“The virtuosity demanded by bel canto singing is the epitome of this experience.”

Pratt, who has been hailed as the next Joan Sutherland, is famous for her performances in the title role of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.

The opera’s famous ‘Mad Scene’ is a reliable show-stopper and Pratt has performed it at both Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

“I have around 40 roles [in my repertoire], but most of them I have only sung once. Lucia is the most famous and I’ve always sung it twice, sometimes three or four times a year,” Pratt said.

Pratt arrived from Italy last week to perform in Opera Queensland’s production at QPAC on Saturday, with one more performance on Saturday, April 27.

She will also star in Jessica Pratt in Concert on Wednesday, singing highlights from the bel canto canon by Vincenzo Bellini, including the final sleepwalking scene from La sonnambula.

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Born in Bristol, Pratt grew up in Toowoomba and Brisbane with artistic parents. Coincidentally, her conductor for Brisbane Bel Canto, Richard Mills, also hails from Toowoomba.

“My dad [music educator Philip Pratt] sang with Opera Queensland in the chorus when I was in Toowong High. In fact, the first Lucia I saw was in QPAC, with my dad in the chorus,” Pratt recalled.

“I grew up with opera being a normal part of our lives. I think if I’d become a surgeon my dad would be disappointed.”

Pratt said she enjoys hometown performances where she can catch up with her family and friends, although her father’s paternal pride can raise the expectations of some audience members.

“It’s more stressful singing for my dad’s friends than it is singing in Milan or New York,” she said.

Jessica Pratt in Concert is at the Concert Hall, QPAC, Wednesday, April 24, 7pm. Lucia di Lammermoor is at the Concert Hall on Saturday, April 27, 2pm. The Rossini opera Stabat Mater is at the Conservatorium Theatre on Friday, April 26 at 7.30pm and the Brisbane Bel Canto Lunch Lunch is at Events on Oxlade, New Farm on Friday, April 26, 12pm.