Samoan soprano, Marlena Ott Devoe, has won the Joan Sutherland Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award in Australia.In doing so, she has overcome fierce competition to secure the top prize, giving her another step up the ladder as she continues her journey to the top.The award was established in the memory Sutherland and Bonynge's legacy to develop great opera singers for the future and ensure the sustainability of opera.Marlena, who is not a stranger to Samoa, discovered her passion for music at a very young age. In 1998, she was part of the Opera New Zealand Children's Chorus and was involved in their productions of La Boheme, Cavalleria Rusiticana, I Pagliacci and The Pied Piper.In 2004 to 2005, she was a member of the New Zealand Secondary Students Choir, which toured America and Canada.It wasn't until she completed her studies at Baradene in 2005, that she realised her true passion was opera.She graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian and German in 2009. Marlena was awarded a Lilburn Trust Performance Award in 2010 from the University of Auckland.The Joan Sutherland Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Foundation raises revenue by presenting fundraising concerts, dinners, master classes, through membership, private donation and corporate sponsorship.Having grown out of the Joan Sutherland Society of Sydney, which was established in 1978, the Foundation has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships and study grants to dozens of young singers.The Foundation’s aim is to financially assist, nurture and support the next generation of young opera singers and to perpetuate the Sutherland/Bonynge legacy of excellence in the field of opera.