Eliza Boom Lexus Song Quest runner-up 2018 Photo: Lexus Song Quest
Munich-based lyric soprano Eliza Boom is making the most of time with family, friends and the Whangarei sun before she embarks on a short tour of Aotearoa, where her newly honed skills singing German repertoire will come to the fore.
Boom spoke with RNZ Concert's Three to Seven host Bryan Crump ahead of a lieder recital in Auckland with pianist Michael Pandya, which will be followed by a concert with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra singing Strauss's Four Last Songs.
Richard Strauss Photo: Wikicommons
Strauss, an athiest, wrote the songs in the autumn of his life, but Boom, a singer who grew up in a church environment and who is now in the summer of her career, finds plenty she can relate to.
"What does it mean to prepare to die? You can hear that in every note I think...that sort of bitter-sweet feeling of acknowledging the fullness of life that has gone before, and preparing the soul for release...whether that's from a spiritual perspective or a secular one, I think that's something we all think about."
Eliza Boom Photo: Tracey Morris
Born in Hamilton, raised in Northland, Boom's upbringing was deeply musical, although not in a classical way.
She joined with her family singing folk and gospel in evangelical churches across Aotearoa, one of the reasons Boom is also comfortable singing with a microphone, or acoustic guitar. She even tried drums for a while.
But she knew, once she got to the Music Department of Waikato University, that opera and classical art song was her calling.
"As long as you love singing, that's what I say. As long as you sing with your own voice."
After coming second in the Lexus Songquest in 2018, Boom landed a job with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Munich's state opera company, as part of its Opera Studio programme for promising young singers.
It was both a massive opportunity and a huge challenge for the New Zealander, who was in her mid-twenties when she moved to the southern German city in 2020.
"You can't imagine how much pressure there is. Every time you do the tiniest part of a six-hour-long opera...maybe if you're in Wagner and you have your few sentences, and you're backstage thinking I can not muck this up. I have 20 seconds to show them what I can do."
At times like that, Boom relied on the faith she had in her own training and preparation..."thinking back to all the work you've done before and just trusting that".
Boom obviously made the grade, and is now into her fourth year based in Munich, where she's rapidly carving out a niche as a lyric soprano with strong credentials singing German classical music.
Does that mean Munich is now home?
"New Zealand will always be home", replies Boom, and she mentions how much she's appreciated the "openness of people" since she's been back, but she's "very happy" in the beautiful Bavarian city.
Her favourite place? The Isar River with flows through Munich's heart and where Boom goes swimming "all year round".
Even in the middle of winter when there's snow on the ground?
"That's the best time."
The Isar River, good swimming even in the winter. Photo: Diego Deslo
