In this month's In Conversation With..., our founding Director, Linda Kitchen, answers questions that take us through her career, her love of music and her hopes for the future of the Arts.
How did SingersResound begin?
When the National Opera Studio invited me to research a programme to help singers in difficulty, I formed a steering group of singers who chatted at depth during the pandemic and beyond. I experienced a deep sense of oneness, mutual understanding and honesty. There were a couple of hiccups on the way learning who to trust, for example, but it became clear that as singers, we can all be mentors.... with the right training and, ultimately, mindset. Personally, I lost my voice over a period of two to three years, during which it was extremely difficult to talk to anyone without the feeling of being judged.
Being a parent, I think there was always an expectation to be everything all at once. That’s when I found I was torn between my commitments and I don’t think there was a facility to support me. I also felt I had to ‘suck it up’ and not talk about the difficulties. My hope is that SingersResound will continue to open up conversations and help to stem the feelings of isolation. Had SingersResound been around at that time, I may have had a longer singing career – who knows.
What does your career look like now?
Throughout my working life, I have always responded to the amount of inner stress I (or my family) have been feeling. I suppose that comes from losing people in my family far too young. With that niggling quote in the back of my mind - ‘life is far too short’ - my family decided to leap into a retirement project together which keeps us mentally and physically occupied. So we now run a Bed & Breakfast in Devon! This doesn’t mean we have abandoned the opera profession but, after 40 years being extremely active in opera, we are happy for our lives not to revolve around it.
Do you have any other jobs outside the singing profession?
I always taught singing or stagecraft prior to becoming a director. I love helping singers see the bigger picture and helping them find their path to knowing their character, but always with the audience in mind. Illuminating what seems to be obvious with fresh ideas.
As a singer yourself, do you have a most memorable moment on stage?
Strangely not singing one of the gorgeous leading roles I sang but when I sang Papagena in Berlin at the Waldbühne with Barenboim! At the stage rehearsals, I felt a chill and sickness to be in one of Hitler’s rally venues. But when I looked out during the performance, the audience of 22,000 was warmly lit by all their candles. It was like putting a tyrant into the dark and switching a light on humanity.
What advice would you give to a young singer, preparing to perform?
Having done everything you could to prepare for this moment both at home in practice and at work with colleagues in rehearsal, you know what you want to say and how important it is for the little old lady on the back row to feel it. Your voice is warm, your thoughts are clear to listen to your colleagues on stage and in the pit. And now you’ll breathe, sing and express your words with honest emotion – giving yourself permission for the voice and body to be free to shapely reflect that.
If you had a superpower, would you use it to change the music profession?
I would want to be Midas, so I could distribute wealth across the world (with some sound advisers like Bernie Sanders) for the good of humanity and I would build a theatre in every town where professionals and amateurs celebrate creativity together.
How do you think art relates to society, particularly society in its current state?
As can be seen in the work of some painters through history, there must be more that opera can do to actively participate in political movements. In the past, I have always brought my beliefs to my work whether as a singer or director; in a way that causes us to scrutinise what is on the page and what is relevant to now. If we separate our beliefs from our art, we are losing an opportunity to be truly engaged with our audiences. I don’t think you can separate what’s going on in the world from how you decide to interpret your emotions. It’s not about placing opera in the Oval Office, but whatever you feel about strife, love, or death, is communicated at a far deeper level if you are engaged with what people around the globe are experiencing.
Who is your favourite singer and why?
Anna Tomowa Sintow. She is a beautiful person inside and out. She is kind to colleagues, supportive to young singers and her incredibly beautiful voice could only be as beautiful and true as she is.
And finally, if you could have one piece of music on repeat, what would it be?
Sigh and Cry by Hesta Banks!
