Name: Mama Alto - Transcendent
Start: 2026-01-30T09:00:00+11:00
End: 2026-01-30T10:15:00+11:00
Location: Melbourne Recital Centre

Velvet-voiced songstress Mama Alto is the consummate jazz cabaret diva.
One of Australia's finest cabaret artistes and jazz singers, Mama Alto, makes a stunning return to Melbourne Recital Centre and Midsumma Festival following a string of sold-out shows at the prestigious Public Theater in New York, Perth International Cabaret Festival, and the Winter Cabaret season at the Hayes Theatre.
A gender-transcendent diva, Mama Alto is a queer person of colour, living with disability, who works with the radical potential of storytelling. Her liquid velvet voice comes to the fore in beguiling interpretations that turn already rich material inside out. Traversing smoky torch songs, sumptuous jazz ballads and luscious vocals, Mama's repertoire holds both familiar melodies and unexpected morsels.
With her soaring voice, exquisite sense of musicality and wondrously statuesque stage presence, Mama Alto continues to establish herself as one of Australia's pre-eminent interpreters of the art of torch singing. Enigmatic, multifaceted and resplendent, her weaving of song and story, triumph and tragedy, poignancy and pathos make for an unforgettable musical experience.
Please note, this concert contains occasional coarse language, sexual references and adult themes.
Praise for Mama Alto
'Mama Alto has a serene presence. But her voice has sizzle and zing…For her, time stretches, and curls up by her feet, purring.' - Parterre New York
'She makes these standards her own with her unique "gender transcendent" vocals, her warm wit and storytelling, and her mesmerising presence. Each tune was a musical painting and a masterclass in interpretation.' - Perth Arts Live
'A sonic journey that lived up to the show's name of Transcendent - we were immediately in another realm… Simply a sensational moment in time.' - Out in Perth