Catrin Aur

HK Magazine: How did you initially get into singing?
Catrin Aur: I’ve been singing all my life. I come from Wales, which is known as the land of song. There’s a big tradition of singing in Wales and a lot of people are brought up to sing from an early age. I remember performing for the first time in public in my village when I was four years old. It’s one of my first memories.

Of course, my father and grandfather sang as well—not professionally, though, I’m the first person in my family to sing professionally. One of my more recent happy memories is meeting Bryn Terfel, another Welsh opera singer. He gave me very encouraging words. He said he could see a great future for me. He sings all over the world, most recently in Milan and New York, so that was fantastic. It’s interesting that Wales is very small but there are a lot of international opera singers from there. It must be something to do with our culture and the way we’re brought up.

HK: Did you always know you were going to end up singing professionally?
CA: I enjoyed it, and if I didn’t do it, I missed it, so that was a very big indication [that I’d go into singing]. I did a degree in history to begin with, but I realized very quickly that I probably should be singing. I never stopped singing [while in school], I had success in competitions and I did lots of concerts. It was a very natural progression to take it full time.

I only studied singing for about three-and-a-half years on a professional level, which is quite a short time as most study for at least eight years. I was lucky—lots of people study for very long time in music before they go on, but I went in straight after post grad. People have seemed to come [into my life] just at the right moments. I had a very good coach, Michael Pollock, who worked with very large opera companies. He was one of the first people who believed in me.

HK: What would you say are the biggest highlights in your career so far?
CA: I got a contract with the Glyndebourne Opera Company in Sussex last year. I basically left my [singing] course early to go there, and within a day I received a phone call to say I received a contract with the English National Opera as well. As soon as I leave Hong Kong I’ll be coming back [to the UK] to do my biggest opera to date—Aida by Verdi at the Royal Albert Hall. Aida is one of those roles I’ve always wanted to do. This is such an iconic Verdi role. I hope to do lots more of these
roles in future.

HK: Are there any particular types of music or roles you prefer performing?
CA: I love Verdi and I’m passionate about the Italian repertoire, like Puccini, Donizetti and Bellini—my voice fits in with it. From the concert I’m doing in the new year, there are quite a few Bellini and Verdi arias in that program. I love Mozart’s repertoire as well. I’m still a young singer, and it’s a great repertoire for a young singer because it asks a lot of you and you learn a lot from doing it. Mozart was such a genius. There are so many levels within the music, so you have to study the music and understand everything. With the best composers, you can always tell just from the music what you need to be doing as a character. It’s just so inspiring to be able to study it and perform it. I’m very happy to try new things, as well.