Adelaide born Sally-Anne Russell is a multi-award-winning mezzo soprano, a graduate of The University of Adelaide and has performed on the concert platform and operatic stage in twenty five countries. She appears on over 40 CD’s /DVD’s on ABC Classics, CHANDOS, MOVE, Toccata UK, NAXOS and DECCA labels, including her solo aria disc “Enchanting” with The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia’s Top 100 Concert, New Years Eve Galas and the Opera Australia 50th Birthday Gala DVD also celebrating the late Dame Joan Sutherland's 80th Birthday at the Sydney Opera House and Andrew Perkins 3 Spanish Songs with NZSO. Her awards include a listeners choice ARIA for Pergolesi Stabat Mater with Sara Macliver and nominations for Bach Arias and duets, other awards at The Australian Singing Competition, Herald Sun Aria, Covent Garden Scholarship, Adelaide and Canberra Arias, The National Liederfest, The Royal Overseas League in London, grand finalist at the Belvedere International Singing Competition in Vienna and nominations for Young Australian of the Year, Young Achiever of the Year, Green Room and Helpmann Awards. She was a member of The Victoria State Opera Young Artist Program and is now regularly invited to give masterclasses and adjudicate at both a national and international level at various Australian Universities and in Singapore and British Columbia Canada.

International highlights include Die Tote Stadt at The Spoleto Festival dei Duo Mondi in Italy, Xerses for Oper der Stadt Köln, Beatrice et Benedict for Washington Concert Opera (DC), Falstaff for Dartington Festival UK, St Martin in the Fields UK, Bruckner Te Deum at the Musikverein in Vienna, recitals in Vienna, Singapore, London, Japan, Scotland, Germany, Amsterdam and New Zealand and a long association as alto soloist for the Carmel Bach Festival In California.

Sally-Anne has over 80 operatic roles in repertoire working with Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, State Opera of South Australia, Opera Queensland, West Australian Opera, Pinchgut Opera, Melbourne Opera, and orchestral projects with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Queensland Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian String Quartet, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Seoul National Symphony, Adelaide Philharmonia, Melbourne Bach Choir, Royal Melbourne Philharmonic, Art of Sound Orchestra, Adelaide Baroque, Melbourne Baroque, Hobart Baroque, Allegri Ensemble and Pacific Baroque in Vancouver.

A prolific exponent of early and Baroque repertoire her Handel operas and oratorios include Alcina, Julius Caesar, Semele, Xerses all for Opera Australia, Judas Maccabeus, Joshua, Solomon, Esther, Theodora, Hercules, Dixit Dominus, Belshazzar, Israel in Egypt, Jeptha, Lucretia and over 180 performances of Messiah in Japan, USA, Canada, UK, NZ, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Australia. Other early recitals include the works of Johnson, Lanier, Haydn, Mozart, Scarlatti, Ferrari, Buxtehude, Dowland, Telemann, Orlandidni, Hasse, Porpora, Zelenka and operas of Monteverdi, Vivaldi and Purcell. She has sung all Haydn masses and all Bach Cantatas that contain an alto soloist including all solo works 35, 54, 169, 170, Ich Habe Genug (Carmel, WASO) Magnificat, St John Passion, St Mark Passion, St Matthew Passion, Wiennachts Oratorium and B Minor Mass.

A selection of other interesting repertoire includes Nixon In China -Adams (VO,NZ), Flying Dutchman- Wagner (SSO), Diary of a Madman-Janacek (The Firm- Adel), Einhorn Voices of Light (ACO), Bernstein Mass (AF), Beethoven Ah Perfido, Stravinskys Pulcinella (MSO), Ullman’s -Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Dvorak Requiem and Stabat Mater, Durufle Requiem, Rossini Stabat Mater, Coplands In the Beginning (Adelaide Chamber Singers, St James Sydney, Consort of Melbourne, Camerata Singers Canada), Mahler 4 (TSO,ASO), Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen (ASO,Carmel), Rückert Lieder, Berlioz - Nuit D’Ete (SYO), Elgars Sea Pictures, Brahms Alto Rhapsody (Carmel, Canada, Melb, Syd) De Falla El Amor Brujo (TSO), Mozart Mass in C minor (Queensland) Siete Canciones Espanole, Berio Folk Songs (Brian Stacey and Synzergy ), Berg’s Sieben Frühe Lieder (Vancouver), Resphigi’s Il Tramonto (MSO), Mendelssohn Elijah (TSO, Syd Phil, Canada), Rachmaninoff Vespers (MSO) and Britten Spring Symphony (CSO NZ).

Recent Projects include Hermia in Brittens A Midsummer Nights Dream for Adelaide Festival, Wagners Ring Cycle for Melbourne Opera in Bendigo, Strauss’s Elektra for Victorian Opera, several productions of Dido and Aeneas in Sydney and Melbourne and concerts of Mahler Das Lied von der Erde for Canberra International Festival, Bachs St John and Matthew Passions for Melbourne Bach Choir, Handel’s Messiah with Melbourne Symphony, multiple concerts with Adelaide Baroque, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Beethovens 9th Symphony with Auckland Philharmonia NZ and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Sally-Anne has worked with Sir Bryn Trefel, Sumi Jo, Sanford Sylvan, Michael Tilson Thomas, William Christie, Mark Adamo, Markus Stenz, Sir Andrew Davis, Luciano Pavarotti, Vladimir Askenazy, Bruno Weill, Douglas Boyd, Simone Young, Nicholas McGegan, Stephen Layton, Richard Gill, Richard Mills, Guy Simpson, Guy Noble, the late Richard Gill and Brian Stacey

Musical Theatre productions include My Fair Lady (VSO), Annie Get Your Gun (VSO) and the original Australian cast of The Phantom of the Opera (Cameron Macintosh.

In addition to being co-artistic director for Albury Chamber Music Festival, she is a member of the Kathaumixw Festival International Artistic Council in Canada and chair of The Australian chapter for the Belvedere International Singing Competition in Vienna.