Six-Time Tony Winner Audra McDonald to Make Sydney Debut

Grammy, Emmy and Tony award-winning singer and actress Audra McDonald will make her long- awaited Sydney debut on the Concert Hall stage of the Sydney Opera House this November with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Described by The New York Times as "a defining voice of our time" and named as one of TIME Magazine's '100 Most Influential People' in 2015, Audra will perform a selection of Broadway classics with the SSO including Maybe This Time, Moon River and Summertime.

Audra was classically trained at the prestigious Juilliard School and is blessed with a luminous soprano and an incomparable gift for dramatic story-telling. She is the recipient of a record-breaking six Tony awards, most recently for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill.

Audiences may also know her from her role as Dr Naomi Bennett on American television series Private Practice.

Audra made her opera debut in 2006 at Houston Grand Opera and has won two Grammy Awards for her opera recordings. She has sung with virtually every major American orchestra including the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic and regularly performs in the world's greatest concert halls with orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic.

Audra also manages a highly successful television and film career, having been awarded an Emmy for her role as host of the PBS series Live From Lincoln Centre. She recently appeared alongside Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in Ricki and the Flash and plays the role of Garderobe in Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast, directed by Bill Condon and starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens.

In addition to her professional obligations, Audra is an ardent proponent of marriage equality, animal rights and support for the homeless. She sits on the advisory board of the advocacy organisation Broadway Impact and was awarded the PFLAG National's 'Straight for Equality' Award with her husband, actor Will Swenson. A dog lover, she has two canine companions, Butler and Georgia, adopted from Eleventh Hour Rescue, a volunteer-based, non-profit organization that saves dogs from death row. In 2014, she joined the Covenant House International Board of Directors, which oversees programs for homeless youth in 27 cities in six countries across the United States, Canada, and Latin America.

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