Acclaimed New Zealand soprano Anna Leese is set to perform Bic Runga's first classical piece during a three-centre concert tour with Tākiri Ensemble.
Anna Leese Guidi, soprano Photo: Charles Brooks
The pop star wrote a song for Anna after the two divas shared a dressing room at Opera in the Park in Nelson last year.
Anna admitted to being a bit "starstruck", but bonded with Bic Runga over their shared experience of balancing motherhood with performing and the heartbreak and guilt of being away from their children so much.
Bic's song, A Mother’s Eyes is the result of that deeply personal conversation and a few months of email collaboration. It was first performed during the Nelson Arts Festival 2018.
" I couldn’t believe her strength to have her child with her and also perform the super human feat of singing the way she does. I really feel for women in the music industry and in the opera world I think it might be even harder. I wanted to write a song for her about motherhood, in a way it’s a difficult subject to write about but I thought having the voice she has she could pull it off."
Runga was also inspired by Anna's soprano voice.
" I think in fact her highest register is the most sweet and musical I’ve ever heard. It would be easy to make that high part of your voice sound bad but hers is so skilled and agile. When she said she was trying to commission New Zealand composers to write for her, I jumped at the chance to write something for that range she has."
“It’s ended up being quite a beautiful little song", says Anna, "It doesn’t encapsulate everything we spoke about that day, but we have since spoken about turning it into a cycle. And so that is the thought for the future, that hopefully she might be able to find the time to turn it into a series."
New Zealand singer-songwriter Bic Runga showed a genuine interest in the opera world in 2017 when she joined the Dame Malvina Major Opera Studies Programme as an observer. Bic Runga developed breathing problems after having children and the opera icon taught Bic how to breathe properly for singing and how to develop her high range.
She came away inspired, and with lots ideas.
"It’s a really big world to draw from. Just a little glimpse of it has been really valuable to me.”
Anna Leese would love to perform more New Zealand music.
"Every performer I know wants to ask composers to write for them, but nobody can actually afford to pay for it... and they absolutely deserve to be paid. I just wish there was an easier way to fund it because so much more of it should be happening, I think.”
Tākiri baritone Robert Tucker agrees, “as a group we would love some original New Zealand classical quartets, but there’s just nothing out there. David Hamilton was kind enough to rejig some of his choral pieces in previous tours.”
Takiri Ensemble has had lots of offers from composers but they lack the funds to realise them - "We’d love to be able to commission them all.”
Tākiri Ensemble are performing On this Shining Night, music by Schubert, Schumann, Ravel, Morten Lauridsen, Bic Runga, Anthony Ritchie and more, in Dunedin May 10 (Marama Hall), Christchurch May 11 (The Piano) and Wellington May 18 (St Andrews on the Terrace).
Tākiri Ensemble: (L-R) Manase Latu, Robert Tucker, Kirsten Robertson, Maaike Christie-Beekman, Anna Leese Guidi Photo: RNZ Concert / Clarissa Dunn
