Born in
Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, Humble grew up in
Adelaide, Australia and attended
Seymour College. Humble has a Bachelor of Music (Performance) from the
Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide, a Master of Music from the
Australian Catholic University, and diplomas in Education and Music from the
University of Melbourne. In 1995 she was a Young Artist with the
Victoria State Opera. After moving to Paris, Humble worked with
Les Musiciens du Louvre, under the direction of conductor
Marc Minkowski. She performed regularly at the
Théâtre du Châtelet and participated in multiple recordings including Offenbach's operetta
La belle Hélène, staged by French director
Laurent Pelly. Her discography also includes
Anne Sofie von Otter sings Offenbach (
Deutsche Grammophon) and Handel's
Hercules (
Archiv Produktion). Humble made her British debut in 2001 for
Scottish Opera in
Scottish Opera Go Round, the touring branch of the company. In 2002 she took up the position of principal mezzo-soprano with
Opera Australia singing early career roles such as Third Lady in
The Magic Flute, Rosette in
Manon, Clarissa in
The Love for Three Oranges, Sonyetka in
Lady Macbeth of Mtensk and the title roles in Gilbert and Sullivan's
Iolanthe and Purcell's
Dido and Aeneas. In 2005 she was appointed principal artist at the
Hamburg State Opera where her many roles included Suzuki in
Madama Butterfly, Zenobia in
Radamisto, Bradamante in
Alcina, Marcellina in
The Marriage of Figaro, Malik in ''
L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, Madelon in Andrea Chénier and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel''. She came to international attention singing Erda and Waltraute in Wagner's
Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by
Simone Young and directed by
Claus Guth between 2008 and 2010. Since 2011 Humble has been a freelance artist, becoming known in particular for singing the German operatic repertoire. Her interpretation of the works of Richard Wagner has been internationally recognised. Dramatic roles include Fricka in
Das Rheingold and
Die Walküre, Klytamnestra in
Elektra, Amneris in
Aida, Ulrica in
Un ballo in maschera, Branngäne in
Tristan und Isolde, Lucretia in
The Rape of Lucretia, Mescalina in
Le Grand Macabre, Judith in ''
Bluebeard's Castle, Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress, the title role in Carmen and Dalilah in Samson et Dalilah''. Humble has sung most of the major mezzo concert repertoire including the Waldtaube in Schoenberg's
Gurre-Lieder,
Verdi's Requiem, Handel's
Messiah, Mahler Symphonies
No. 2,
No. 3, and
No. 8, Elgar's
Sea Pictures, Wagner's
Wesendonck Lieder,
Dvorák's Requiem, Elgar's
The Music Makers,
The Dream of Gerontius with conductors such as
Simone Young,
Asher Fisch,
Richard Hickox,
Andris Nelsons,
Pietari Inkinen,
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Claudio Abbado,
Jaap van Zweden,
Edo de Waart,
Gianluigi Gelmetti and
Peter Schneider. In 2022, Humble performed the mezzo solo in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection), with the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simone Young. These concerts, marking the reopening of the
Sydney Opera House after extensive renovations, were one of the most celebrated occasions in the building's history. Humble has been an ambassador for
Worldwide Cancer Research in the UK and for the City of
Sydney Eisteddfod. She is a member of the Music Board of the
Tait Memorial Trust in London and Mentor for the
Melba Opera Trust in Melbourne. She is currently patron of the Wagner Society of South Australia, Operantics, the Newcastle Music Festival, and the Sydney Opera and Song Collective. ==Repertoire==