TWO of Ballarat’s most well-known musical exports have once again done their home city proud – this time by singing the national anthem at the Australian Open finals.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jacqueline Dark, an operatic mezzo-soprano who attended Ballarat High School and Ballarat Grammar, sang at the women’s final on Saturday night.
On the Sunday night men’s final, Ballarat born tenor David Hobson followed her lead.
Dark said it was the biggest sporting final she had ever opened – an “exhilarating, once-in-a-lifetime experience”.
“People think the anthem at the beginning is part of the routine, but it feels to me like something that draws everyone in the arena together,” she said.
“It was terrifying but absolutely exhilarating as well.”
Dark joked that while Ballarat might not have a tennis player in the finals, the city was still present in musical form.
Dark is currently a principal artist with Opera Australia and is currently performing as Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music.
