Culture That Made Me: Opera singer Claudia Boyle on her touchstone influences
Claudia Boyle, opera singer
Born in 1983, Claudia Boyle grew up in Knocklyon, Co Dublin. As a soprano, she has performed at some of the world’s greatest opera houses.
The Maria Callas estate presented her with the miraculous medal worn by the legendary singer.
In 2015, Mike Leigh cast her in The Pirates of Penzance in London’s West End. She presents the afternoon radio show, Weekend Classics with Claudia Boyle, on Lyric FM.
- She will be in concert with City of Cork Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in aid of Cork Simon Community, 8pm, Thursday, December 12.
As a young girl, I was more drawn to actors than musicians. I loved Meryl Streep. I was a bit obsessed with her. I found her so engaging, so believable. Also the full spectrum she does – these very heavy, serious, real-life, weighty roles like, say, Sophie's Choice as well as these hugely comic roles. Death Becomes Her was a film I loved. I loved the humour in it. Even as a child, I was aware of her quality. She’s phenomenal.
My two sisters studied ballet in Russia. Dance was a big influence in our house. I loved ballet, the drama of it. One of my favourite ballets on television every Christmas was Giselle. It always got to me. I loved the story, the music. I was engrossed by it – the movement, the drama, the theatre of it. Apart from being highly skilled and trained athletes with huge stamina, ballerinas have to be actors. Everything is in their faces and expressions. I found Giselle so engaging.
I remember the Scottish Ballet did The Nutcracker at Dublin’s Point Depot. I played a mouse in it. I was maybe six or seven. Tchaikovsky’s score is full of hits and great, accessible melodies you remember and can sing back. How Tchaikovsky was able to create magic was so impressive. Even outside the melodies and the huge symphonic passages, he could create specific texture, like drops coming from a fountain. The music of the sugar plum fairy section is so crystalline. The story of The Nutcracker has magic in it, and Christmas is a time of magic.
An old classic movie I’ve watched many times is L.A. Confidential. They don't make them like that anymore. I loved it from start to finish. I loved the story, the intrigue, the soundtrack, the setting. I loved Kim Basinger and Russell Crowe’s performances, the chemistry between them. It was beautifully shot, beautifully filmed. It was so atmospheric. I loved the 1950s Hollywood glamour, so stylish.
The story of Romeo and Juliet is iconic. It works very well for a ballet. It's Shakespeare's story of quarrelling families and young love and the heartbreak when it doesn't work out. Sergei Prokofiev’s score is very atmospheric. There's huge, big romantic moments in it. It doesn't get any more quintessentially romantic than the balcony scene. Add in dance to that as well, it's amazing.
I hold Maria Callas dear to my heart. She had a unique voice, a very big instrument. She originally sang Wagner, much heavier, bigger, larger music. She could also sing a bel canto role with vocal acrobatics perfectly. It catapulted her to stardom because it was rare to get a huge Wagnerian voice singing the bel canto repertoire. She could sing so many different fachs, or voice types. She even sung the role of Carmen, a mezzo soprano role.
She gave everything of herself on stage. You believed every word she sang. She had personal issues in her life. Aristotle Onassis left her to marry Jackie Kennedy. That left her bereft. Sometimes listening to her, you can hear sadness and vulnerability in her voice, which is beautiful.
An American soprano I loved was Anna Moffo. She was born to Italian immigrant parents in America. She got famous quickly. On top of being able to sing everything, she was stunning. Callas was called La Divina – the divine one; and Anna Moffo was called La Bellissima – the beautiful one. She had a beautiful voice. She was this songbird, with amazing technique. She had a lovely warm sound in her voice. I especially loved her singing the role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.
I love Verdi’s La Traviata. Verdi was so proficient at telling a story and painting a picture. You almost don't need the text and songs because his music shows you what's happening. It’s full of huge hits like the Drinking Song. I love singing the Violetta role. It's a very difficult role to sing. Artistically, it's something you can get your teeth into. She's thinking of her own morality and mortality. She's looking towards her death. It's very satisfying to act the part, and vocally equally satisfying. The music is beautiful and Verdi’s orchestrations are stunning.
It doesn't get better than Luciano Pavarotti, my go-to to hear a tenor singing Italian music. He sings a famous aria from La Fille Du Regiment. There are nine high Cs in it, very high for a tenor, but Pavarotti could do it with such flair. Sometimes a male singer can lighten the sound when they go up high, but Pavarotti didn't do that. He was able to get this exciting, full-blooded sound on his top notes. It's impressive. He got the title “King of the High Cs” because of this aria. It’s exhilarating to listen to him.
I can’t get enough of Ella Fitzgerald’s voice. When she sings, it makes you smile – it's so comforting. She was so musical as well, but she had real warmth in her sound in her performance. She sticks out for me.
I love Enda Walsh’s writing. He's like a modern-day Samuel Beckett. There's so much to unpack in his text. He writes so beautifully, so poetically. It's very heightened. Then he can do something completely mundane. How he plays with that, I find interesting. It also suits opera because opera is such a heightened artform. We're doing something very unnatural with our voices, how we sing. I really enjoyed doing The Last Hotel, his opera with Donnacha Dennehy. It was great fun, very satisfying – something you could dive into.
I love The Importance of Being Earnest. It’s a great night at the theatre. When the news can get heavy, it's nice to see something light. It's not overly dark. A play I never tire of. I’ll always go to see different actors, to see how they can turn the lines and present them differently, waiting for Lady Bracknell’s handbag line to see how that specific actress will say it. Oscar Wilde’s work is amazing. Everything is so well balanced. It’s very, very funny. A masterpiece.
I recently read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It’s a brilliant story. Reading it, it was this little oasis that I could go to, just the escapism of it. There’s something magical about reading – it's your own little space, like a little retreat. I thoroughly enjoyed that novel. The characters were brilliant. I loved them.
