Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe

An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building. While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other opera houses are part of larger performing arts centers.

History[link]

The first public opera house was the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice, Italy, which opened in 1637. Italy, where opera has been popular through the centuries among ordinary people as well as wealthy patrons, still has a large number of opera houses.^[1] When Henry Purcell was composing, there was no opera house in London. The first opera house in Germany was built in Hamburg in 1678. Early U.S. opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, and vaudeville shows as well as operas and other musical events.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used patronage of the arts to endorse their political ambitions and social positions or prestige. With the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system. In the 2000s, most opera and theaters raise funds from a combination of government and institutional grants, ticket sales and, to a smaller extent, private donations.

Features[link]

The Grand Theatre, Warsaw, ca. 1890

The Vienna Court Opera, ca. 1898

The Palais Garnier, Paris, a vertical section

Since many operas are large-scale productions, opera houses are usually large – generally more than 1,000 seats and often several thousand seats. Traditionally, Europe's major opera houses built in the 19th century contained between about 1,500 to 3,000 seats, examples being Brussels' La Monnaie (after renovations, with 1,700 seats), Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater (with 1,636), Warsaw's Grand Theatre (the main auditorium with 1,841), Paris' Opéra Garnier (with 2,200), the Royal Opera House in London (with 2,268) and the Vienna State Opera (the new auditorium with reduced capacity of 2,280). Modern opera houses of the twentieth century such as New York's Metropolitan Opera (with 3,800) and the San Francisco Opera (with 3,146) are larger. Many operas do not require large-scale productions and may be presented in smaller theaters, such as Venice's La Fenice with about 1,000 seats.

In a traditional opera house, the auditorium is U-shaped, with the length of the sides determining the audience capacity. Around this are tiers of balconies, and often, nearer the stage, are boxes (small partitioned sections of a balcony).

Since the latter part of the nineteenth century, opera houses generally have an orchestra pit, where a large number of orchestra players may be seated at a level below the audience, so that they can play without overwhelming the singing voices. This is especially true of Wagner's Bayreuth Festspielhaus where the pit is almost completely covered.

The size of an opera orchestra varies, but for some operas, oratorios and other works, it may be very large; for some romantic period works (or for many of the operas of Richard Strauss), it can be well over 100 players. Similarly, an opera may have a large cast of characters, chorus, dancers and supernumeraries. Therefore, a major opera house will have extensive dressing room facilities. Opera houses often have on-premises set and costume building shops and facilities for storage of costumes, make-up, masks, and stage properties, and may also have rehearsal spaces.

Major opera houses throughout the world often have highly mechanized stages, with large stage elevators permitting heavy sets to be changed rapidly. At the Metropolitan Opera, for instance, sets are often changed during the action, as the audience watches, with singers rising or descending as they sing. This occurs in the Met's productions of operas such as Aida and Tales of Hoffman. London's Royal Opera House, which was remodeled in the late 1990s, retained the original 1858 auditorium at its core, but added completely new backstage and wing spaces in addition to an additional performance space and public areas. Much the same happened in the remodeling of Milan's La Scala opera house between 2002 and 2004.

Although stage, lighting and other production aspects of opera houses often make use of the latest technology, traditional opera houses have not used sound reinforcement systems with microphones and speakers to amplify the singers, since trained opera singers are normally able to project their unamplified voices in the hall. Since the 1990s, however, many opera houses have begun using a subtle form of sound reinforcement called acoustic enhancement (see below).

Often, operas are presented in their original languages, which may be different from the first language of the audience. For example, a Wagnerian opera presented in London may be in German. Therefore, modern opera houses may assist the audience by providing translated supertitles-- projections of the words over or near the stage. More recently, electronic libretto systems have begun to be used in some opera houses, including New York's Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La Scala and the Crosby Theatre of the Santa Fe Opera, which show the words on individual screens attached to the backs of the seats so as to not interfere with the visual aspects of the performance.

