(Photo: Ross Kavanagh)
This September, Northern Ireland Opera will present a new production of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”, featuring a distinguished cast under the direction of Cameron Menzies and the baton of Dominic Limburg. The production is expected to be well-received by local audiences, following the success of its sold-out performances of “La Traviata” and “Tosca.”
One of the stars of the production is mezzo-soprano Sarah Richmond, a local talent who will portray Olga. After taking a break from her career due to family commitments, she has returned with renewed energy. Richmond won the Toronto Mozart Vocal Competition in 2021 and followed this with a victory at the 2022 New York NYIOP ANON Competition. She was also a finalist in the 2022 Montserrat Caballé Competition at the Teatro Real. Her performances in various roles have garnered praise, with notable reviews highlighting her “agile, expressive voice” as Argene in Vivaldi’s “L’Olimpiade” for Irish National Opera, and her ability to enhance the dramatic effect through “sensitively crafted, detailed recitatives.”
OperaWire: What was your pathway into a career as an opera singer?
Sarah Richmond: I have always had a passion for singing, growing up in a family that cherished music. Both my parents were involved in the church choir, and I can recall singing from a very young age. My early musical influences included the Rat Pack and Frank Sinatra. It was during my early teens, when I saw my first opera, “Madame Butterfly,” that I realised I wanted to become an opera singer.
In my final year of school, I explored various course options, initially choosing a degree in art. However, it quickly became clear that my true interest lay in singing, leading me to switch to a music degree at Queen’s University in Belfast. I then followed the traditional route, studying on a scholarship at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and furthered my training with an acting course at English National Opera’s Opera Works Programme.
OW: You have taken part in numerous competitions and had a lot of success. Was this a strategy for establishing your career, or was it because you just enjoyed doing competitions?
SR: I’m not particularly fond of competitions, but I saw them as a necessary step for gaining visibility, securing employment, and finding an agent. However, I soon realised that winning competitions alone doesn’t guarantee job offers; it was still challenging to find positions.
To provide some context, after completing my master’s degree at the Royal Northern College of Music, I chose to start a family, which meant putting my career on hold for a few years. While I continued to sing, I couldn’t dedicate as much time as I wanted to. Since then, I’ve been working to catch up. It was a challenging period because I could only accept work close to home, which limited my opportunities. Now that my son is older, I have more time to focus on my career again, and things are starting to fall into place.
One positive aspect of winning competitions is the boost to your self-esteem, as it affirms that you’re on the right track, especially when you’re up against other talented singers.
OW: On stage, you seem to really enjoy the acting side of being an opera singer. How do you approach this aspect of the job?
OW: You also appear very confident on stage. How do you manage your nerves, or are you a naturally confident person?
SR: If I’m well-prepared for a role, I generally don’t feel very nervous. Knowing I can adapt if things go awry on stage gives me confidence. Preparation is key for me; when I’ve prepared thoroughly, I feel assured. I do experience nerves, though. For instance, just last night I was set to perform Elgar’s “Sea Pictures” for a BBC recording. At the last minute, due to potential disturbances in the city, they decided to record the rehearsal as a precaution. This unexpected change made me quite nervous, and for the first time, I forgot my words. Fortunately, the actual performance went smoothly without any issues.
OW: You have a varied repertoire. Is this deliberate, or do you have a preference?
SR: I’m not in a position to turn down work, so I take on any roles I feel capable of handling. I do have a particular fondness for certain types of music, especially the German Romanticism of Strauss and Mahler. I’m captivated by the rich sound and the stories they convey.
OW: How would you describe your voice?
SR: I have a lush mezzo-soprano voice with a strong upper extension. It’s a robust voice with considerable agility, spanning from low D to high C. While my range is broad, it shines most in the middle. I consider myself a lyric mezzo, but I’m also comfortable with both coloratura and dramatic roles.
OW: You are about to sing Olga in Northern Ireland Opera’s production of “Eugene Onegin.” What are your views on the character?
SR: For my current role, I started by reading Pushkin’s poem. However, I haven’t fully grasped her character yet. I find her coquettish and somewhat superficial, which frustrates me. She seems to desire a better life and strives to stay positive, but her actions, like dancing with Onegin a second time to make Lensky jealous, strike me as cruel and thoughtless. I struggle to understand why she behaves this way. These are just my initial impressions, and I look forward to discussing the character further with the director.
OW: What challenges do you see in performing the role?
SR: I don’t speak Russian, and despite working on pronunciation with my language coach, Lada Valesova, I’m finding it quite challenging. I don’t understand the language or the meanings of the words, so I’m memorising the text word for word and learning their individual meanings. Unlike German or Italian, where I can translate the words into English and know how to inflect them, Russian feels like starting from scratch. I sometimes use visualisation to grasp the meanings, but mostly it’s about continuous repetition and mastering pronunciation and emphasis. It’s time-consuming but ultimately rewarding.
The role of Olga is slightly lower than what suits my voice perfectly, but I don’t find it particularly difficult. With enough preparation, I’m confident I can manage the vocal demands. I’m eager to learn the size of the orchestra, as working with a new orchestra can be a challenge, and I’m looking forward to the sitzprobe.
In terms of acting, I don’t foresee any major difficulties. I just need to discuss the character’s direction with Cameron, the director, to understand his vision for the role.
OW: You recently sang the role of Argene in Irish National Opera’s production of Vivaldi’s “L’Olimpiade.” What were your impressions?
SR: Although I had a small role, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Working with director Daisy Evans was wonderful; she provided initial ideas and then let us explore them, only making adjustments when necessary.
The conductor, Peter Whelan, was also fantastic to work with. He brings a rock’n’roll energy to baroque music, and we had a lot of fun dancing in the wings when we weren’t on stage.
The opera was quite long, so we had to make several cuts. It was a bit disappointing because I would have liked to perform an additional aria to showcase my skills. I had spent a lot of time preparing ornamentations, but we decided against the more elaborate ones during rehearsals. Singing baroque music proved more challenging than other repertoire, as I had to think more carefully about my approach. Usually, singing feels more automatic for me.
OW: What roles will you be performing over the coming months?
SR: We’ll be performing the Vivaldi again, this time in Sicily. Following that, I’ll be heading to Bolzano to sing La Ciesca in “Gianni Schicchi.” I also have an upcoming concert focused on neurodiversity and an opera gala concert event before the Christmas season begins.
OW: What roles would you like to sing, and in what venues would you like to perform?
SR: I would love to perform the Komponist in “Ariadne auf Naxos” and Charlotte in “Werther,” as well as Orfeo in “Orfeo ed Euridice,” the title role in Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia,” and Orsini in “Lucrezia Borgia.” I aspire to sing at top festivals around the world and in major European opera houses, and to collaborate with the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras. Additionally, I dream of performing at the Harpa hall in Iceland and working regularly with directors such as Fabio Ceresa and conductors like Antonio Pappano.
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