What music gets your heart racing?
Piano and Violin Concerti…Beethoven’s 5th Piano and Brahms Violin are particularly exciting.
What calms you down?
Chopin Nocturnes
Where do you call home?
I am fortunate enough to live in this beautiful city, Perth and commute to Sydney and other locations regularly.
You sang the role of the page boy Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro) in 2009 for West Australian Opera in an (almost) all-WA cast that included Sara Macliver and James Clayton. I remember you as being effete and endearing as Cherubino. How do you remember the season?
With great affection. The Marriage of Figaro is one of my favourite operas, Sara and James are always brilliant to work with and made a delightful couple in this production back in 2009. I was nominated for a Helpmann Award for my portrayal of Cherubino, so it was happy days.
What can we expect from the July 2015 revival of The Marriage of Figaro, which opens on Tuesday 14th?
I can honestly say, hand on heart, that you can look forward to one of the best performances of Figaro you will ever see at His Majesty’s Theatre, or anywhere. It is a sensational cast, with beautiful ensemble singing and brilliant acting, a cast who are able to bring this masterpiece to life, with all of its intrigue, danger, poignancy and laugh out loud comedy moments.
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| Fiona singing Cherubino with WA Opera in 2009. Photo James Rogers |
You sing regularly with Joseph Nolan and the St George’s Cathedral Choir. On August 14th you will join them to perform Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody for contralto, male chorus and orchestra. Have you sung this before?
Indeed I’ve been very fortunate to be involved in many of the fine performances at St Georges and I will be singing the Brahms Alto Rhapsody next month. The Rhapsody is such a stunning work, rarely heard here (if ever?). It is sumptuous, melting and lyrical. I’ve never sung this work before and can’t wait to perform it with Joseph Nolan and the exceptional choir he has developed there at St George’s Cathedral, along with Mark Coughlan on the piano. It’s going to be a very special night of music.
Where did you learn the skills that have enabled you to work at the top of the industry as a mezzo soprano?
Many, many years of practice and critical observation. I started off with a music degree at WAAPA, but like all professions, a degree is only the beginning of the journey. I had to learn the hard way, that natural ability only takes you so far and if you want to work at the top of the industry it takes preparedness, professionalism, tenacity, as much hard work as is required, plus a degree of business savvy.
Is it true your original ambition was to be a conductor?
Indeed, I did do conducting while I was at the conservatorium, loved it and spent many hours a week leading ensembles etc... In the second year of my degree, my singing teacher advised me that I had the potential to be a professional singer, but was spending too much time conducting and consequently I had to choose. I felt that every great conductor was an accomplished instrumentalist and I did not have an instrument, so I set out to master one. Now, perhaps that door will open once more, it’s certainly something I’d love to try again.
I remember you telling me with great excitement that you had been booked to sing with Jose Carreras in Italy. Your gig with one of the world’s greatest tenors came about because American mezzo Susan Graham pulled out of the show. (Have you met Graham? It turns out she is in Perth in this month with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.) Was it the big break that you expected it to be?
Singing with Jose Carreras in Tokyo was wonderful and it led to a number of other concerts with the legendary tenor in Australia and Korea. It also led to many concerts with Barbara Bonney, in London, Japan, Korea and Australia, and it was terrific fun to be a part of that world. Timing is everything and the GFC pretty much put a stop to those extravagant concerts, lucrative contracts and consequently interrupted my trajectory on that international path. In my experience, there has never been one big break, it is more a constant and continuous journey. People are always saying "believe in yourself”, however really believing in yourself is not as easy to do as it sounds. That experience taught me that I could hold my own, on any stage in the world, next to some of the best in the industry, which in turn gave me great confidence and satisfaction.
You have a soft spot for Baroque and early music. What is the appeal of this repertoire?
I enjoy the extraordinary musical beauty and inventiveness of that era. It has a delicate, subtle and ornamental style, which allows me to explore the phrases and create an abundant variety of vocal colours. It is difficult to do really well, which makes the challenge extremely satisfying.
Campbell singing Handel's "Lascia ch'io pianga" with Guy Noble piano.
Filmed by Hospital Hill Recordings
"Opera needs to diversify in scale again," American opera director Peter Sellars said in a recent interview. "It wasn't always this elephant. It was quite light on its feet for a lot of its history and I think we need to be in that mode again… the next generation is looking to buy their vegetables at a farmers' market, not a supermarket; they want that taste, that crunch, that flavour. I think they're looking for more intimate musical experiences where you're close enough to taste the quality of the work." What do you think is the role of opera in the 21st century?
I agree that opera needs to diversify its scale. The entertainment business has become a sophisticated industry, competition for every ticket is fierce and audience tastes have changed dramatically, even in the last 10 years. Opera is still one of the greatest forms of artistic expression and one filled with relevance for today’s audiences. The challenge however, is to present it in a way that is authentic, engaging and enticing for our changing audiences, not just do what has always been done and expect people to keep walking in the door. Fortunately, in a creative industry, there are creative solutions and many fine examples of companies doing just that.
I’ve enjoyed hearing some of your live concert broadcasts with ABC Classic FM. Your rounded vowels and excellent diction are quite useful skills behind a broadcast microphone! Is this a new career trajectory?
Oh yes, I love being on radio, it’s a whole new way to connect with an audience. I want to bridge the gap between performer and spectator, by giving some insight into the experience of being onstage. As in everything, it takes a lot of practice to be good, but I’ve started that journey, so keep listening :)
Your performances are invariably marked by exquisite detail not just in your vocal phrasing but in your shaping of character. How do you prepare for roles to enable you to inhabit them so completely?
Thank you for the beautiful compliment! First of all, I spend time getting the dots right. Then I look at the text, see how the composer has set it, what choices they have made on any given phrase, interval or length of note and use these clues to inform my interpretation. Beyond that it is practice, so that I feel completely prepared and therefore have the freedom to be expressive and use my instinct in performance.
I understand you are also a mother. How do you juggle an international career with parenting teenagers?
Any working mum understands the difficulties of juggling parenting around their work commitments. Mine is slightly more complicated perhaps because I don’t work regular hours and I travel a fair bit. Fortunately, now that the kids are older, they can get themselves to and from school, can cook dinner and help around the house. They are incredibly supportive and know my work is important to me, but they also know how important they are to me and I have made many crazy, overnight trips home just to make sure I can share a special moment with them (school graduation for example) or just to spend a couple of days with them that we wouldn’t otherwise have had.
Do you have a soft spot for anything else in life or is it all about the music?
Life has soooo much to offer. Music is a part of my life, an important part granted, but it’s not all about the music. I love spending time with my family and friends, eating out or cooking up a storm. I’m a huge fan of nature and one of my favourite things to do is walk along the Bibbulmun track around Denmark and have fun at the beach, surfing, swimming or walking my little dog.
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Thank you Fiona Campbell for making time for the Celebrity Soft Spot series. For more info on the singer go to http://www.fionacampbell.com.au. To purchase tickets to Marriage of Figaro go here and Brahms' Alto Rhapsody go here.
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