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The lead of the upcoming production The Merry Widow talks about how she became a soprano at law school, how she can't please everyone and her favourite Puccini heroine.
British-Sri Lankan soprano Kishani Jayasinghe had already set her sights on the lawyer’s bar when she was pursuing her LLB and LLM at the University of Nottingham in the UK. But a chance encounter with vocal professor Pamela Cook in her university days changed the course of her career.
Now a seasoned soprano, Jayasinghe became the first Sri Lankan opera singer to perform at the Royal Opera House in London after she had completed her operatic training at the Royal Academy of Music. She performed for the 60th birthday of HRH Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, and was presented to Queen Elizabeth II as a Commonwealth Representative for the Arts at St. James’ Palace.
This October, Jayasinghe is in Singapore to perform as the lead in The Merry Widow, an upcoming production by the Singapore Lyric Opera and originally written by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehar.
1. How did your meeting with vocal professor Pamela Cook influence your decision to become a professional opera singer?
In many ways, my beloved Pam was the catalyst that finally steered me towards this journey. I had always loved singing, but never dreamt of being a performing artist, let alone a professional opera singer. Pam took me under her wing, trained me and gave me the confidence to follow my heart and so I became an opera singer.
2. Do you ever regret your decision? What would you have done differently?
How can I ever regret a decision to sing professionally??! Of course being an artist is challenging. On the one hand, being a professional opera singer is a subjective, extremely difficult, demanding and relentless line of work, where we strive tirelessly for a perfect performance every time.
On the other hand, the rewards are glorious and the satisfaction at the end of a great performance is unparalleled. I firmly believe the decision you make at the time you make it, is the right one, so definitely no regrets. I am so fortunate to be doing what I love. I always say that singing found me – destiny has a way of doing that.
3. What do you enjoy most about being an opera singer?
The thrill of making music and creating a live performance with incredibly talented colleagues and beautiful, lush music is an amazing feeling. That moment of walking on the stage with the theatre buzzing with anticipation and expectation is all very exciting.
Being able to move an audience, touch their souls and entertain them with your voice, which speaks through sublime music by the masters, is a really special feeling. And then there are all those amazing new places you see, fascinating people you meet and of course those stunning dresses, costumes and jewellry!
4. What are some of the biggest challenges you face in your profession? How do you get around them?
Every profession has its challenges and being a professional singer is no different. However it is a rather unusual profession. We usually go out to work when other people are coming home for the day and the appeal of our art form is extremely subjective. It's impossible to please everyone, but we work very hard to make sure every performance is a great performance, beautifully crafted, enjoyable and emotional.
The long periods of travel can be quite challenging, especially when you have a young family like ours. Our son Kiaan is 3 and our daughter Kitaara is 1 – and our family is spread out over 3 continents, so organising ourselves is a very complex process! However, Kaveenga (my husband) and I are so lucky and blessed to have an incredibly supportive family that all get involved in making sure our family is taken care of and everything runs smoothly. Therefore, so far, so good!
5. What's the most memorable role you've performed and why?
I usually grow to love all the roles I sing. However, if I had to pick one, out of all these beautiful and incredible heroines, then it would have to be Mimi in Puccini's La Bohéme. Puccini is one of my all time favourite composers – I truly feel Puccini's lyric heroines were written for me and for my voice. Mimi is one of my absolute favourite Puccini heroines. I've sung the role several times with Glyndebourne, in Verona and London etc. I love the role of Mimi a little bit more every time I sing it and I already love the role so very much!
The way you see who she is and what she is about, as her character unfolds during the course of the opera. The genius of the music and libretto illustrate this perfectly. She also gets the best characteristics of traditional grand opera: Mimi is beautiful, sensitive, kind, is a wonderful and complicated character, feels deeply, has great friendships, finds true love, explores the full range of human emotions during the course of 2 hours, has incredible and stunning music and even dies tragically at the end of the opera!
6. Do you have any unusual pre-performance rituals?
Just good old fashioned common sense ones... Sleep well the night before; rest your voice; drink plenty of water; stay away from chocolate!
7. How many times have you been to Singapore? What have you heard about the local arts scene?
I am lucky I have visited Singapore many times and have a couple of very, very close friends here. In fact my husband is currently working here, so in many ways it is a home away from home I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying the incredibly vibrant local arts scene as much as I would like.
However, I had the most delicious taster when I sang with the Singapore Lyric Opera for their Annual Opera Gala Concert at the beautiful Esplanade concert hall in August. It's whet my appetite for more and I'm sure I will love every minute of returning to Singapore to sing The Merry Widow.
Singapore Lyric Opera will perform "The Merry Widow" at The Esplanade Theatre from October 24-26, 2014. Find out more here.
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