About

Researcher

Dr Caitlin Vincent is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Industries and an ARC DECRA Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Key areas of interest include cultural labour; diversity, equity, and inclusion; opera; and digital performance. Dr Vincent has an extensive record of publication across traditional and non-traditional research outputs and has gained international recognition for her particular expertise in operatic labour markets.

Dr Vincent’s PhD research, completed in 2019, was funded by an ARC Linkage Project (LP140100742) and constitutes the first scholarly examination of the impacts of digital technology on creative collaboration and company management for opera production. Her resulting monograph, Digital Scenography in Opera in the Twenty-First Century was published in 2021 by Routledge's Ashgate Interdisciplinary Studies in Opera series.

Dr Vincent's subsequent research into gender inequality in opera has positioned her at the top of the field, as one of few scholars to examine opera as a site of employment rather than solely an artform. Her research on this topic was cited at length in an Issues Paper produced by the Australia Council for the Arts (now Creative Australia) as part of their 2019 Gender Equity and Diversity in Opera Summit and has received extensive media coverage by high-profile platforms including SBS World News, ABC Radio National, and The New York Times.

In 2025, Dr Vincent was awarded a prestigious Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) from the Australia Research Council for a three-year project investigating career pathways for conductors and directors working in opera.

Dr Vincent holds degrees from Harvard University (BA), Johns Hopkins University (MM), and Deakin University (PhD). Prior to entering academia, she was a professional opera singer for more than a decade in the United States, during which time she founded and served as artistic director of an opera company in Baltimore, Maryland from 2009 to 2014.

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Researcher: About

Publications

VINCENT, CAITLIN, Karen Douglas, Peter Fairbrother, and Todd Denham. 2019. Innovative practices: review of Victoria’s LLENs activities and their outcomes. Work Package Report for Regional Australia Institute. Centre for People, Organisation, and Work, RMIT University, 1–60.

Glow, Hilary, Katya Johanson, Bronwyn Coate, and CAITLIN VINCENT. 2019. The impact of Australia’s participation in the Venice Biennale. Canberra: The Australia Council for the Arts, 1–36.

Fairbrother, Peter, Alicia Boyle, Ruth Barton, Todd Denham, Nigel Douglas, Karen Douglas, Phillip Toner, CAITLIN VINCENT, Lauren Rickards, and Bruce Wilson. 2019. Future Jobs and Regional Workforce Development Report. Regional Australia Institute. Centre for People, Organisation, and Work, RMIT University, 1–40.

Coles, Amanda, Kate MacNeill, Jordan Beth Vincent, CAITLIN VINCENT, and Philippe Barré. 2018. The status of women in the arts and cultural industries: Research review 2010-2018. Ontario: Ontario Arts Council, 1–81.

Coles, Amanda, Hilary Glow, Katya Johanson, Jordan Beth Vincent, Tim Boots, Jane Howard, Clare Reddan, and CAITLIN VINCENT. 2017. Public diplomacy evaluation 2014-16. Canberra: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 1–68.

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2018. “Opera’s digital revolution may be the key to increasing the art form’s appeal.” The Conversation, July 30. https://theconversation.com/operas-digital-revolution-may-be-the-key-to-increasing-the-artforms-appeal-100459

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2019. “Opera is stuck in a racist, sexist past, while many in the audience have moved on.” The Conversation, July 9. https://theconversation.com/opera-is-stuck-in-a-racist-sexist-past-while-many-in-the- audience-have-moved-on-120073

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2021. “Giving it away for free – why the performing arts risks making the

same mistake newspapers did.” The Conversation – 2020: The Year That Changed Us. Port

Melbourne: Thames & Hudson. https://theconversation.com/giving-it-away-for-free-why-

the-performing-arts-risks-making-the-same-mistake-newspapers-did-139671

VINCENT, CAITLIN and Katya Johanson. 2021. “Forget the medals, the real game of the

Olympics is soft power – and the opening ceremony is key.” The Conversation, July 23.

https://theconversation.com/forget-the-medals-the-real-game-of-the-olympics-is-soft

-power-and-the-opening-ceremony-is-key-164791

VINCENT, CAITLIN, Amanda Coles, and Jordan Beth Vincent. 2021. “New study revealing

stark gender inequality at UK’s The Royal Opera has lessons for the industry worldwide.” The

Conversation, August 24. https://theconversation.com/new-study-revealing-stark-gender

-inequality-at-uks-the-royal-opera-has-lessons-for-the-industry-worldwide-166491

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2021. “Trends and challenges of digital scenography in opera.”

Scenography Today, November 11. https://www.scenographytoday.com/trends-and

challenges-of-digital-scenography-in-opera-new-research-paves-the-way-for-future

-innovation/

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2022. “Diva or ‘Canon’ Fodder? Women rarely survive in opera – but it’s

not an easy fix.” Limelight Magazine, March/April 2022.

https://limelightmagazine.com.au/features/diva-or-canon-fodder/

Goodwin, Kim, and VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2022. “Tony Burke’s double ministry of arts and

Industrial relations could be just what the arts sector needs.” The Conversation, May 26.

https://theconversation.com/tony-burkes-double-ministry-of-arts-and-industrial-relations-

could-be-just-what-the-arts-sector-needs-183623

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2022. “Fidelio and its Tradition of Tinkering.” Limelight Magazine,

October 2022. https://limelightmagazine.com.au/features/fidelio/

Goodwin, Kim, and CAITLIN VINCENT. 2023. “Pay, safety and welfare: how the new Centre

for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces can strengthen the arts sector.” The Conversation,