Acoustic enhancement with loudspeakers[link]

A subtle type of sound reinforcement called acoustic enhancement is used in some opera houses. Acoustic enhancement systems help give a more even sound in the hall and prevent "dead spots" in the audience seating area by "...augment[ing] a hall's intrinsic acoustic characteristics." The systems use "...an array of microphones connected to a computer [which is] connected to an array of loudspeakers." However, as concertgoers have become aware of the use of these systems, debates have arisen, because "...purists maintain that the natural acoustic sound of [Classical] voices [or] instruments in a given hall should not be altered."^[2]

Kai Harada ^[3] states that opera houses have begun using electronic acoustic enhancement systems "...to compensate for flaws in a venue's acoustical architecture." Despite the uproar that has arisen amongst operagoers, Harada points out that none of the opera houses using acoustic enhancement systems "...use traditional, Broadway-style sound reinforcement, in which most if not all singers are equipped with radio microphones mixed to a series of unsightly loudspeakers scattered throughout the theatre." Instead, most opera houses use the sound reinforcement system for acoustic enhancement, and for subtle boosting of offstage voices, onstage dialogue, and sound effects (e.g., church bells in Tosca or thunder in Wagnerian operas).

One example of the use of this kind of enhancement is the New York State Theater used by the New York City Opera company.

See also[link]

Gallery:

• 

  Bolshoi Theatre, in Moscow, Russia, is one of the world's most recognizable opera houses and home for the most famous ballet company in the world

• 

  New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, home of the New York City Opera

• 

  The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, in Novosibirsk, is the biggest opera house in Russia

• 

  The Copenhagen Opera House in Denmark

• 

  The Sydney Opera House is one of the world's most recognizable opera houses and landmarks

• 

  Auditorio de Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

• 

  The Palais Garnier, Paris, France

• 

  The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater, Odessa, Ukraine

• 

  War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, USA

• 

  The Dresden Semperoper in Germany

• 

  The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York City

• 

  Oslo Opera House

• 

  The Berlin Staatsoper on Unter den Linden

• 

  Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City

• 

  The Alexandria Opera House in Alexandria, Egypt

• 

  Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Spain

• 

  Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires, Argentina

• 

  Hannover State Opera in Hannover, Germany

• 

  Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Italy

• 

  The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy

• 

  Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy

• 

  Slovene National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Ljubljana, Slovenia

• 

  Solís Theatre in Montevideo, Uruguay

• 

  Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• 

  Amazon Theatre in Manaus, Brazil

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Allison, John (ed.), Great Opera Houses of the World, supplement to Opera Magazine, London 2003
• Beauvert, Thierry, Opera Houses of the World, The Vendome Press, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-86565-978-8
• Beranek, Leo. Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics, and Architecture, New York: Springer, 2004. ISBN 0-387-95524-0
• Hughes, Spike. Great Opera Houses; A Traveller's Guide to Their History and Traditions, London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1956.
• Kaldor, Andras. Great Opera Houses (Masterpieces of Architecture) Antique Collectors Club, 2002. ISBN 1-85149-363-8
• Lynn, Karyl Charna, Opera: the Guide to Western Europe's Great Houses, Santa Fe, New Mexico: John Muir Publications, 1991. ISBN 0-945465-81-5
• Lynn, Karyl Charna, Italian Opera Houses and Festivals, Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-8108-5359-0
• Plantamura, Carol, The Opera Lover's Guide to Europe, Citadel Press, 1996, ISBN 0-8065-1842-1

External links[link]

• "The Layout of a Traditional Opera House" on h2g2
• "Great Opera Houses of the World" on h2g2
• Vintage postcard images of opera theaters from historicopera.com
• "History of Opera" on historyworld.net

Paul Potts
Background information
Birth name	Paul Robert Potts
Born	(1970-10-13) 13 October 1970 (age 41) Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, England,[1] United Kingdom
Genres	Classical, pop opera
Occupations	Tenor musician (Formerly employed by Carphone Warehouse)
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Syco, Columbia (2007–2010)
Website	www.paulpottsofficial.com

Paul Robert Potts (born 13 October 1970)^{[citation needed]} is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent with his performance of "Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera Turandot. As a singer of operatic music, Potts recorded the album One Chance, which topped sales charts in nine countries. Prior to winning Britain's Got Talent, Potts was a manager at The Carphone Warehouse. He had served as Bristol city councillor from 1996 until 2003, and also had performed in amateur opera from 1999 to 2003. Potts's net worth was estimated at £6 million in April 2012.^[2]

Early life[link]

Potts was born in Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, England and raised in Fishponds, Bristol, by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne (née Higgins), a supermarket cashier.^[3] He has two brothers and one sister. Potts attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, where he developed his love of singing.^[4] He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in interviews that he had been bullied in school, and that experience may have made him lack self-confidence. He has also said that his voice had always been a source of solace in the past when he was bullied.^[5]

