Opera Dialogues

As a young girl, Robyn constantly played both Mariah Carey and Maria Callas on tape and CD, so her mum signed her up for a local children's choir where she first discovered a love for singing opera, starting with the Queen of the Night aged just fifteen. Going on to study music both academically at Oxford and training vocally at the Royal College of Music, on graduating she faced a devastating series of rejections, and had to completely relearn her approach to singing. Struggling emotionally while she made extremely high-profile debuts, she had to find a way to survive, and navigate her path through the opera world. Robyn talks candidly about her journey - from changing voice type and moving to Germany, and through her philosophy for staying sane and surviving the industry.

Find out more about Robyn and her work on her website here

Book to see her in Medea at the Theater für Niedersachsen here and keep an eye out in 2022 for her debut solo album, featuring songs from the Viennese Secession with pianist Simon Lepper.

Nicky began his musical journey in Dumfries in Scotland, staying late after school singing Elaine Paige at pitch and tinkling on the piano until the cleaners threw him out. With ideas of becoming the Michael Ball of Dumfries, a singing teacher recognised his talent and pointed him towards Guildhall in London, so he jumped on the Megabus and auditioned at the tender age of sixteen. A self-confessed 'rough diamond' when he first arrived, Nicky began his training at Guildhall, and soon won a record deal with Decca Records, and found himself marketed as 'The Scottish Tenor', touring the country with Katherine Jenkins, singing with Shirley Bassey and chatting on TV with Lorraine Kelly among other extraordinary and surreal experiences. However, he recognised that it wasn't quite the path he wanted for himself, and he returned to his training, going on to the National Opera Studio and to become an inaugural Harwood Young Artist at English National Opera. Nicky is now at the heart and soul of the international opera scene, singing all over the world on the most prestigious stages, even right now he is simultaneously working at the Royal Opera House & English National Opera in London.

Alongside his thriving international career, he's also an ambassador for Help Musicians UK, who helped support him on his operatic journey when he didn't have a bean.

Find out more about Nicky on his website here and through his agent here

Find out about Help Musicians UK here

Dane Lam grew up in sunny Brisbane, and recalls his grandmother playing piano at family gatherings, and started learning himself from a young age. With the support of his state high school, he was able to step onto the podium and try out conducting, and it suited him down to the ground. Going on to become part of a programme creating a new generation of Australian conductors, and from the age of just 17 he was gaining experience and mentorship that would stand him in good stead in the future. From the University of Queensland, to Juilliard School and the RNCM in the UK, Dane chats openly about different training approaches, imposter syndrome, the significance of the ego and how the role of the conductor shifts in different continents. Join us for a refreshingly honest insight into the journey of the internationally acclaimed conductor Dane Lam.

Read more about Dane Lam on his website here

Follow him on Instagram here & on Twitter

Jason and Kaitlyn began their journeys in different ways, from a family that was open to following an artistic path, to another that was more resistant to it. However, via routes from lighting design to training as an architect, their paths collided in the world of projection design, and they eventually founded PXT Studio, building bespoke designs and making the seemingly impossible possible. When Jason first met the opera director Yuval Sharon, it was the start a unique relationship that would draw Jason and Kaitlyn into the world of opera, where they have been delighting and astonishing audiences ever since.  They have created work from The Industry in LA, to the Vienna State Opera, to Oper Frankfurt, Carnegie Hall, and on Broadway among many other venues. Collectively they have won two Los Angeles Ovation Awards, three LADCC awards, as well as having their work showcased at the Prague Quadrennial on three separate occasions... And at the end of the day, the parents were definitely won round.

Find out more about Jason & Kaitlyn & their work at PXT Studio here

Read about the opera director Yuval Sharon here

Read about The Industry here

Scroll down to the hurricane scene we talk about & watch it here

Claire began her musical journey at the age of three playing and singing the Angel Gabriel, and she was immediately hooked. Taking up different instruments at her state school soon after, she was set to study music when repetitive strain injury thwarted her plans, and she began to focus on her voice. Going on to train at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Academy Opera and Guildhall, Claire's career soon took off, and she went on to win a whole series of competitions, including her spectacular recent win of the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at Cardiff Singer of the World. She is also a Harewood Artist at English National Opera where she has some exciting role debuts coming up, and has performed at houses such as Glyndebourne, Grange Festival and Oper Frankfurt. Claire gives a unique insight into her approach to competitions, on how lack of money can directly restrict your career, and her thoughts on body-shaming in the industry. Join us for a candid insight into Claire's journey to become a multi award-winning opera singer.

