Olivia Cranwell, James Egglestone unite for gala CSO opera in Canberra

In one of her previous roles, young soprano Olivia Cranwell played Wombat in the Victorian Opera's season of The Magic Pudding. She's currently playing Hansel in Opera Australia's Hansel and Gretel, as part of its touring schools program.

As a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, she relishes acting and is ready to take on everything that comes her way.

On the weekend of July 3, it will be the favourites of Puccini, as she joins tenor James Egglestone in the Canberra Symphony Orchestra Gala. As well as the selections from the Italian composer, the orchestra will play excerpts from works by Verdi and Wagner and there's rumour of a rousing surprise finish.

Cranwell says singing with an orchestra in a concert presentation of opera is very different from playing a complete role on stage.

"Obviously, in a symphony concert you're only getting a snippet of the character, but you still have to be in character," she says.

"But I feel that a performance is heightened with a symphony orchestra because in just three or four minutes you really have to get across all those emotions. Nothing beats a production with costumes and lights and other people to interact with, but a symphony concert allows you to really focus on the beauty of the music."

Egglestone agrees absolutely.

"In costume on the opera stage, you sort of go to another place," he says.

"When you're doing a range of different arias and duets you don't have a continuity of character, so I guess there's always a bit more of an element of 'you' on the stage.

"But in a concert you get to sing some really great things which are usually the highlights of opera, whereas with a whole opera not every bit of the music is everyone's favourite."

The pair have sung together before, in a rehearsal for Madama Butterfly. Egglestone was singing the role of Pinkerton, and Cranwell the role of Cio-Cio San while the scheduled soprano was ill.

"I must admit it was quite lovely singing with James," Cranwell says.

Egglestone has been described as "one of Australia's finest young tenors". He studied in the Netherlands and Italy before returning to Australia, where he is kept busy enough to enjoy performing here rather than seeking roles with opera companies overseas.

"Australian opera is fantastic," he says. "We're in great hands. We also have the benefit of having international people, such as American Josh Hecht, come in and coach singers at Opera Australia, and all the repetiteurs are really well versed in repertoire and language."

He says that ultimately he'd like to go overseas again, but for the moment occasional performances in Asia and New Zealand suit him very well.

Egglestone has only once before sung in Canberra – quite a while ago in 2008 with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra when it performed Orff's Carmina Burana.

But he has sung with the CSO's chief conductor Nicholas Milton when Milton was about to conduct Tosca for Opera Australia and Egglestone was covering for the tenor who was to sing the role of Cavaradossi.

He quite likes where his career is headed.

"Once you start moving into Puccini and the lyric stuff, you have to make a decision about where you're going," Egglestone says.

"Even within opera, if you want to do things to the best of your ability, you have to specialise in a certain type of repertoire. In the lyric area you need power to get over the orchestra and the thicker orchestration."

As a spinto soprano, roles such as Tosca, Butterfly and Mimi are perfect for Cranwell.

"Now I'm really developing the voice and letting it go where it wants," she says. "Tosca has always been a dream role for me and this will be my debut singing it with an orchestra. I think it will be quite a special moment. It's such an evocative aria. When I think of Puccini opera, I think that this is what opera really is."

"The concert is a selection of passionate moments," Egglestone says, "and you hope that you're sending your energy out there and that the audience are loving it."

Icon Water Gala: Canberra Symphony Orchestra. Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music. Saturday, July 4, 7.30pm. Tickets from $53 from CSO Office. Details: 6262 6772 or cso.org.au.