Kristin Darragh Photo: Steve Unwin
Auckland Choral and friends take on the big questions of life in their next concert, performing an epic work for voices and orchestra, The Dream of Gerontius.
Composed by Edward Elgar and based on the poem by John Henry Newman, the work tells the story of a dying man, Gerontius, whose soul departs his body and embarks on a spiritual journey, guided and watched over by his guardian angel.
Hamilton-based contralto Kristin Darragh will be singing the role of The Angel in the concert. She spoke with Three to Seven host Bryan Crump about the work and how, as a young singer training at the Royal Academy in London, she first found out about it, listening to recordings of all "the greats" performing the Angel role.
“It is a gift for any singer who gets to sing it,” she says.
"I think I had a go at the 'Softly and Gently' final aria, but I wouldn't have quite [understood] then anywhere near what I realise [the work] is now. It's just so deep and so profound... the subject matter, and the text, and the music together - it's divine."
Singing the guardian angel role is particularly poignant for Darragh, who recently experienced bereavement in her own family.
"In all honesty, the piece couldn't have come at a more pivotal time for me in my personal life, because last year I lost both my parents in the same year. So I nursed my mother and father, and they left this world six months apart.
"You can't help as an artist but draw on... everything that we've lived, and that we've seen or experienced. So when I realised that I was doing this [role], I had a moment of, 'Oh, wow, ok - so I'm actually going there'.
"I've been there last year in that thinking about 'what are they going to?' and 'where are they now?', and being so present with that whole questioning of the moment that the soul leaves the body, and then what.
"And now suddenly I find myself tasked with the role of The Angel and guiding - it's kind of unbelievable timing.
"So I'm just taking it as an incredible chance. Of course I'm feeling it deeply, the words are touching me, but I'm also just aware of the privilege... to be the conduit of this text and this type of story."
Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius
Conductor: Uwe Grodd
Soloists: Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono, Alfred Fonoti-Fuimaono, Kristin Darragh
Auckland Choral, Pipers Sinfonia, Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir, Auckland Chamber Choir
Sunday 23 June, 5pm, Auckland Town Hall
Photo: Auckland Choral
