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Front of House Young Artist of the Month

KATHERINE MCINDOE Soprano

How did you discover opera as a career path? I fell into opera when I did my Bachelor of Music at the New Zealand School of Music. I had grown up singing in choirs, and always knew that I loved to sing, but as I got older I realised that opera was so much more than its musical form. I was then an Emerging Artist with New Zealand Opera, and by the time I moved to London to go to the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, I was firmly in love with opera as an art form.

What’s the hardest part of life as a singer? The constant audition cycles can get frustrating, as well as the fact that luck seems to play almost as much of a role as hard work. I’ve found that you can’t take rejections to heart: there are so many singers auditioning, and you just have to happen to fit in with the specific thing they’re looking for on that day. So much of my work in the last couple of years has come up at the last minute, covering and filling in for contracts, so it’s just the balancing act of keeping on going through the tough patches, and being ready to jump in.

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Is there an opera that speaks to you most deeply? I always come back to The Turn of the Screw, as I think Britten has such a unique ability to marry text and music in the service of the story. I find it impossible not to be drawn into the psychological turmoil of that opera, it always leaves me with more questions… I’ve also had some amazing experiences in recent years performing solo soprano operas – Poulenc’s La Voix humaine, and Judith Weir’s King Harald’s Saga both stand out to me as incredible challenges, to delve deep into the characters and connect with an audience alone on a stage.

What is your biggest hope for the future of the artform? I want to be part of an artform that celebrates its great works and its history while also looking forward, amplifying new voices and stories. I am proud to work in the arts, and I hope that opera continues to be valued for what it is: a beautiful way for humans to connect and tell stories through music. ON

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.

Find out more: martinrandall.com +44 (0)20 8742 3355

ATOL 3622 | ABTOT 5468 | AITO 5085

6 Spring 2024 OperaNow

www.operanow.co.uk