He earned an Honours degree in 1993 from University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, majoring in Humanities.^[6] In 1996, Potts was elected the youngest member of Bristol City Council; a Liberal Democrat, he served until 2003.^[4][7] Potts was a manager at mobile phone store Carphone Warehouse in Bridgend and lived in Port Talbot. After winning Britain's Got Talent, Potts took a six-month sabbatical from his job and resigned on 5 March 2008.^[8]

Singing career[link]

Potts first sang opera in the minor roles of The Prince of Persia and the Herald in Puccini's Turandot for the Bath Opera, an amateur company, in 1999. He then performed leading roles on four occasions: Don Basilio in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in 2000; Don Carlos in Verdi's Don Carlos in 2001; Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 2003; and Radames in Verdi's Aida in 2003.^[5][9][10] He also performed the role of the Chevalier des Grieux in Puccini's Manon Lescaut for the Southgate Opera Company in London, an amateur company, in May 2003. Additionally, he sang with a small ensemble from the Royal Philharmonic in front of an audience of 15,000 and toured northern Italy as a soloist as part of his music classes there.^[9]

In several interviews, Potts revealed that he performed Aida despite doctors' wishes to remove an adrenal tumour they had discovered during his illness from a burst appendix, and shortly after the tumour surgery performed Manon Lescaut. Potts broke his collarbone and suffered whiplash in a bicycle accident in 2003. The mishap and financial difficulties that followed led him to enter Britain's Got Talent despite not having sung in years.^[11]

He also participated in the soundtrack of epic Korean drama Queen Seondeok (TV series), singing two major characters', Deokman and Yushin's love theme "Passo Dopo Passo" in Italian, meaning "Step by Step". He has also performed a duet with world famous soprano, Hayley Westenra, Sei Con Me, featured in his album Passione.

[edit] Britain's Got Talent

Potts auditioned for Simon Cowell's new talent show Britain's Got Talent at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on 17 March 2007. The audition was televised on ITV1 in the UK on 9 June 2007.^[12] Potts sang the full rendition of Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun dorma", which was condensed for broadcast, and he received a standing ovation from the audience of 2,000 people.

In the semi-final on 14 June 2007, Potts performed the main verses of Andrea Bocelli's "Time To Say Goodbye".^[13] He progressed to the final after receiving the highest public vote in that show.^[14] He performed "Nessun dorma" again for his finale on 17 June 2007, as well as an encore after he won the competition. Potts defeated the bookmakers co-favourite Connie Talbot, and received the highest percentage of two million votes cast to win £100,000, and performed at the Royal Variety Performance on 3 December 2007, in front of Queen Elizabeth II. His version of "Nessun Dorma" on Britain's Got Talent has over 93 million combined views on YouTube.^[15]

Doubts over amateur status[link]

The Sun newspaper received complaints following allegations that Potts had been "coached by Pavarotti".^[16] There was anger that he was portrayed on Britain's Got Talent as a simple mobile-phone salesman, whereas he had in fact appeared in six amateur opera productions and in a concert for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,^[16] and had plans for a summer tour with that orchestra.^[9] Potts responded that he had not claimed to be completely untutored, only that he had never performed any concert for pay and was therefore an amateur. He also said that the Pavarotti masterclass he attended in Italy was paid for from his own savings and was a single masterclass, not regular coaching.^[17]

Post-BGT career[link]

In the United States, he was profiled on a National Public Radio programme called Day to Day,^[18] and appeared live on NBC's programme Today.^[19]

In July 2007, Potts performed his rendition of "Nessun dorma" at a Katherine Jenkins concert at Margam Park.^[20] On 16 July 2007, his debut album One Chance was released in the UK, and claimed the #1 spot in the UK Album Chart the following week. In December 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented Potts with a platinum disc for having sold 2,000,000 copies of his album.^[21]

On 13 December 2007, he performed in Leipzig in the live television broadcast of the 13th annual José Carreras Gala, accompanied by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg under the direction of Scott Lawton.^[22] In January he began his concert series^[1] of 97 concerts in 85 cities across 23 countries; this ended on 12 November. This included three outdoor classical music concerts with the Finnish violinist Linda Brava and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at Sofiero Palace, Sundbyholms Castle and Slottskogsvallen from 24 to 26 July.^[23] In the semi-finals of the 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent, Potts appeared in a comeback performance.

