“You’re surrounded by the most delicious smells of food, it’s torturous in a way!” laughs soprano Taryn Fiebig as she describes what it’s like to take part in Melbourne’s Opera in the Market concert. A cherished annual event, it sees the Queen Victoria Market’s K Shed transformed into a cosy concert venue, with plenty of food and wine on hand to satisfy the pickiest gourmand.

Taryn Fiebig. Photo supplied

By Fiebig’s reckoning, ten years have elapsed since her last appearance in the market. She’s thrilled to be returning for its 21st year, and astonished that a decade has seemingly passed her by. “So much has happened between then and now, but it’s that weird thing where it feels like it was both yesterday and such a long time ago. In that time I moved from Western Australia to the east, started my career, and now I’ve had so many wonderful roles and opportunities. It’ll good to meet up with fantastic colleagues that I’ve grown to love and know.”

Fiebig’s co-stars for the evening are mezzo-soprano Milijana Nikolic, tenor Rosario La Spina and bass-baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes, coming together to perform arias and duets by Saint-Saëns, Puccini,...