Anna-lee robertson
home sweet home
the great Australian songbook
Home Sweet Home – The Great Australian Songbook is a heartfelt celebration of the singers and the music that have helped shape Australia’s cultural identity. There’s certainly plenty to celebrate!
Popular music theatre performer Anna-Lee Robertson (The Phantom of the Opera, Man of La Mancha, Mary Poppins) has woven together a heartwarming selection of material ranging from iconic Aussie pop songs, classic bush ballads right through to a smattering of the classical repertoire popularised by our homegrown divas - Dame Joan Sutherland & Dame Nellie Melba.
Whether it’s Olivia Newton John’s tender I Honestly Love, John Williamson’s heart-warming Home Among the Gumtrees, The Seekers’ nostalgic The Carnival is Over, Helen Reddy’s stirring I am Woman or Dame Joan Sutherland’s exquisite O Mio Babbino Caro - there’s something for everyone in the Great Australian Songbook!
And you certainly won’t want to miss Anna-Lee’s hilarious re-imagining of Slim Dusty’s Pub With No Beer as sung by Dame Nellie Melba!!
Arranged and Accompanied by Mark Jones
Songs include: The Carnival is Over, Tenterfield Saddler, Six Ribbons, Home Among the Gum Trees, I Am Woman, I Honestly Love You, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, Old Man Emu & I Still Call Australia Home.
what people are saying
“…a very fine singer who can also tell a great yarn, an ingenuous and engaging entertainer.”
- Herald Sun
“An Artist who has it all……..a class act. Her attack spot-on the note, complemented by an ability to give colour to a phrase without relying on the cliched final-note vibrato of her peers….” -The Age
“It was the perfect showcase for Robertson’s powerful musical talents….It also revealed the sparkling humour and wit of a young woman born for the stage.”
- The Standard
Anna-Lee Robertson hails from a long line of accomplished storytellers, with an enviable ability to illuminate both the ordinary and extraordinary moments of life through comic narrative, poignant reflection, and song. Growing up in the idyllic seaside village of Port Fairy, Victoria, her musical talent was recognised and nurtured from an early age. The town’s creative spirit — and the mentorship of Port Fairy Spring Music Festival founders Michael Easton and Len Vorster — provided fertile ground for Anna’s development as a young artist.
A regular fixture of the Festival’s annual program, her acclaimed one-woman shows Thank God I’m a Country Girl (with Mathew Frank) and Sing for Your Supper (with Len Vorster) were festival favourites. Other memorable performances include Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury (as Angelina), Paternity by Michael Easton, Noël Coward and His Contemporaries, singing with Josh Piterman and with The Delectably Divine Divas.
Anna undertook her operatic training at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, studying under Bettine McCaughan OAM, and completed a Bachelor of Music with a major in Vocal Performance. Her natural vocal talent, charm, and stage instincts quickly distinguished her in the competitive environment.
Her first professional break came in the Australian feature film The Wog Boy, playing the small but apt role of “Opera Singer.” This led to further stage roles including A Slice of Saturday Night, the national tour of Annie (alongside Anthony Warlow), The Wizard of Oz (understudying Pamela Rabe as the Wicked Witch of the West), and Man of La Mancha.
In 2004, Anna moved to London, joining the West End cast of The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. A tour of Scotland with Fingask Follies followed, and soon after, she was invited to the prestigious International Cabaret Conference at Yale University. Ever resourceful, she concluded her international chapter as Principal Soprano aboard the Queen Mary 2 — singing her way home to Australia.
Back on home soil, Anna continued to earn acclaim with performances in The Phantom of the Opera, The Light in the Piazza, and Mary Poppins — where she was honoured to appear as Miss Andrews in the opening of the Sydney season.
A passionate believer in the transformational power of music, Anna completed a Master of Music Therapy in 2012. Her thesis explored the articulation of connection in music therapy practice with non-verbal clients — a testament to her fascination with the transcendent, communicative power of sound.
Following a professional hiatus to raise her young family, Anna returned to the stage in 2022 with her original show After Birth. Premiering at the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival to critical acclaim, it has since toured regional Victoria and was featured in the 2024 Melbourne Recital Centre program. In After Birth, Anna weaves hilarious and heartfelt tales of early motherhood into a poignant and playful musical journey. With her signature vocal clarity and narrative wit, she explores the highs and heartbreaks of parenting, underscoring a profound love between mother and child — one that can only truly be captured in music.
In 2024, Anna joined longtime friend and fellow performer Gorgi Coghlan to create Songbirds — an uplifting musical celebration of friendship, storytelling, and shared experience. Alongside musical director Kym Dillon, the trio launched Songbirds in Concert to a sold-out audience at The Potato Shed. The show continues its regional tour in 2025, with performances at Birds Basement Melbourne, Geelong Arts Centre, and Ararat Town Hall.
Anna lives in Geelong with her family and continues to perform, write, and teach. She is a specialist music tutor and vocal director at Geelong Grammar School and sits on the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival Board. Through every chapter of her diverse career, Anna remains committed to using music as a powerful tool for connection, community, and transformation.
