Can you tell us about your role at OHP this year?

I am so excited to sing Rosina in The Barber of Seville as it’s a role that I have been friends with for years. Rosina is a clever, quick-witted, coquettish and daring young woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to take the risk to get it. She’s strong and always one step ahead and celebrates that in herself.

What aspects of your role and this production are you most looking forward to?

I’ve played Rosina many times before and what I’m most interested in this time is finding that new aspect of her, that new trait or idea that I’ve never noticed before. I’m excited to see how our director, Cecilia, sees her and how she looks at this production as a whole and what new aspects will be drawn on. 

We saw you last year as Mad Margaret in Ruddigore. How would you compare these two roles from very different operas?

For me the first thing that stands out would be the tessitura of the role (the pitch at which the music sits). Mad Margaret sits in the middle of my voice whereas Rosina likes to do way more than that and uses the full spectrum of my vocal range. Rossini also likes to use something called coloratura in his operas. This means that Rosina’s music has very fast notes together to enhance or ornament the original melody. Mad Margaret never had any music like this. 

Both characters are also extremely different; Mad Margaret is a confused and lonely character who loved someone for so many years it caused her to go mad, whereas Rosina in the same situation would have found a way to either be with that person or move on fast. They are two extremely different women but both, in their ways, get what they want in the end. 

Nineteenth-century operatic heroines are often written as passive, ill or weak-willed, but Rosina is resourceful, decisive and assertive. What do you enjoy about playing a role like this?

I think that Rosina is a wonderful example of a woman who sees the hand she has been dealt and has decided that she will not, under any circumstances, settle for it. She is never depressed about it, just determined. It’s such a joy to see a woman who has such spirit, knows her value and strives for only what she wants and deserves. It’s empowering to play because you become fearless with her as you play her. She has weaknesses of course but she never allows them to get the better of her, which I think is such an incredible thing to play and I wish I could take a  leaf out of her book a little more in life! 

Do you have a favourite OHP memory? 

What the team here have done and continue to do is just extraordinary! I love coming back here; I always smile and it’s a joyous few months with wonderful people. A few highlights; James Clutton (CEO and Director of Opera at Opera Holland Park) offered me my first ever main role after studying. I’d covered roles and been lucky enough to get the call that I was going on but Tisbe in OHP’s La Cenerentola in 2016 was my first main role. It was so special to me and what an incredible time we had. I made lifelong friends on that project! 

I loved performing in A Christmas Carol created by Will Todd and David Simpatico, not only because I got to work with amazing people, we also got to sing and play hand bells. It doesn’t get any more christmassy than that! 

Finally, popping out of a bin with a banana on my head for Mad Margaret last year after lying under the set for twenty minutes watching my colleagues be amazing was certainly hysterical and exciting too! Like I say, I could go on! 

Do you have a dream role that you are yet to perform?

That’s a tough question because I have many, many dream roles and they change depending on the day and how I feel. I’d love to sing Violetta from La traviata but as I am not a soprano this is never going to happen, so only my shower will get a front row seat to that debut. I’d love to sing Didon in Berlioz’s Les Troyens, Ruggiero in Alcina, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Kitty in Dr Atomic. The list is ENDLESS and sometimes doesn’t conform to my voice type either. I just love creating characters.

What is one piece of advice you’ve been given as an artist that has stuck with you?

I remember hearing Joyce DiDonato (American opera singer) saying in a masterclass once that as children we are full of imagination and infectious with the energy we create when imagining, but as we get older we get stripped of this. As artists we must re-infect ourselves with imagination so that we may create and reinvigorate that energy. I loved this idea because it doesn’t just speak about imagination to me, it speaks about life in general. We can let life get in the way a lot as adults and it’s a joy to be able to PLAY because life then becomes more authentic and exciting.

 

Find out more about The Barber of Seville.