Front of House Young Artist of the Month
MELISSA GREGORY Mezzo soprano
How did you discover opera as a career path? As a teenager, musical theatre was my obsession. I loved all the classics and was a Stephen Sondheim fanatic. I desperately wanted to be Elphaba in Wicked! It wasn’t until I decided to study a Bachelor of Music and major in Classical Voice at the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane, Australia that I realised the potential of my voice and ultimately fell in love with opera. The turning point was when I travelled to London when I was 19 and saw Massenet’s Cendrillon with Joyce DiDonato in the title role and Alice Coote as Prince Charmant – two mezzo-soprano powerhouses!
Is there an opera that speaks to you most deeply? Is it cheeky to say two? Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos is a masterpiece. The layers of complexity within his music and the dramaturgy, it’s something I can’t describe!
Dialogues des Carmélites by Francis Poulenc resonates in a different way. I was recently very fortunate to be a part of this opera at the Glyndebourne Summer Festival. It is an opera that moves me deeply. Poulenc was a musical genius and his ability
to put the values of faith, fate and human endurance all into a dramatic canvas, is captivating.
A N D Y
S T A P L E S
What is your biggest hope for the future of the artform? Opera is a highly dramatic, multi-faceted art-form. As an artist, it’s an art-form that requires not only a voice of the highest calibre but encompasses the ability to act, movement and stagecraft, characterisation and language skills. My biggest hope is that opera continues to hold innovative ideas from directors, conductors, designers and artists, with a healthy balance of pushing the boundaries but also respecting its traditions and roots. Working with artists and designers like David Hockney can transform the way an opera can be viewed and presented. However, I strongly believe opera is something that should be enjoyed, celebrated and accessible to all, not just a select few. It is an art form that needs to continue to be well-funded, for what is life without the arts?
CELEBRATING MUSIC AND PLACE
18–24 OCTOBER 2024
The south-east corner of Sicily is blessed with many delights, among them a number of gorgeous 18thand 19th-century theatres. This festival presents five performances in a selection of these atmospheric buildings, all of which are located amid breathtakingly beautiful Baroque towns and cities. Stay throughout in historic Ortygia, one of the loveliest coastal towns in Italy.
Photo ©Ben Ealovega
Find out more: martinrandall.com +44 (0)20 8742 3355
ATOL 3622 | ABTOT 5468 | AITO 5085
6 January 2024 OperaNow
www.operanow.co.uk
