This year the Trust announced the appointment of Sharolyn Kimmorley AM as Artistic Advisor and Chair of the Selection Panel.
Sharolyn, one of Australia’s finest coaches and accompanists, counts herself fortunate to have started her career during a golden age of Australian opera.
“The 70s and 80s were a great era, when many Australians came back home,” she recalls. “I was very lucky to be guided by a host of exceptional people.
“Sir Edward Downes, Musical Director of The Australian Opera; Carlo-Felice Cillario – the great maestro who had conducted Callas and worked with Toscanini – taught me every opera.
“Dame Joan Sutherland used to perform two or three operas here every year, conducted by her husband Richard Bonynge. By working with the Bonynges, and helping them prepare, I learned a lot about Bel Canto opera and what constitutes great singing.”
Sharolyn joined The Australian Opera in 1975, and went on to a succession of senior positions including Principal Répétiteur, Head of Music Staff, Artistic Administrator and Director of Music Administration.
After learning from, and being inspired by the greats of the operatic world, Sharolyn is well placed to help the next generation of singers with the Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust.
She and General Manager, Amy McPartlan, are developing the Trust’s Mentor, Scholarship and Melba Artist programs to ensure every aspect of professional singing is addressed.
“It’s not enough to have a good voice, you have to be the total package,” Sharolyn explains.
“When studying music, the focus is on vocal technique. Languages are an integral part of being a singer, an area to which not enough attention is paid in tertiary training. Then there is stagecraft, and the fourth area is personal development, which covers style, dress, makeup, and the qualities you need to make a good first impression and secure a job at audition.”
Sharolyn will also work closely with the singer’s, coaching and mentoring them to support their practical development and artistic decisions.
“This is an extraordinary group of young singers – each one has some very special qualities. We are able to focus on the specific needs they have, and make sure they work with the best coaches to address that need.”
The Trust’s Mentor Program is designed to equip scholars with particular skills that are not necessarily covered in University degrees. “Teaching institutions are about mass production – they don’t allow for individuality. This is where the Trust program is so valuable.
“To make it in the music world, you’ve got to have sincerity and passion, an individual voice, and you have to be able to make people sit up and really listen. The moment you hear Dame Joan Sutherland, Pavarotti, or Callas, you recognise their vocal timbre. You get shivers down your spine! That’s what music is about and that’s what our young singers have to be aiming for.”
Sharolyn urges her young charges to seek international experience “I think it’s essential for young singers to go overseas. They need to go and see what is out there, look at the art, eat the food, walk the paths where Mozart lived, and where Puccini wrote his scores. You get inspiration from understanding the culture and it enriches your performance when you’re singing in the language.”
She knows firsthand the benefits, having spent a year in Italy during the 1980s at the invitation of Maestro Cillario, who introduced her to the great baritone Tito Gobbi.
“I was very lucky to go to Italy for a year, where I was invited by Gobbi to be the accompanist for the Concorso Internazionale per Cantanti [singing competition] at Bassano del Grappa and coach for [Gobbi’s summer school] the Studio dell’opera Italiana in a monastery at Asolo. I lived in a tiny village, and I knew everyone in the community.”
At the same time, Sharolyn cautions against rushing abroad too soon. “Young singers need to give themselves the best chance of success by being ready; vocally, technically and in maturity. They need to make sure they are sufficiently prepared and understand the industry.”
When asked her thoughts on the essential ingredient in a successful musical career, Sharolyn replied
“I think you’ve got to love it – every day I think, ‘Aren’t I lucky?’ I think we are blessed to make music our career, and do something that gives people such pleasure.”