A Classic Concert presented by the De Lanerolle brothers will grace the Main Ballroom of the Kingsbury Hotel on Tuesday the 1st of July. The duo will be performing with Opera and Classical Soprano Sabina Cvilak along with Rohan de Silva.  “As Sri Lankans we are honoured to have her with us. It’s sharing this music with the public, that’s what we are all about. We feel that we are giving something good to the public.” Rohan de Lanerolle said of Sabina Cvilak, and indeed we are all privileged and excited to hear her sing.

What do you think of what you’ve seen of Sri Lanka?

We just got here so we haven’t seen much of it yet, but we are planning to do a little bit of a trip around after the concert. They (Ishan and Rohan) were so nice to arrange it for us! Even though I haven’t seen anything, I will definitely come back to Sri Lanka. You are so welcoming and today is my first day, it’s really nice, the people are really nice.

Are you excited for the concert?

I’m looking forward to it very much. I know that the de Lanerolle brothers are really good, they’re putting a lot of energy into this and they’re really preparing this and I see they’re working on this every day and I have a lot of respect for that. I’m happy to be a part of this. Especially with the children since it is really nice.

How did your last performance with Andrea Bocelli go?

My last performance with him was in Moscow and it was for the public, so it was not as free as here with the children, but I enjoyed performing with him, and it was a great opportunity for me. Ishan and Rohan got to know me through that and it was good advertising for me. He’s a great artist and a great person as well and I’m honoured to be able to sing with him.

What are your thoughts on being the most highly acclaimed soprano to sing for us?

There are a lot of singers who are much more important as I am but I certainly feel very important here though I’m surprised you see me like this, because anyway I am a plain simple person so I don’t feel I deserve this, and as I say I’m surprised really.

What is your favourite song to sing?

It’s difficult to point out just one, because there are many songs and many great music and that’s a really tricky question… I like old composers like Strauss Puccini, Verde and if I had to point out something from classical music I would point out those three and maybe more modern music, maybe ‘The Prayer’ is beautiful, the music and just the lyrics are amazing.

Are there any songs outside of your genre that you’d like to sing?

Yes of course there is so much repertoire that I would like to sing! I am sure I won’t be able to, but if you asked me what I wanted to sing in my life that I’ve never got a chance to is Evita. I am a very classical singer so I’ve never sung Broadway, I’ve only sung a few pop songs and that’s not my speciality but Evita is a classical musical and if I would like to sing anything I would like to do that.

Is there any advice you’d like to give?

Maybe to the children I just sang with, to like this music and to keep on what they’re doing. I think it’s fantastic and amazing. I know you don’t have this classical culture in your country but the way you approach it and how you present it to your people I think this is the right way and just go on.

By Marissa van Eyck
Pictures by Indraratne Balasuriya