Potts was invited to appear on an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show about YouTube, a site where clips of his performances had been viewed over 92 million times as of April 2012;^[24] as of April 2009^[update], his first appearance on Britain's Got Talent was the fourth most viewed YouTube video in the UK. On 24 November 2007, Potts was interviewed on the National Public Radio programme Weekend Edition. On 15 August 2008, he performed before the German football season opener match between Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV in front of 69,000 visitors as well as on 2 September 2008 during the farewell game for Oliver Kahn.

In July 2008, Deutsche Telekom began using a TV and cinema advertisement centred on his Britain's Got Talent performance.^[25] In August 2008, he did a now famous duet with Daniel Powter on the Wolfbaggin' Tour. In October 2008, Paul Potts sang in Japanese TV advertisements for Ryukakusan Direct throat medicine manufactured by Ryukakusan.^[26] Potts received two nominations at the Echo Awards 2009 in Germany: Best International Male Artist and Album of the Year. He won the 2009 Echo Award for Best International Male Artist on 21 February 2009. On 22 April 2009, Potts was the guest co-host on the Australian television programme The Morning Show with Kylie Gillies. Expanding his talent to the online world, Paul Potts recently performed an exclusive in studio performance for AOL Sessions.^[27] He collaborated with Swedish singer Carola Häggkvist on her Christmas album Christmas in Bethlehem, singing "O Holy Night". Potts has appeared twice on the popular Korean Talent TV show "Star King", first in 2008 and once again in 2010.

Potts was in Toronto on 10 November 2010 performing a "flash opera" at the Union Subway Station to a moderately-sized crowd and finished to loud applause.^[28]

Potts has recently appeared in the Korean television program called "Qualifying Man".

Personal life[link]

Potts has been married since May 2003 to Julie-Ann (née Cooper) whom he met in an Internet chat room. They met in person for the first time at Swansea railway station in February 2001. She had the upper hand at this "first meeting" as she had a photograph of Potts, but he had no idea what she looked like.^[29] As of May 2009 he had assets of £5 million. ^[30] Potts has moved since BGT, but continues to live in Port Talbot.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

The song "Nessun Dorma" got the 19th best-selling single of 2008 in Germany and was certified as Gold for selling more than 150,000 copies^[33][34]. In the UK, the song charted due to digital downloads only.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Potts on Myspace
• Paul Potts at Sony BMG
• Paul Potts biography from BBC Wales
• Paul Potts interview on The Hour
• Paul Potts Official site.[2]
• Paul Potts on Avex Taiwan (Chinese)

v t e Britain's Got Talent Got Talent Series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 Presenters Ant & Dec · Stephen Mulhern Judges Current Simon Cowell · Amanda Holden · Alesha Dixon · David Walliams Former Kelly Brook · Piers Morgan · Michael McIntyre · David Hasselhoff Guest Louis Walsh · Carmen Electra Winners Paul Potts · George Sampson · Diversity · Spelbound · Jai McDowall · Ashleigh and Pudsey Other notable contestants Series 1 Bessie Cursons · Connie Talbot · Damon Scott · Bar Wizards · Jake Pratt Series 2 Signature · Andrew Johnston · Escala · Faryl Smith · Kate and Gin · Charlie Green · Charlie Wernham Series 3 Susan Boyle · Julian Smith · Aidan Davis · Hollie Steel · Shaheen Jafargholi · Callum Francis · DJ Talent · Flawless · John Farnworth Series 4 Twist and Pulse · Paul Burling · ReConnected · Myles and Connor · Kev Orkian · Stevie Starr · The Cheeky Girls · Matthew Ahmet Series 5 Ronan Parke · Out of the Blue Series 6 Jonathan and Charlotte · Only Boys Aloud · The Loveable Rogues · Ryan O'Shaughnessy  · Molly Rainford · The Zimmers Related articles List of episodes · Discography · SYCOtv · FremantleMedia · talkbackTHAMES · Thames · ITV Category

Sarah Blasko
Sarah Blasko performing at The Astor Theatre, 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow
Born	(1976-09-23) 23 September 1976 (age 35)
Origin	Sydney, Australia
Genres	Indie rock, indie pop
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Dew Process / Universal Music Low Altitude
Associated acts	Acquiesce, Sorija
Website	sarahblasko.com

