Growing up, Jake Lyle (B Music ‘24; B Music Hons ‘25) and his little brother Lachlan loved watching professional wrestling on TV. Lachlan was there for the fights. But Jake was there for the theatrics: the crazy costumes, pumping music, high-octane entrances.
Even then, he knew he wanted to be a performer. So when a friend suggested he audition for a local production of Shrek: The Musical, Jake went along for a laugh. He got the role of Papa Ogre, Shrek’s dad. “And I realised that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he recalls.
Jake auditioned for every musical theatre school he could find – but didn’t get offered a single place. When he stepped onto the stage for his audition for Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, it felt intimidating. But he knew he had to prove his worth.
So when he sang his audition piece – the Toreador Song from Carmen in French, which he had taught himself – Jake gave it his all. And listening in the audience, Associate Professor Margaret Schindler (GCert Higher Education ‘99; Doctor Musical Arts ‘16) knew she had found a star.
“I remember being full of admiration for him,” she says. “It was clear that he had enormous potential. When I gave him a singing lesson there and then, he took on board all those fundamental elements and was able to make changes almost immediately.”
Jake remembers that moment, too. “I didn’t know my voice could be that loud. In that lesson, I just knew I had to be there. That’s where my voice belonged. Everything happens for a reason!”
A safe space
Studying for his Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Classical Voice at the Conservatorium, Jake found himself surrounded by people who made him feel at home. He and his best friend would sit in on rehearsals, watching older students with awe. “They were celebrities to us,” he says.
Jake worked intensively with Margaret in weekly one-on-one lessons, alongside performance classes, language and music coaching, and movement training. For him, those lessons were about far more than vocal technique. “The voice is you. You carry it with you everywhere. You’ve really got to trust the person who you’re trusting with your voice. It’s a unique relationship.”
It’s a powerful interpersonal bond, agrees Margaret. She says a singing teacher is not a friend or a parent, but the role can contain elements of both. “You’re basically a facilitator. They have their talent. You’re there to offer them a skill base that will enable them to fly.”
One of their biggest tests together came in Jake’s honours year, when he performed in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. “It was completely new to me. I’d never sung that kind of repertoire before,” he remembers.
“It taught me so much about the intensive rehearsal process. You have to display professionalism, know your stuff, be prepared.” Jake didn’t know it then – but he’d be calling on those skills a lot sooner than he ever imagined.
Harbour lights
Jake was in the final days of his studies when he heard that Handa Opera was holding auditions for its production of The Phantom of the Opera at – where else? – the Sydney Opera House. “I just knew I had to audition so I went for a chorus role. I just wanted to be in it,” says Jake. To his astonishment, the 22-year-old was offered the title role of the Phantom – something that’s “unheard of”, according to Margaret.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had some concerns when he told me!” she admits. “Jake hadn’t worked professionally before. To step into the title role of a major work with Opera Australia, our national opera company, in what is Sydney’s biggest performance spectacle each year, in front of 90,000 people across the entire whole run of performances – that’s huge. Not just vocally but emotionally and physically.”
But on that vast stage, all Margaret’s training came to the fore for Jake. “It’s all about the breath,” he says. “Relaxing everything else so the voice can flow. I got so many compliments on the movement side because of how I’d been trained.”
Of course, Margaret was in the audience on the opening night, nervous but proud, almost breathing every phrase with him as he made his way through the repertoire. Near the end, as Jake sang high on the set, his voice rang out across Sydney Harbour.
“It was this big, rich, free, fabulous sound,” Margaret says. “It sailed out over the whole harbour. I remember thinking: that’s real singing. I’m so proud and so impressed with the way Jake has handled it all, because it’s been the biggest, steepest learning curve you can imagine.”
Jake got rave reviews – and is now preparing for the next big leap, joining Opera Australia’s Young Artist Program. Margaret’s greatest lessons still travel with him: “To be unapologetically yourself. Margaret knows straight away if I’m imitating or over-darkening my sound.
“And to be a good colleague. To have respect for the work, the material, your colleagues and the people leading it. Showing up and doing the work in an authentic way in every facet of your life.”
Image captions (top to bottom):
- Jake in front of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Image credit Opera Australia.
- Jake practising for the musical Phantom of The Opera. Image credit Opera Australia.
- Associate Professor Margaret Schindler.
Published 25 June 2026
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