I used to pass out with stage fright, says Proms soprano
THE soprano who will take centre stage at tonight’s Last Night of the Proms was once so debilitated by stage fright that she would faint after every performance.
Golda Schultz said she suffered from “fainting goat syndrome” which caused her to freeze at the sight of an audience. It became such a regular occurrence that fellow performers learnt to catch her as she fell and carry her unconscious from the stage.
At the Royal Albert Hall this evening, there will be no such challenges. Schultz will sing to a near-empty auditorium, in keeping with Covid rules.
However, she will not sing Rule, Britannia! or Land of Hope and Glory, the first time since 2007 that the evening’s soloist will not perform them. The BBC has instead chosen eight BBC singers, who will perform from the stalls while socially distanced.
In an interview with the website Living the Classical Life, Schultz said: “I had fainting goat syndrome. Imagine the goat in a terrifying situation – it faints and pretends it’s dead. This is my version of that. I had such horrible stage fright I would faint after every performance. I’d go pale, the blood would leave my brain. I would sing, and I would fall over. People stood on either side of me so they could catch me, and lay me down and move my body to the side so someone could play a piano concerto.”
She said she conquered her fear during the “shock therapy” of a performance before an audience of hundreds. “I looked at the audience, they were looking at me, and I said, ‘I’m really sorry. I’m really nervous and I’m going to need a minute’. They laughed, and my body knew I wasn’t in danger. And I haven’t had stage fright since.”
Schultz will perform alongside Dalia Stasevska, principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She said it was “an honour to be given this role” at the Last Night.