After her last concert ‘Kishani Sings for Vishaka’, Kishani Jayasinghe is back once more this December to give us a night at the opera right here in Sri Lanka. We caught up with her to talk a little about opera, nerves and her upcoming concert ‘Kishani Sings with Friends’.
What are you up to these days?
With just two weeks to go, preparing for the show of course!! These days it’s all about fine tuning the programme, rehearsing with my incredible musician friends and making sure that we create a very special performance for our audience!
You loved singing since the age of 7 but what got you into opera?
I think it's fair to say I have loved singing from the day I was born! Seriously though, I have loved singing from the day I can remember...I must have been about 3 years old when I first sang through all of The Sound of Music and my family realised there was something special there...In many ways, that was the beginning of my lifelong love affair with singing.
As for opera, unusually for a Sri Lankan family, I was brought up with opera always playing in the background...both sides of my family are incredibly musical. My father's family more so with the piano and string instruments, but my mother's family just loved opera. I heard it over Sunday lunch every other week at my grandparents’ house and it became very much a part of our weekend 'play list'. Also I suppose my voice always lent itself to opera. It naturally had that fuller and richer quality and I found I was drawn more and more to it. The individuality of each European language only enhanced the beauty and quality of the music and I just loved the character of operatic music. But as for how I actually got into opera, I think it was a combination of an innate natural ability, a true love for music and an early understanding of the style and manner of singing it, that lead to it becoming the music of my soul.
How do you deal with the nerves before a performance?
I am very, very lucky! I have never known what it is to be "nervous" or to suffer from nerves before any performance or competition or public display of any sort. I experience an extra bout of energy and I feel utter excitement and a frisson of anticipation before a performance but have never had to overcome the negative side of nerves which one usually associates with any kind of elite performance.
You were the first Sri Lankan to perform at the Royal Opera House, how did that make you feel?
Utterly magical is the only way I can explain it. I can still remember the exact feeling of awe and wonder that I experienced the first time I performed on the main stage of the ROH during my debut opening night. You could almost feel the energy of the late, great performers that had walked the boards before...The opera house itself is just simply stunning and glamorous and so very elegant; all rich red velvet cushioned amongst historic gold figurines and sculptures and radiates such a feeling of character and sheer beauty. It was an astounding moment I will never forget.
You’ve also performed for royalty! Was it intimidating?
It's always so exciting to sing for people you hear about and read about, who do great and wonderful things. When they are also people that you personally respect and admire, it makes it extremely special. That's the only way I can describe it.
Despite your busy schedule, you always make time to come back to Sri Lanka for a show – how do you manage?
Until my performance in Colombo at the beginning of last year, I hadn't sung at home for over 4 years. It made me realise just how much I missed it. I have been so blessed to sing in some amazing places around the world, but in the end, there is truly is no place like home. I love the feeling of sharing and making music where it all really began for me. Last year I made a promise to my audience at home and to myself to come back and do a performance once year at the very least. So here I am!
How has it been like getting ready for your upcoming concert ‘Kishani Sings with Friends’ in December?
Preparing for any solo concert is always great fun but also crazy busy! Above all it is an absolute pleasure. The thing I love about this concert is that not only am I performing with musicians who are the best in their own individual fields, but that they are all also very long standing friends. Hence the term, "Sings with Friends". Performing with such incredible musicians such as Soundarie, Ananda and Sureka is a treat given their stunning musicianship. Given that they are also such good friends, it makes it a feast.
What kind of music are you performing?
I always try to maintain a balance between performing the music that I have trained so hard to perfect and music that I just instinctively adore and love singing. That also tends to correspond with what my audience expect from my performances. We all have different tastes in music and different things that make us smile and tap our toes or make our hearts sing. When I plan a programme, I try to ensure that every single member of the audience is able to take some part of the performance home with them. To that end this time there will be four sections of music. The opera that I love; a section of sacred music with a slightly unusual twist to it; timeless golden wonders that I have just loved bringing into the classical sphere and of course no concert in December will be complete without a hint of something festive! In the end the thing that is most important to me, is that this concert will touch people with the music that we all love so much.
Finally, what would you say is your guilty pleasure?
The Kandos cashew chocolate - the large one!
Catch Kishani on December 3 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre at 7.30pm. Box plan and tickets are available for purchase at the Lionel Wendt.
Interviewed by Panchali Illankoon
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