What happens when Mrs Claus finally gets to tell her side of the Christmas story? Mezzo-soprano Katrina Waters, a finalist for the 2027 Australian Women in Music Awards’ Opera Impact Award and a passionate champion of women writing for voice, joins pianist Claire Howard to present the Sydney premiere of The Woman Behind the Sleigh. Created by Dr Caitlin Vincent - author of Opera Wars - and composer Jodie Goble, this sharply contemporary song cycle turns the familiar mythology of Christmas on its head, giving voice to the woman whose invisible labour keeps the festive season running. At once humorous and poignant, it explores the expectations placed on women to orchestrate the magic of Christmas while remaining largely unseen themselves. Waters joins an international wave of performers bringing Mrs Claus's story to audiences around the world.

Balancing this contemporary Christmas reckoning with a distinctly Australian sense of nostalgia, Waters and Howard evoke the sights and sounds of Christmas in the Australian bush through William James's and John Wheeler’s beloved carols and Deborah Cheetham Fraillon's The Christmas Card. Together, these works offer a festive journey from the warmth of Christmas tradition to a mischievous reimagining of the woman who makes it all happen.

About Katrina Waters
Australian mezzo-soprano Dr Katrina Waters made her professional Sydney debut in 2026 as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold at City Recital Hall, following more than a decade performing internationally. Her performance was praised by Classikon, which described the ‘resplendent entry of the Rhinemaidens’, whose voices ‘shone’ and ‘rang out like a brass choir’. A finalist for the 2027 Australian Women in Music Awards’ Opera Impact Award, she is the creator of Songs for Loud Women, a feminist song cycle celebrating women whose voices challenge convention, and an advocate for contemporary Australian composers and gender equity in the performing arts. Her PhD in Creative Practice at the Australian National University investigated the mid-career transitions of women with large dramatic operatic voices. An ABC Top 5 Arts Award winner in 2023, Waters has published and presented her original research on the impacts of hormonal change on the professional dramatic soprano at Cambridge University and delivered the 2025 Tessitura Innovator Series keynote. A graduate of London’s Royal College of Music and an alumna of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme and English National Opera’s artist development programme, her recent work spans Wagner and Strauss repertoire and appearances with Opera Australia. She also shares her passion for classical music and its stories as a presenter on 2MBS Fine Music Sydney.

About Claire Howard
Pianist Claire Howard is an accomplished collaborative artist whose playing has been praised as ‘an exceptional display’ (Limelight), ‘truly superb playing’ (Deborah Humble) and ‘beautiful music making’ (Simon Keenlyside). She has performed in recital with internationally recognised singers including Roderick Williams, Deborah Humble and Mariana Hong (Hye Seoung Kwon), and has recorded music by Australian composer Paul Smith for ABC Classic. Howard trained in piano accompaniment at the Canberra School of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where she received the Broadwood Junior Piano Accompanist Fellowship. She holds a Master of Music in Performance and Research with Distinction from London’s Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Malcolm Martineau and Iain Ledingham. She was awarded First Class Honours and the University Medal in piano performance at the University of Newcastle.