Singers
Vocalists, from opera house to concert hall.
"You hit a button and you know you can hear 50,000 recordings of something, and I hate that."
Petroc Trelawny talks to Irish mezzo Ann Murray about her musical upbringing and career.
"I really believe strongly that the art form, in order to stay relevant, needs to be fed with new pieces."
American soprano Renée Fleming talks about the demands on 21st century singers. Jan 2016.
"Opera was not a goal for me. The real goal is to embody the character."
Since her last UK appearance in 2012, Natalie Dessay has moved away from the opera stage
"I saw these songs,I played them and I sang them for myself, and I fell in love!"
Dutch soprano Elly Ameling, now in her 80s, talks to Tom Service about her musical career
"You're seeing somebody stepping out of their own gender, and that can be incredibly exciting"
Alice Coote discusses perception of gender in opera, with director Susannah Waters.
"In everything that I'm doing, I'm trying to find a way in to the music."
Soprano & conductor Barbara Hannigan talks to Tom about her dual life & musical passions.
"Just being on stage for some of those massive bits of music is just thrilling. You can feel it coming up through your feet."
Robert Lloyd, who turned 75 in 2015, talks to Petroc Trelawny about his singing career.
"I have ten-times more pleasure to sing as a countertenor, than for example as a baritone...I have no instinct in this voice."
Philippe Jaroussky is one of the most admired countertenors of his generation.
"I am a musician who uses the voice like an instrument. That always was my dream and my vision of how to make music."
Celebrated contralto Nathalie Stutzmann is now forging a parallel career as a conductor.
"We have to bring what we can bring as artists and say 'This is what we do, this a normal functioning mechanism of the voice'."
Countertenor Lawrence Zazzo is regarded as one of the finest singers of his generation.
Jonas Kaufmann Interview
Tom Service presents an extended interview with tenor Jonas Kaufmann.
Release date:
"If I do a new production, I want to be in contact with the director, and I want to develop something together as a team."
Swedish soprano Nina Stemme is one of the foremost interpreters of Wagner singing today.
Brigitte Fassbaender
Mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender talks to Tom Service about her life and career.
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"The public are not stupid. They are being given something, and they're choosing whether to like it or not."
Countertenor Iestyn Davies is known for operas roles from Handel to Ades.
“I cannot say that I’m in love with opera, it’s just like this is my profession, this is my job.”
Polish Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is passionate about the drama and stagecraft of opera.
Just the Two of Us: Martin and Eliza Carthy
Father and daughter Martin and Eliza discuss their influences on each other,
"I grew up in a wonderful amazing Irish Catholic family in the middle of Suburbia, USA. And you don't what I'm doing..."
Tom Service meets mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, one of the world's top Bel Canto singers
"If I think that I cannot do it better, then I won't have any excitement."
For the world’s leading opera houses, Juan Diego Flórez is the bel canto tenor of choice.
"The difficulty of being categorised is already a limit."
Anna Caterina Antonacci talks to Tom Service about the challenges of a unique vocal range
"I don’t feel that I’m championing new music. It’s just what I love to do."
American soprano Dawn Upshaw has been the muse for composers such as Saariaho and Adams
"I really wish I were more of a diva. Life would be more fun. I’d be more interesting."
Soprano Renee Fleming is famed for her limpid voice, beautiful diction and stagecraft.
"The biggest compliment is when someone comes after the performance and tells you 'I was moved. I laughed. I cried'."
Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja talks about his mission to popularise opera. Broadcast 2011.
