
LANGUAGE COACH
Born in Piacenza, Italy, Teresa Desmarchelier is one of Australia’s leading coaches in Italian and French Lyric Diction.
A graduate of The University of Queensland, majoring in Modern Languages and Fine Arts, Teresa continues a long association with the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Opera Queensland and The University of Queensland’s School of Music, as lecturer and coach to opera singers. Teresa is also a Mentor of the Melba Opera Trust Program.
Teresa’s career over 30 years has involved her in every level and aspect of singers’ linguistic and vocal training. Having worked closely with directors, conductors and singers of national and international repute in the production of over 40 operas, a major part of Teresa’s professional activity centres on assisting singers in achieving textual expressiveness in in performance through and understanding of prosodic recitation.
Teresa’s diction training skills are distinguished by her knowledge of the singing process and by her deep understanding of the synergistic relationship between voice, music and language – and understanding she attributed to her long and close collaboration with eminent vocal teachers, accompanists and chorus masters.
As a specialist language consultant, Teresa assists singers abroad in the full preparation of operatic roles, giving particular attention to recitative techniques, in which she specialises.
Bi-lingual in Italian/English, she is fluent in French and Spanish and has a working knowledge of German.