Golden voiced soprano to sing her heart out

By Kathya De Silva Senarath

"A treat for eye and ear, sounding as well as she looked, this young Sri Lankan soprano sang her arias with an effortless assurance. Her coloratura flexibility aligned with a warm and rounded middle voice to make every note a delight. As she grows in experience, this young soprano finds more warmth and colour." - Haydn's Creation, Chichester Carol Mounter.

"Young soprano Kishani Jayasinghe confirmed previous judgements, and indeed exceeded all expectations. In the final Libera Me she had that blend of power, beauty and range without which Verdi ultimately fails: hers was a performance to treasure" - Verdi Requiem/Eastbourne Robyn Gregory.

These are just a few of the numerous accolades for Kishani Jayasinghe, Sri Lanka's very own golden voiced soprano who is ready to sing her heart out for her school Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo on May 11 at 7pm. The concert is open to the public and Kishani's performance will include a broad spectrum of classical and popular songs, enjoyed by everyone including regular classical concert goers to those who enjoy lighter music such as youth and children. The concert will include more musical and movie themes, which will be different to her previous operatic performances.

Glamorous life

The Sunday Observer caught up with her to get a glimpse into her glamorous life and find out how a young woman from a country such as ours, tucked away in the Indian Ocean, had risen to such heights and made a memorable mark in the world operatic stage, making us Sri Lankans very proud indeed.

"I entered this field entirely by accident! I am a lawyer by profession with two law degrees. So I never planned to go into singing," she says.

She has indeed been lucky to do what she loves to do and excel at what she does. Even though she had planned to pursue a career in law, 'fate' was wiser and led her to opera. "A sequence of happy coincidences started me on this journey. I have always sung and even as a very young girl, my voice was better suited the operatic genre. I have been pursuing opera and singing professionally since I finished my training at the Royal Academy of Music in London," she said.

Kishani's family had been behind her success all throughout. She had been heavily influenced by them extremely talented amateur classical musicians with instrumental prowess on her father's side and vocal talent on her mother's side.

"My family was hugely influential in infusing my life, from the very beginning, with classical music. My family continues to be the bedrock that I stand on as a professional musician and I could not have done what I have, without their unreserved support," she said.

Childhood

From the very early days in her childhood, Kishani had been a little prodigy, remembering the tunes of songs and all the words, and amazingly singing to pitch. At just 14, she was adjudged Sri Lanka's Young Artiste of the Year in Classical and Pop vocal. But she never thought of making a career out of singing.

"I have always sung but never harboured any ambitions of doing it professionally whilst I was in school. While I was known for my singing, it was never anything more than a bit of fun," she nostalgically recalled.

Kishani has been an illustrious student at Visakha Vidyalaya, excelling in education while being involved with a zillion extra-curricular activities.

She was the Head Prefect of the school, Best All Round Student in both Senior and Junior Schools, captain of the Tennis team, captain of the debating team, leader of the choir, President of the English Literary Association, President of the UN Organisation for Human Rights, she has school rowing colours, school tennis colours, was the women's Sri Lanka National Rowing Champion, received an award for the Best Individual Debator at the National Debating Competition. She won a Gold Medal for acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, South Asian Youth Representative to the International Olympic Academy in Greece for 10 years and received the Visakha Vidyalaya Platinum Award for Distinguished Alumni for Outstanding Success in the Performing Arts. The fact is that Kishani was engaged in such a lot of extra-curricular activities while excelling at academic work, which is quite remarkable. No doubt she would have been the favourite student of all her teachers.

At the University of Nottingham in UK where she obtained her LLB and LLM in International Commercial Law, she did not focus only on her education.

Career path

She was the President of the International Students Union and was awarded the Azlan Shah Award from the School of Law for Outstanding Contribution to University Life and the Alumni Laureate Award from the University of Nottingham for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

With all such feathers in her cap, she chose opera as the better career path, as she had the passion for opera and her exceptional talent was identified by her vocal coach. "It was my vocal guru named Pamela Cook MBE who changed the course of my life. I met her whilst I was at Law school and she was the one who sat me down and had a very serious talk with me about pursuing it as a career," Kishani said.

After gaining operatic training from the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Young Artiste Program at Covent Garden, UK, Kishani began her operatic career. Being a star student with numerous awards in her name from the academy, there was no turning back for Kishani.