January 31.

https://theconversation.com/pay-safety-and-welfare-how-the-new-centre-for-arts-and-

entertainment-workplaces-can-strengthen-the-arts-sector-198859

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2023. “Giving voice to exiled women: an interview with composer Andrée

Greenwell.” Limelight Magazine, May 2023.

https://limelightmagazine.com.au/features/giving-voice-to-exiled-women/

VINCENT, CAITLIN, Bronwyn Coate, and Katya Johanson. 2023. “95% male conductors, 70%

ageing classics and zero appetite for risk: what’s wrong with elite Australian opera.” The

Conversation, August 17. https://theconversation.com/95-male-conductors-70-ageing

-classics-and-zero-appetite-for-risk-whats-wrong-with-elite-australian-opera-211270

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2023. “Balancing Act: Tackling Australian opera’s gender inequality.”

Limelight Magazine, November 2023. https://limelight-arts.com.au/features/balancing-act/

http://www.arts.on.ca/oac/media/oac/Publications/Research%20Reports%20EN-FR/Arts%20Funding%20and%20Support/OAC-Women-the-Arts-Report_Final_EN_Oct5.pdf

Glow, Hilary, Katya Johanson, Bronwyn Coate, and CAITLIN VINCENT. 2019. The impact of Australia’s participation in the Venice Biennale. Canberra: The Australia Council for the Arts, 1–36.

Vincent, Jordan, CAITLIN VINCENT, Scott deLahunta, John McCormick, and Kim Vincs. 2018.

“Artwork spawning artwork: trans-disciplinary approaches to artistic spin-offs and evolution

in the digital context.” Digital Echoes: Spaces for Intangible and Performance-based Cultural

Heritage, edited by Sarah Whatley, 283–299. London: Routledge.

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2023. “Staging a Loose Canon: Scripture, Tradition, and Embedded

Exclusion in Opera Production.” Voices for Change in the Classical Music Profession: New

Ideas for Tackling Inequalities and Exclusions, edited by Christina Scharff, Anna Bull, and

Laudan Nooshin, 101–110. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2024. “Remixes and radical revivals: Baroque opera production and the

ppera wars.” Early Music in the 21stCentury, edited by Mimi Mitchell. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Vincent, Jordan Beth, CAITLIN VINCENT, Kim Vincs, and John McCormick. 2016. “Navigating

control and illusion: Interactivity versus ‘faux-interactivity’ in trans-media dance

performance.” International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media 12(1): 44–60.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14794713.2016.1161955

VINCENT, CAITLIN, Jordan Beth Vincent, Kim Vincs, and Katya Johanson. 2017. “The Intersection of Live and Digital: New Technical Classifications for Digital Scenography in Opera.” Theatre and Performance Design 3(3): 155–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322551.2017.1400764

VINCENT, CAITLIN, and Jordan Beth Vincent. 2018. “Notation by Context: Digital Scenography as Artefact of Authorial Intent.” Leonardo Music Journal 28: 72–76. https://doi.org/10.1162/lmj_a_01044

Johanson, Katya, Hilary Glow, Amanda Coles, and CAITLIN VINCENT. 2019. “Controversy, uncertainty and the diverse public in cultural diplomacy: Australia-China relations.” Australian Journal of International Affairs 73(4): 397–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2019.1632259

VINCENT, CAITLIN, Jordan Beth Vincent, and Amanda Coles. 2020. “Identifying Trends, Assessing Response: Gender Representation at the Royal Opera.” Proceedings of Gender and Sexuality at Work Conference 2020, 59–64.

VINCENT, CAITLIN, Katya Johanson, Hilary Glow, and Bronwyn Coate. 2021. “Who did you meet at the Venice

Johanson, Katya, Bronwyn Coate, CAITLIN VINCENT, and Hilary Glow. 2021. “Is there a ‘Venice Effect’? Participation in the Venice Biennale and its implications for artists’ careers.” Poetics, 1–14.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2021.101619

VINCENT, CAITLIN, Amanda Coles, and Jordan Beth Vincent. 2021. “Opera-ting on Inequality: Gender Representation in Creative Roles at The Royal Opera.” Cultural Trends: 205–221.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2021.1966295

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2022. “The Impacts of Digital Initiatives on Musicians during COVID-19: Examining the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall.” Cultural Trends: 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2022.2081488

VINCENT, CAITLIN, Katya Johanson, and Bronwyn Coate. 2023. “Risky Business: Policy Legacy and Gender Inequality in Australian Opera Production.” International Journal of Cultural Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2023.2239266

VINCENT, CAITLIN and Amanda Coles. 2023. “Unequal Opera-tunities: Gender Inequality and Non-Standard Work in US Opera Production.” Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-03-2023-0071

Goodwin, Kim, and CAITLIN VINCENT. 2024. “Arts employability and extracurricular communities of practice: a case study of the University of Melbourne’s Creative Community Connections.” Arts and Humanities in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/14740222241260951

Balkin, Sarah, Alexandra Dane, Beth Driscoll, Radha O’Meara, and CAITLIN VINCENT. 2025. “Authorship across media: considering Wednesday Addams.” Continuum 39(4), 632-645. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2025.2518968

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2021. Digital Scenography in Opera in the Twenty-First Century. London: Routledge.

VINCENT, CAITLIN. 2026. OPERA WARS: Inside the World of Opera and the Battles for its Future. New York: Scribner.