When COVID hit, closing performance venues around the globe, internationally acclaimed Australian soprano Nicole Car was concerned to see how many classical singers suddenly found themselves with no income and unable to claim pandemic support such as JobKeeper.

Nicole Car. Photo supplied

So in April 2020, with the support of the Music & Opera Singers Trust (MOST), she launched a new fund called Freelance Artist Relief Australia (FARA) to provide financial aid to Australian classical singers, who were based in Australia or overseas and struggling to make ends meet.

Since then, FARA has distributed over $400,000 to artists in need. With performance venues now open again, Car announced today that she is closing FARA.

At the same time, the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, which is run under the auspices of MOST, has announced the establishment of the annual Nicole Car Award. The successful recipient will be flown to Paris (where Car is now based) and given accommodation there while they receive an intensive period of mentoring sessions with Car herself.

Speaking from San Francisco, where she is currently playing Donna Elvia in Mozart’s Don Giovanni for San Francisco Opera, Car...