Sarah Elizabeth Blaskow^[1] (born 23 September 1976, Sydney, New South Wales), is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician.^[2] After fronting Sydney-based band Acquiesce from the mid-1990s, Blasko developed her solo career from 2002. In 2007, she won the 'Best Pop Release' for What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have at the ARIA Music Awards.^[3] Her latest album, As Day Follows Night, won the 'Best Female Artist' at the 2009 ARIA Awards.^[3][4]

Early life[link]

Blasko was born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1976, soon after her family returned from French-speaking Réunion where both parents were Christian missionaries.^[5][6][7] Upon return to Australia her parents often changed churches, with Blasko singing alongside her mother,^[5] and settled at a Pentecostal church in Sydney which later became Hillsong.^[6] Her mother was a nurse and her father a teacher from Hungarian/German background.^[7] While in high school, Blasko and her older sister Kate formed a jazz-blues group.^[2][7] By the age of 15, Blasko was concerned she "wouldn't make it", being mindful of the apocalyptic message of the End of the World and Christ's Return. She eventually left the church in her last year at school, declaring that its emphasis on material success "just didn't fit" with her or her interpretation of the scriptures. However, she thinks she still believes in God, despite her perception that it is an unpopular admission in Australia.^[6] She had no formal singing lessons until aged 19 and started playing guitar.^[7] At university, Blasko completed a degree in English literature and film.^[7][8]

She is known for her vintage tastes in clothes, music and art, telling Rolling Stone Australia, "I like things that are old and have been lived in. It probably started as a kid when my family shopped at Vinnie's because we hardly had any money. I like things that stand the test of time."^[9]

From 1998, as Sarah Semmens, she fronted Sydney band Acquiesce on lead vocals, with founding members Paul Camilleri on guitar, Steve Foxe on violin, Dave Hemmings on drums, Ted Langtree on bass guitar and her sister Kate Halcrow on harmony vocals.^[10][11] Tracks were co-written by Blasko and Camilleri,^[11] Acquiesce recorded an EP, Aa for Acquiesce, released in September 1999.^[10] Dave Cullen (of Brotherhood Lush) replaced Langtree on bass guitar and they released a single, "Breathe In", in November 2000.^[10] Both EP and single were produced by Hugh Wilson (Brotherhood Lush).^[11][12] Acquiesce received some local attention in 1999 by winning a national campus band competition.^[13] Acquiesce disbanded by January 2001 and Blasko teamed-up with acoustic guitarist, Nick Schneider in the short-lived project Sorija,^[14][15] an acoustic pop/electronic duo, they played gigs in Sydney until April 2002.^[14] Early in her career, Blasko says she had an unsuccessful marriage.^[16]

Solo career[link]

In 2002, Blasko went solo and released her debut EP Prelusive. She released and promoted her material independently, with financial assistance from her manager Craig New.^[11] She also produced the music video for lead track, "Your Way".^[11] Blasko eventually signed to Brisbane-based label, Dew Process, which repackaged and re-released Prelusive in March 2003.^[17]

Debut album[link]

In October 2004, Blasko released her debut album, The Overture & the Underscore, recorded in Hollywood at the studio of engineer Wally Gagel. She co-produced with Gagel and fellow songwriter Robert F. Cranny.^[5] Gagel engineered and mixed the album, with assistance from Bruce MacFarlane. Joey Waronker played all and percussion.^[5] Cranny also played various instruments on the album.

The album met with critical acclaim and received platinum accreditation in Australia for sales of over 70,000,^[18] and peaked into the Top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart.^[19] In 2005, Blasko received four ARIA Music Awards nominations, including 'Album of the Year'.^[3]

Three music videos were produced for album tracks: "Don't U Eva", "Always Worth It" and "Perfect Now".

Her debut EP and album focused around acoustic guitar and utilized both live and programmed drums.^[13]

Bernard Zuel reviewed the album for The Sydney Morning Herald, saying "Blasko works in the territory where Ed Harcourt and Fiona Apple shine, taking some of the new acoustic framework (think Turin Brakes) and some of the folk-meets-electronica stuff that came out in the post-Portishead years and applies them to straightforward pop songs."^[13]

[edit] What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have

Blasko spent April 2006 recording her second album in Auckland, New Zealand at Roundhead Studio, the studio of Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.^[20] She produced the album with Cranny and Moginie^[21] and it featured musical contributions from Dave Symes, Jeff De Araujo, Moginie and Cranny;^[21] Victor Van Vugt mixed the record.^[21]