Cynthia was born in the Dominican Republic and moved to the United States, and as a young girl she loved dressing up her Barbie dolls and recording mix tapes in her room. After studying at Florida State University, she was all set for a career in Costume Design, but her curiosity was diverted on a summer work experience at Santa Fe Opera, where she realised that wigs, hair and make-up was where her real passion lay. Learning that London was the place to be, after her first UK internship, she was bold enough to march up to the Stage Door at English National Opera and call the head of department down to meet her and make her case – and a few days later a position came up. Instead of staying 6 months, Cynthia stayed at ENO for nearly a decade and made London her home, before she moved on to design wigs, hair and makeup in theatre on the West End, and on to film and television, where she has worked on The Crown and Killing Eve among many, many other shows. Realising a serious gap in the knowledge and a lack of training in the industry, she took an afro and textured hair course to make sure her skills were up to scratch with industry practice, and she recently co-founded Levelling Up, a not-for-profit company tackling hair discrimination in the performing arts, working to create Equality & Diversity in Hair & Makeup for working professionals.

View Cynthia's imdb profile here

Follow Cynthia on Instagram here

Follow Levelling Up on Instagram here

Paula grew up with traditional Irish Music in County Kerry, but despite immersing herself in music and performance at the National Folk Theatre of Ireland, she didn't yet think of it as a viable career choice. But one day, looking after her younger sisters while her parents were away, Paula sent off the 'change of mind' form, changing her option from Primary School Teaching to Music Performance. Paula went on to train in Dublin, then onto the New England Conservatory in Boston, and onto a whole series of Young Artist and Apprenticeship Programmes from Britten Pears to the Merola Opera Programme among others, building the stamina and experience that would stand her in good stead in the future. When she felt she was probably done with Young Artist programmes, she was noticed by Bernd Loebe at the Neue Stimmen, and was offered a place in the newly-formed Studio at Oper Frankfurt. This led to her being a full time soloist at Oper Frankfurt, where she was able to explore a huge variety of roles, and take risks in a way she hadn't been able to before. Now, Paula graces some of the world's most fabulous stages, from her iconic performance in Barry Kosky's Carmen in Frankfurt to the Bolshoi in Moscow where she is currently singing the title role in Ariodante, to the Salzburg Festival, to the Met and Santa Fe Opera among many brilliant others.

Read more about Paula on her agent's website here and follow her on Instagram here

The Ango-American Librettist & Producer Lila Palmer takes us to rural Vermont and to beautifully vivid moments of music in her childhood, like crouching under a grand piano listening to a family friend play, onto her days studying History at Cambridge, where she became aware of overlooked narratives hidden around every corner. Starting down the path as a Mezzo, training at New England Conservatory of Music and English National Opera, she found the stories she was inhabiting didn't give her enough agency, and it was suggested to her that she might be more comfortable on the other side of the table, writing the roles herself. Since then, Lila trained as a Librettist at both the Guildhall in London and the American Lyric Theatre in New York, and her work has been performed from the Barbican Centre in London to Washington National Opera, to Opera Saratoga, the Edinburgh Fringe and performed by Golda Schutz on her recital tour. Alongside her commissions, Lila is the interim managing director at ALT, and is developing her own research project: The Archetypes. Lila shares her ideas on collaboration, how she started to develop her work early on, and how she approaches the demands of a 'portfolio career'.

Read more about Lila on her website here and her work with ALT here and follow her on Instagram here

Aaron Blake grew up in Palos Verdes in California, where his parents indulged him in violin lessons early on in Kindergarten, even if it was just for him to get half an hour off his regular lessons. On the path to becoming a professional tennis player (or indeed as a plastic surgeon as his fallback option), Aaron ended up taking on lead roles at his local theatre and school, and after seeing him in a performance of Godspell, a family friend introduced him to the teacher that would change the course of his career. After training at Juilliard School and Rice University, Aaron's career continued to go from strength to strength, and his work has since taken him from Santa Fe Opera to the Met, Carnegie Hall, over to Israel, and here to Europe to Oper Frankfurt and beyond. Aaron talks openly about his journey, and delivers a masterclass in dealing with criticism in a way that allows you to move through it and beyond it, and become a better artist.

Find out more about Aaron Blake on his website here or on his agent's website here

Growing up as an Italian boy in London, Michael Volpe listened to everything from Mario Lanza to prog Rock. Despite having very little money, his mum brought him and his brothers up with plenty of Italian food, packed social gatherings, alongside the expected Italian family dramas, much to the shock of his girlfriends. As a teenager he excelled in music and the performing arts, but turned down an opportunity to audition at RADA, feeling that it wasn't the path for him. Going on to take a role at what was then Holland Park Theatre to promote and market the festival of visiting productions, he brought audience numbers up from 15,000 to 25,000 in his first year. He realised that opera was the heart of the work at Holland Park, and the way to create work of real value and impact would be to develop a new festival with an entity of its own. As General Manager of Opera Holland Park, alongside the Producer James Clutton – now Director of Opera & CEO - the pair formed a formidable long-running partnership until Michael recently retired from OHP, joining Iford Arts as Interim Executive Director, where he's inspiring the future of the festival. Michael has just been awarded an OBE for his services to opera, and his journey is beautifully captivated in his book 'Noisy at the wrong times' one of The Sunday Times' 100 biographies to love.

Read more about Iford Arts here

Order Michael's book here

Read Michael's blog here