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Tuesday 7 October 2008

Self-confident Royal

Carolyn Bartholomew meets Kate Royal

Kate’s ease on stage is very obvious and she attributes it to her theatrical and dance background. ‘It was a useful tool to begin with. I always felt comfortable on stage. I have always felt free and in touch with my body.’ She is passionate about other singers being part of the action on stage. ‘I hate selfishness in a singer. Some singers still think that it is all right to stand and sing on the stage, bow and walk off. It is not. Singers like Simon Keenlyside are quite different. He gives of himself, helps and challenges the other singers in a constructive way.’

She also combines a ‘classic’ lyric soprano voice with the intellect and insight to interpret text and lyrics. She is dedicated and focused in her preparation and clear about the decisions she makes regarding repertoire and the pace of her career. But, in the cut-throat world of singing, is she ever afraid to say ‘no’? Royal laughs. ‘Absolutely not!’ she says. ‘You must trust yourself. You need to sing the right repertoire, have the right amount of time for rehearsal. In fact, I am always begging for more time for preparation. Although I am very lucky that I can more or less pick and choose what I sing.’ She cites Mozart, Handel, Schumann, Debussy and Strauss as composers with whom she has the most affinity.

Royal dedicates a full five months a year to recital singing. ‘It is an all-consuming passion,’ she explains. ‘It’s my special treat and is a very big and important side to my life. It balances out the dynamics of the opera world — it is like a boiling-down of the opera genre. It is that uniquely intimate connection with the audience in recital which makes it so special. Many of them know the songs better than me. Just the simple act of walking on to the platform alone with a pianist to share the poetry and the music is everything.’

But while Royal is keen to present herself as a contemporary young woman, dressing fashionably and listening to Prince, Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder in her spare time, she is critical of some ‘crossover’ artists. A person who is not on a stage who sings ‘a three-minute aria with a microphone is not an opera singer’. Royal is actually a puritan and a perfectionist. Bona fide, old-fashioned and authentic. She also believes that classical CDs will continue alongside ‘downloads’: ‘I think that people buying classical music like to add to their actual collection, to have the pamphlet in their hands, complete with the artwork, background, details and possibly the lyrics and poetry. I don’t think that will change.’

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