The first radio-only single released from the album was "Explain" on 11 September, with a music video viewable on Blasko's official website. The next single, "Always on This Line", also had a video. A video was also made for "Planet New Year". "Explain" reached No. 79 and "Always on this Line" achieved No. 58 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2006.^[22] The album was released in Australia on 21 October, it debuted at No. 7 on the ARIA Albums Charts^[19] and has received platinum accreditation.^[18]

[edit] As Day Follows Night

In 2008, Blasko composed the score (with Stefan Gregory) for Bell Shakespeare's production of Hamlet, which ran in July–August.^[23] While working on the Hamlet score, Blasko also began composing for her third studio album, As Day Follows Night.^[23] Blasko recorded it in Stockholm, Sweden, and blogged on her official site about her experiences from January 2009.^[24] She had written the songs without input from long term co-writer, Cranny—their creative and personal relationship had ended.^[16] Blasko decided to record in a simpler and more straight forward manner—without electric guitars and keyboards.^[23] The album was produced by Bjorn Yttling (of Peter Bjorn and John)^[16][23] and released in Australia on 10 July, peaking at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart.^[19]

[edit] Seeker Lover Keeper

In 2010, Blasko recorded an album in New York with fellow Australian singer-songwriters Holly Throsby and Sally Seltmann. The group and subsequent album were titled Seeker Lover Keeper. The debut album for the group hit No. 3 on the ARIA Charts in June 2011, Blasko's highest chart entry. The trio embarked on a national tour to promote the album in June and July 2011.^[25]

Touring[link]

Sarah Blasko has toured extensively in Australia, as well as the US, Canada, UK and Ireland. Although the exact configuration varies, she performs with a five or six piece band usually consisting of drums, electric and synth bass, acoustic and electric guitar plus keyboards and various samplers/ effects units. Due to the breadth of arrangement most of the touring musicians are multi-instrumentalists.

She also performed in a duo with Cranny accompanying on guitar and keyboards. In both formats, Blasko plays acoustic guitar and occasional keyboards. She has toured with folk/roots artists such as Ray LaMontagne and played outdoor rock festivals.

Blasko has toured the UK and Ireland with Tom McRae, and US and Canada with Ray LaMontagne, James Blunt and Martha Wainwright. She has played at Woodford Folk Festival, The Falls Festival, Homebake, Splendour in the Grass, Festival of the Sun, WOMADelaide festival and in 2006 joined the national Big Day Out tour.

In March 2007 Blasko performed a special concert in Perth, Western Australia in the Octagon Theatre of the University of Western Australia. Blasko supported by a string quartet and a local guitarist.

In January 2009, Blasko played to thousands at the Southbound festival in Busselton Western Australia.

In May 2010 Sarah Blasko toured the UK supporting The Temper Trap. Later that year she also toured through the rest of Europe.

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

Live Albums[link]

Extended Plays[link]

Singles[link]

Other Charting Songs[link]

Other contributions[link]

• Tomorrow, When the War Began film soundtrack – "Flame Trees"
• Little Fish soundtrack – "Flame Trees"
• She Will Have Her Way: Songs of Tim and Neil Finn – "Don't Dream It's Over"
• Like a Version 2 – "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
• Write Your Adventures Down: A Tribute to The Go Betweens – "Bye, Bye Pride", "Hold Your Horses" (with Darren Hanlon)
• The Devoted Few Schematic Tracks Remix EP – "Nothing Ever Changes".
• Peabody The New Violence album – "Got You on My Radar", "The Weight Just Right", "Song for Val", "Got Your Hooks In"
• Nations by the River Holes in the Valley album – "Heart Attack Romance", "Cracking Up", "Would It Be Nice", "The Prettiest Girl"
• Bluebottle Kiss Doubt Seeds double album – "Speak Up Memory", "Dream Audit"
• GB3 Emptiness Is Our Business album – "Nothing in the Way"
• Duet with Holly Throsby for a cover of the Brian Eno classic 'By This River' on the 'One of You for Me' EP
• FBi Radio Live Feed compilation – 'We Wont Run' live at the Metro, Sydney

Notes[link]

^ a With Holly Throsby and Sally Seltmann under the name Seeker Lover Keeper.

Awards[link]

ARIA Awards[link]

Blasko has won two Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Music Awards from 14 nominations.^[3][32][33]

Other awards[link]

References[link]