Yass Music Club has lured one of the world's most successful soprano singers to town to celebrate its Diamond Jubilee Concert this weekend.
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Internationally acclaimed diva Yvonne Kenny AM will arrive in Yass Saturday evening, extending her stay in Australia especially for the Yass performance, before flying back to London.
On Sunday she will help celebrate 60 years of the club by performing a mix of English and Irish folk melodies, a Gilbert and Sullivan aria, an operetta, songs from the Great American Songbook, as well as traditional classical pieces. Accompanist Tahu Matheson, from Opera Australia, will play piano.
A highlight will be a performance of one of her favourite songs, Simple Gifts. "It's a beautiful song, it represents what I believe life should be; not over-complicated, to take life as it is," Kenny told the Tribune.
Kenny took her first singing lesson while at university studying science. Her first performance was Handel's Xerxes for the Young Opera Company at the University of NSW. She was filling in for a sick soprano and had to learn the show in a matter of days.
"I knew from that moment on that was what I wanted to do." She went on to win the coveted Kathleen Ferrier competition and caught her first big break on the international stage in 1975 when again, she filled in for an ill performer and attracted the interest of a Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, representative sitting in the audience.
Now, she appears regularly on concert platforms across Europe and North America, including prestigious international festivals at Edinburgh, Salzburg, Carnegie Hall and BBC Proms.
Her decision to come to our little corner of the world was, quite simply, because she was invited.
She has a deep admiration for those who run music clubs for their communities – especially with the challenging developments of electronic media and generational change.
“It doesn’t matter how large or small the town or the venue, it’s [about] communicating through music.”
She also feels a connection to farming as the proud granddaughter of Hunter Valley dairy farmers.
She expects the Yass crowd will enjoy her performance, not least because her ABC Classics CDs regularly get good air time on YassFM.
“People will be familiar with them. There is something for everybody.”
She said her voice is most suited to baroque and classical music, claiming this kind of repertoire “fits my voice like a glove".
It’s a valuable instrument which has matured during the past 38 years on stage. What started as a light, clear ‘silver’ voice, has now broadened to become a darker, warmer ‘bronze’ voice, more mature and with more power and volume, she explains.
But when she’s off stage, don’t expect to find her singing in the shower; she’d prefer to rest her voice and listen to the likes of the Beatles, Elton John and Elvis Presley. To wind down and de-stress, she can’t go past Cathedral choir music, particularly St John’s College Cambridge Choir.
“I love the purity of the harmonies, I find it very soothing.”
Hers has “been a life of constant travel, suitcases, rented apartments and hotels”, but she has no regrets. She built a challenging career and has devoted all her energy to it, forgoing the opportunity to get married and raise a family of her own. But she doesn’t feel she’s missed out, and is particularly close to her brother’s children and grandchildren in Sydney.
She’s been able to achieve such longevity in the industry because of her ability to sing across a range of genres and styles with complete versatility.
She advises young Yass singers who have similar aspirations to be organised, as learning and memorising new songs can be incredibly arduous. One needs a lot of self discipline, the ability to cheer oneself up when a performance doesn’t go well, and there is a lot of time spent alone.
She still suffers performance nerves before most shows.
“It’s been an amazing life, I’ve no regrets.”
Yass Music Club will host the Diamond Jubilee Concert in the Memorial Hall at 2pm on Sunday. Tickets are $65 for non-members and include high tea after the concert, and are available from Kidz Blitz. For more information, contact Brian Millett on 6226 3514.