KZN soprano finds her voice in opera

RETURNING home to KwaZulu-Natal for her university holiday, Rhodes music graduate and soprano Emma Farquharson, 22, has been performing for locals at three opera recitals this month.

Her show Opera Found, in which she is accompanied by pianist Jacques Heyns, is a compilation of classic opera hits and fun songs that range from I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady to Quando Mén Vo from Puccini’s La Boheme. She will perform the final show of her working holiday tomorrow at Pietermaritzburg’s Hayfields Lutheran Church before returning to Grahamstown to study for her Honours degree.

“Opera might be seen as a niche, but I believe it offers women a chance to play a number of roles on stage,” said Farquharson, adding “opera doesn’t put females in boxes. They can expand to the full range of human emotions”.

She said her first home performance, in Hilton’s Anglican Church of the Ascension, saw her perform for the first time without her voice coach present.

“But I was also very excited. I felt ready to put myself out there and go it solo. I had to maintain my level of health and do what I usually do at varsity – get enough sleep, drink tea for three days and no coffee and nothing sugary, which bit into the holiday.”

Since her debut, Farquharson has staged A Feather on the Breath of God, at the Nun’s Chapel Theatre on the Rhodes University campus. She plans to include a course in conducting in her Honours year.

“There are not many female conductors,” she said.

Farquharson chose opera while training as a solo singer. She had participated in local choral events while attending Wykeham Collegiate School in Pietermaritzburg and was a member of the KZN Midlands Youth Choir.

Tomorrow’s performance starts at 2.30pm. Entrance costs R80 for adults and R40 for under 18s.