She was the first South Asian and Sri Lankan soloist to sing at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2006 and the only soprano to join the world renowned Jette Parker Young Artist program at the Royal Opera House, which is a program for outstanding artistes. She was also presented to Queen Elizabeth II as the South Asian Representative for Classical Music at St. James' Palace and sang at Prince Charles' 60th birthday celebrations at Buckingham Palace.

It was later known that Kishani's performance received special mention by the Royal family who were said to be 'very surprised and extremely happy to hear and meet a Sri Lankan opera singer for the first time.'

Awards

Apart from achievements in the UK, she travels around the world winning numerous awards and tributes as she performs. Kishani has sung for the CHOGM Arts Celebrations in Malta, was the Asian Woman of Achievement for the Performing Arts and Zonta Woman of Achievement for the Performing Arts, and have won many International Vocal Competitions in Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Finland and Turkey.

Kishani was the only South Asian representative at all these competitions, surpassing other talented Europeans competitors.

Being a relatively new genre of music for the Sri Lankan masses, operatic music may sound unfamiliar and incomprehensible to new listeners. However, Kishani does not necessarily agree with the belief that Opera music is thought to appeal to more sophisticated tastes in music. "Opera is a little complex as it encompasses so many artistic disciplines such as singing, acting, dancing, movement and often requires one to have even a basic appreciation of music to really understand it. On the other hand, sometimes, the traditional operas are very powerful and emotional and it is something one can just feel and appreciate immediately with no prior knowledge at all," she explained.

"I think it is always interesting and even important for anyone to explore different aspects of music and the arts in general. It broadens one's interests and helps one to better understand different types of artistry. Opera is all a part of that world," Kishani said. She strongly believes that opera music should be promoted in Sri Lanka as the Sri Lankan audience seems keen to explore all sorts of music and the arts, due to its booming entertainment industry.

"If it is a good story with good artistes, sets, costumes, and most importantly, beautiful and committed singing, then will people leave the theatre feeling content," she said.

"Opera is an all encompassing art form. Being a country that is steeped in culture, it is important that we try and explore and even hopefully understand all types of music and art. Opera enjoys an ever growing interest and following in Asia. Understanding it and appreciating it the way I do, I am naturally keen to share the beauty, heritage and depth of it with my countrymen and women," she said.

Even though Kishani's career path was a result of her lucky stars, she didn't leave everything to chance in her career. It is hard work, perseverance, commitment and indeed coupled with unbelievable talent. Being an art form that demands the ability to act, sing and perform all at the same time while being in perfect health and shape, Kishani says it is definitely a challenging task to be a soprano.

Discipline

"It takes a lot of study, discipline, practice and all round hard work to hone, perfect and maintain a healthy, efficient and beautiful instrument, capable of strength and stamina," she said. Among many other things, it is important to keep the voice in prime condition as it is subject to many frailties.

The job entails unsociable hours making it difficult to have quality family time. In addition, opera is sung in numerous different languages and it is important to get every pronunciation right; which means remembering the lines to perfection while giving an all round performance.

Being physically fit and healthy is a must as even a basic cold or cough can be disastrous on show days. Kishani says that the industry has fierce competition and that singers need to maintain a youthful appearance at all times.

"With a young family, like ours, it is doubly difficult. The job requires long absences, a clear head to learn the work in the first place as everything is done by memory, late nights and complete devotion which is not easy to manage with young kids," she says. "But I have been blessed with the most incredible of families.

My husband and I have parents and siblings that are always extremely supportive and everyone plays a part in making the logistics of it work. Therefore, so far so good!", she says flashing her beautiful smile.

So, when can people see her in person and listen to that golden voice which brought so much fame to our country? we asked. This time, Kishani will sing for Visakha, 'on the lighter side,' to pay tribute to thirteen glorious years of her life. "I simply loved school! What better thing than to sing about it from where it all happened?" she says enthusiastically.

Her face lights up again as she speaks about her upcoming concert. "I wanted to explore repertoire that was quite different from my previous concert and yet no less enjoyable. The 'lighter side' simply means there will be less operatic and classical songs and more musical and movie themes. There will be something for everyone," she says.

Her ensemble for this concert includes S: Soundarie David-Rodrigo at the piano, Surekha Amarasinghe on the flute, Satish Cassie Chetty on the violin and Shamistha de Silva on the cello. "I am singing with my S Team!"

"I love my job and I love my school. 'Kishani sings for Visakha' is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the two together."

Organised by the Visakha Vidyalaya Old Girls' Association, all proceeds of the concert will go to the school development activities. Tickets and box plan are available at the school gate, Vajira Road, Colombo 4.