Soprano Emma Matthews reprises the title role of Handel’s Partenope this month. Allerta! chats to her about singing in a variety of musical styles and writing her own cadenzas
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| Emma Matthews in the 2011 production of Partenope at the Sydney Opera House. |
Emma Matthews: Because it’s sung in English, learning the text was easy – the fast coloratura passages were the challenge.
A: When it comes to ornamentation, the conductor also has to set the house style, is that right?
EM: Absolutely – you can’t have one person doing an amazing display of fireworks in their aria and the next person not doing much. And you have to ensure that nothing is repeated, because two people can write their own cadenzas and when they sing them they’d be almost identical because there are so many rules in baroque music. In bel canto repertoire you can have a big creative burst to show off the voice; in Handel you can show off the voice but there are rules to which you have to stick – you can’t have perfect fifths or octaves, for example. You also have to be appropriate: I can’t do a top F in a cadenza because the role doesn’t go up there; it would sound silly.
A: When you write a cadenza, what guides you?
EM: You concentrate on your strengths. And you play with words so that you’re accentuating important ones. In one of my cadenzas, for example, I sing a series of staccato notes on the word “laugh”, which creates the impression of giggling.
A: Where did you learn to write ornamentation?
EM: At the Conservatorium, and when preparing for my Handel CD, now a decade ago. I did a lot of work on ornamentation with Frances Greep at the time. He’d worked on Julius Caesar with Yvonne Kenny and Jennifer McGregor.
A: You and Cath Carby have frequently sung boyfriend/girlfriend roles over the past decade – it must be almost second nature by now?
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| Emma Matthews with Catherine Carby (left) and Christopher Field (right) in the 2011 production of Partenope at the Sydney Opera House. |
EM: Yes, she’s been my boyfriend for ten years. [Laughs] There’s a deep trust between us.
A: To have a boyfriend who is a girl is an opera convention – do you still have to work at getting it right?
EM: With Cath it’s easy. Our careers have come along together; we became mums together and we’re great friends. We don’t have to get through the awkwardness of “Oh gosh we have to kiss” either – it’s like, “Here we go again. Kiss my breast.” [laughs]
A: Christopher Alden is known for his daring approach to opera productions – his Tosca production for OA was controversial. How have you found working with him?
EM: It was refreshing to work with a director who expected something new of me. Partenope is set in 1920s Paris, and her court is a salon. I almost always perform the roles of innocent young girls who fall in love and have their hearts broken. Partenope by contrast is worldly and sophisticated. She flits from man to man, she doesn’t really know how to love and she’s very powerful. Christopher pushed me down the path of using my own passion, humour and determination in singing the role, and also into being as sensual as I could possibly be. He got me to do a fiendish aria with a top hat and tails – a very Liza Minnelli-type scene – while being very sensual with a chair. After rehearsing it I’d be aching all over. I think it’s going to be a great scene.
A: You’ve worked with all the cast members before. Does working with people you know create a kind of security blanket for an artist?
EM: Absolutely. Partenope has a great cast and we’re all great mates. There’s a lot of trust within the room, we could just throw ourselves into Christopher’s ideas.
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| Emma Matthews in the 2011 production of Partenope at the Sydney Opera House. |
EM: Going back into the Handel style was actually very difficult. It’s much lighter than Verdi, and you have to be really flexibly vocally, almost rubbery. And the recitative is very chit-chatty – not at all like Verdi’s.
A: It’s unusual for a singer to perform in the number of styles that you sing in: everything from Richard Mills and Janacek to bel canto, baroque and Verdi. Do you think you’ll choose a specialty or do you enjoy the variety?
EM: I’ve been very lucky to have been with one company, and to have been given the chance to explore everything that I can do. Had I travelled the world I would probably have specialised in bel canto and Handel, since that’s what I’m best at. I don’t have a huge sound and as far as dramatic repertoire is concerned I think Traviata, is as far as I’d go.
A: Is there anything left on your wish list?
EM: I have twelve Mozart concert arias under my belt and I would love to record them.
A: Why not a Mozart aria recital? It would be gorgeous.
EM: Gorgeous? It would be exhausting! I’d need a few other people in that recital!