, she reimagined the structure of her career — finding new ways to continue performing at a high level while creating work that could sustain both artistic excellence and family life. This shift became a defining force in her practice, shaping a career built not only on performance, but on leadership, creation and advocacy for other artists.
Based in Brisbane, Botsman maintains an active international practice, continuing to develop and present new work across Australia and abroad.
She continues to create work that is both artistically rigorous and deeply human, driven by a lifelong commitment to music, storytelling and the creation of opportunity
Based in Australia · Available internationally for performances, productions & collaborations.
