Opera singer Katrina Sheppeard will soon embark on a three-month overseas tour, singing for opera houses in the hope of acquiring work.
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Ms Sheppard, whose family live in Dubbo, said while she would like to see her family more often the majority of work for opera singers was in Germany where there were more than 90 opera houses.
To date, the singer has raised $6700 through crowd funding website GoFundMe to pay for the trip.
"To have any hope of getting roles across Europe you have to get out there and travel to all the major houses and sing for them. But this can be hugely expensive and very few aspiring singers have the funding to spend up to $10,000 on a three-month tour that may not actually bring any work," Ms Sheppeard said.
She said it was very humbling for her to share her story, but she has had some very generous donations.
"There is not a lot of help for artists these days and you really have to be creative to survive, let alone fund any sort of project. This is a very personal project but the support of friends, colleagues and people I don't even know from all over the world has been overwhelming.
"It's never easy in this business. I have worked in department stores, bars, offices, basically anywhere I can that will provide basic income and allow me to get time off to get to auditions or rehearsals."
Ms Sheppard begins her tour of Germany in mid-September.