Local opera singer hitting the high notes in Europe

The Warrenpoint opera singer is heading off to the Netherlands next month to take her place in the opera company 'Fat Lady'- a wonderful achievement in a hugely competitive market.

“It's ferociously competitive. There are hundreds of applications for every space because there are just a lot more singers than there are spots available in young artists programmes,” she explained of the programme that she has been accepted on.

“They specialize in working with young singers - developing you and kind of bringing you on so that you're ready for an international career and to head on to the audition and competition circuit.”

Aine came to this career path by another route altogether.

“I did my master's in vocal performance, but before that I was actually a biologist,” said the 27-year-old. “I studied biology at the University of Edinburgh and while I was there I joined an opera group. I was always into choirs and a lot of the people that were in the choirs and the orchestra also did opera, so that's how I fell into it. Then I decided that opera was something that I wanted to do professionally.”

The year Aine graduated Covid hit, but that turned out to be somewhat advantageous, because while there wasn't much going on performance-wise, she spent a year working at Norbrook and Randox and saved up money do do her masters in Dublin. Then came the difficult audition process, involving call-backs and in the case of 'Fat Lady' a master class if they like what they hear. “Sometimes they like you, but they're not casting your voice type or the particular kind of character that you're best at playing. So, they're just looking to hear you out of interest, but they actually never had a job for you. You have to weigh up the companies that you think are worth it and you never know, you could audition for someone that doesn't have a job for you this year, but then they'll hear you again in five years - it's amazing how long people's memories are.” That, of course can prove costly too, especially if auditioning abroad – not too mention the logistics of having to find a place to stay now for Aine’s move to Amsterdam.

“I always say to people, don't be an opera singer if you’re looking for stability. If you want to be rich and stable choose a different career, “ she laughed.

But leaving Ireland is something that Aine sees as crucial, as there are only two full-time opera companies on this island. “You have to raise your profile and build your career elsewhere if you want to really have a stab at becoming established as a soloist. It's quite difficult to do that if you don't leave the country. And then once you've built your reputation abroad, that's when you get hired back as a soloist over here. I've worked with Irish National Opera in their chorus and that was lovely but to become a soloist you nearly have to get the approval of other casting directors in other countries,”

Aine was delighted to get the opportunity to go to Europe and to work under 'Fat Lady's' Musical Director Tamir Chasson.

“He's a very, very clever guy. He's very creative. “The other thing that makes the Netherlands really appealing for English speakers is that everybody speaks perfect English, so that takes a little bit of pressure off. If you go to Germany say, they'd normally expect you to speak German and the same with Italy.”

But given that opera is often written and performed in languages other than English, Aine is determined to commit completely. “I’ve set out to learn Italian, French and German because they are the languages most common in opera and I think honestly it ends up saving you time because you don't have to translate word by word. My Italian's pretty good but my German is still a work in progress.” And while that might seem like a lot of work, Aine is clearly no slacker and can see the bigger picture. “Those skills don't exist in a vacuum. Once you learn Italian for opera you can go to Italy and speak Italian with Italians and meet people. And there definitely is a stereotype around native English speakers that they can only speak English, so I think it's nice to kind of push yourself to break that stereotype.” Other skills that don't exist in a vacuum are those Aine has learned as a biologist which she says is not that far removed from music and something she might return to in the future. “It's a lot about methodically working and thinking critically. You can use that in the music where it's not a bad thing to work methodically and I have done a little bit of research in terms of musicology. I presented for the Society for Musicology in Ireland. So I still enjoy being a researcher and I could see myself not in biology but taking those research skills someday and applying them to to a musicology position. “The life of an opera singer is not long - most opera singers retire by 55 because you're dependent the voice. As well, it's a life where there's a lot of travel and a good few sleepless nights. So I think when I hit that point where I'm not enjoying the travel and if I've done all the roles that I want to do then I could see myself going back to the research and academia.”