Future star

Reading your interview with Barbara Hannigan (May) was such a treat. I met Barbara in 1987 when I was on staff with a musical theatre training programme, Triple Threats, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. She was a bright light even then – while other students were belting their hearts out in classes and performances, Barbara was soaring above them all with her ethereal, angelic voice. We may have even sung the duet ‘A Little Fall of Rain’ from Les Misérables at a cabaret performance; she will need to verify that, as my memory is a bit fuzzy on this point. That autumn of 1987 she moved from Nova Scotia to Toronto to live with her aunt, so she could attend Etobicoke School of the Arts. As I was living in Toronto in the Spring/summer of 1988, I was able to attend one of her school performances. I remember thinking I will be able to say ‘I knew her when…’ Thank you, Barbara, for proving me right!

Mark Stevenson, Fort Myers, Florida, US