I want everyone to be touched by my performance
When Kishani Jayasinghe sings at the Lionel Wendt on January 9 she’ll be singing with all her heart, just as she always has. Amidst the soaring notes of Bizet and Rachmaninov will be a special message of love for this time around she’s singing for the displaced children of the North and East. “To be able to do something for children through something I love is truly a blessing,” she tells the Sunday Times over an email interview. “I’ve always believed that helping children can shape a generation. They’re our future, after all.”
Kishani: Happy to perform for a cause close to her heart
The Sri Lankan soprano (who lives and works mainly in Britain) has been in the country regularly since the beginning of this month, preparing for the concert in January. This show holds a hint of the bittersweet for her; she lost her mentor and singing teacher Pamela Cook, MBE, a few months ago. “It’s heartbreaking,” she says simply. Pamela was responsible for inducting Kishani into the world of opera when the two met in 2002. It was with her encouragement that Kishani auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and won a scholarship to study in its postgraduate programme. Her career soon flourished, and she is now one of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated opera singers performing abroad, playing a plethora of roles in productions such as Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème.
The January concert will also be a test of sorts for her, performing as she is for the first time at home without Pamela’s guidance and input. But she’s confident in that quiet, unassuming way of hers. “I’ve prepared most of this programme with my coaches at Covent Garden,” she shares. “And I know I have Pam’s wisdom, expertise and generosity carved into my soul, so her teachings will always be with me.” Besides, she’s got by her side what she laughingly refers to as the ‘S-Team’-Soundarie David on Piano, Sureka Amerasinghe on flute, Satish Casie Chetty on violin and Shamistha de Silva on cello.
It also helps that she has such a fantastic cause to inspire her performance. Her last concert in 2009 was for the Sunera Foundation-this time around, she’s working with First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa’s Siriliya Foundation. “I was very touched and extremely saddened by the plight of the young lives caught in the midst of an incredibly long civil war,” she explains. Being a mother of two young children herself-Kiyaan and Kitaara-she finds herself humbled by their courage and strength in the face of such adversity.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned opera lover or a complete newbie-the concert is sure to have something for you. The soprano looks forward to titillating the senses of her audience with a selection of pieces that will be sung ‘opera-style’ but won’t necessarily be of the genre. “My concerts tend to reflect my personal tastes in music,” she says. So naturally, the main section will consist of music by Rachmaninov, Gounod, Puccini, Bizet and Gershwin; while the singer appreciates unusual music, she’s just naturally drawn to powerful, soaring melodies and these pieces carry a certain professional nostalgia. But she does love a variety of genres so “I’m making this an opportunity to share my take of the varied and the wonderful with my guests,” she smiles. This is why Kishani is doubly pleased to be performing on home turf, because she has the luxury of personalising them “in a way you can only do at home.”
Interspersed among these you’ll also find folk songs, semi-classical favourites and even some jewels from the silver screen. The meaningful texts and stunning melodies of many carry personal meaning for Kishani and she finds nothing says thank you better than a heartfelt dedication. For the singer a good concert is one that delivers in terms of enjoyment for everyone, not just those in perfect tandem with what she knows and loves best. “Be it the music buff or the enthusiastic amateur, I try to ensure that anyone who comes for my concerts is touched by the performance,” she tells us. “I want them to be visually entranced, enamoured with the voice and to leave the auditorium with a spring in their step. That’s the magic of beautiful music!”
Tickets and box plans for the show, to be held at 7.30 p.m. on January 9, are available at the Lionel Wendt.