CLASSIC FM 200403

Meet the chart-topping soprano with the God-given voice in a million

Just look at her now

Aged 10 she was busking down under in Christchurch, now she's singing for the Queen, is a bestselling artist and UNICEF's youngest ever ambassador, Hayley Westenra has come a long way

words by Warwick Thompson photographs by Alan Strutt

You've got to put in years of hard graft to be an overnight success, so they say. And it's never been truer than in the case of 17-year-old New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra. When her disc Pure quickly shifted 400,000 copies on its release (it's since sold over 700,000 in the UK, becoming the best-selling debut album in the history of the classical charts, beating Charlotte Church, Russell Watson and Andrea Bocelli hands down) it seemed as if she had exploded on the scene with sudden, blinding brilliance from nothing - a sort of classical Big Bang. But when I meet this chatty, animated and friendly teenager in her Covent Garden flat it soon becomes clear that she's anything but unprepared for her success. She's already a star in her homeland, with two bestselling albums to her credit. She's been singing, dancing and acting in her home country since she was six, and having piano, violin and ballet lessons for even longer. And just in case you think she's another one of those untrained vocal miracles which pops up from time to time, it's worth knowing that she's been studying singing with Dame Malvina Major - New Zealand's 'other' great gonged international operatic soprano - for the last two years as well.
When I arrive at her flat, I find it's a minefield of open suitcases, clothes, hair products, discs and paperwork. Hayley and her mother live here when they're in London, but it feels like they haven't had much chance to settle in: and as it turns out, that's exactly the case. Hayley's in the middle of a punishing UK promotional tour, and has been whizzing up and down the country, accepting more and more gigs and more opportunities to talk about her album - hardly the kind of homebody lifestyle conducive to nest-building. And after a few moments' chatting, it's clear she's already a pro at the whole touring game: she's travelled to Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Los Angeles and New York (managing to squeeze in her Carnegie Hall debut while she was there). And in the middle of it all, she casually mentions that she's studying for her British GCSEs, too. How on earth does she do it? 'You have to be very focused,' she admits. 'I always try to put my voice first. I can't stay out late because of the effect it might have on how I sing, and I mustn't eat dairy products - even though I love chocolate - and I still have to make sure there's always time for study on my schedule. But I figure I've been given this amazing opportunity and I really want to do my best.'
It seems like the sacrifices are paying off. After her recent show-stopping appearance singing a trio with Jose Carreras and Bryn Terfel at the Faenol Festival in Wales, the Spanish tenor complimented her on her beautiful voice. Her guest moments with Russell Watson and Aled Jones have repeatedly gone down a storm. And she's the youngest ever ambassador to UNICEF. Not bad for the girl from Christchurch, a city of just 450,000 people and 'at the bottom of the earth and miles away from anywhere', as her father once said.
For the first few years of her Antipodean success, Hayley's parents Gerald and Jill managed her career themselves, and they have only recently appointed Steve Abbott to be her manager. Why the wait? 'We read so many horror stories,' explains Jill, 'that we really wanted to wait until we were sure we had found the right person to be her manager. As soon as Hayley began to be famous we had plenty of offers, but our instincts told us to wait for the best person.' So Gerald pulled back from his gem-valuing business and Jill put her teaching work on hold to concentrate on looking after their daughter.
And it seems as though their caution has borne fruit. What with all the sudden exposure and media attention, I confess I wouldn't have been totally surprised to find that Hayley had a monstrous diva-size ego to match her diva-size talent. But that's certainly not the impression she gives. She's selfconfident without being pushy, optimistic without being Pollyannaish, and seems remarkably well-grounded for a teenager in such an extraordinary situation.
Of course if she's to survive in this notoriously fickle business, she needs to be - as even a cursory glance at some of her predecessors shows. Charlotte Church may have started off as 'the voice of an angel', but she's more likely to be in the news these days for her relationship problems and litigation than for anything angelic. And if the diet pills spilling out of Britney Spears's bag are anything to go by, the trappings of teen fame seem to have taken their toll in that quarter, too. Hayley's response to these tales of adolescent woe is revealing and mature: 'At the end of the day it's the music that means the most. I want to keep working on my voice - that's the key thing, as opposed to image and all the rest. But I know it's easy to get caught up in it all.'

I ask her if she's faced much pressure to dress a certain way - if her management or record company has tried to make her look sexy, for example? 'No, not at all. I dress in a way which I feel honestly reflects who I am,' she says. 'Quite down-to-earth, quite casual - just jeans and nice tops. When I first came to London, I felt like a complete country bumpkin!' But there must surely be a glamorous frock for those special performances? 'I wear dresses by the designer Jenny Packham. They're smart, not too provocative, nicely fitted, not too old for me, but they don't make me look frilly and young, either. It's just right for me.' Jill then reveals that they had a stroke of luck. 'Someone who used to work at Hayley's record company did the promotion for Jenny Packham's fashion show, and put us in touch.
Hayley wore a Packham dress to the show, and then Jenny offered to lend Hayley dresses for her concerts.'
The more I talk to Hayley, the more I learn that lucky breaks seem to follow her around like lapdogs. Take the case of her singing teacher, Dame Malvina Major, for example. Dame Malvina, who still occasionally appears at Covent Garden, is one of New Zealand's greatest operatic stars and even shared a singing teacher with her contemporary Kiri Te Kanawa. 'From the age of nine, I was desperate to have a masterclass with Dame Malvina,' says Hayley, 'but the youth opera programme I was on thought I would get a chance at school, and my school couldn't arrange it. I kept missing out. And then I sang at a concert in Auckland conducted by her partner, and he asked if Malvina had heard me sing. I said she hadn't, and he told me to ring him as soon as we got back to Christchurch.' 'We went straight to the phone from the front door!' laughs Jill. 'So I got to sing for her,' continues Hayley, 'and a few days later she offered me lessons.'
How have lessons helped her? 'She's improved my technique, helped me to support my sound better. And she's shown me how to relax my jaw, keep the tension down. But the best thing about her is that she doesn't force me into certain repertoire - she really seems anxious to help me find my own voice. She appreciates all sorts of music.' So opportunity often seems to knock for Hayley: but the thing about lucky breaks is that they most often go to people who are prepared for them. The story of Hayley's record deal illuminates this perfectly. Having appeared in countless shows and talent contests from the age of six, she began bus king when she was 10. By 12 she had saved up NZ$750 (about ￡250, 約55万円), which she spent on hiring a recording studio to make a demo. When demand grew for her disc, a family friend loaned her $5000 to make 1000 copies. She sold lots, but cannily sent some to recording companies, and before you could say 'sliced bread' Universal Music NZ had signed her up without even seeing her. Her deal is now worth ￡3m. It all sounds as if a fairy godmother had waved a wand. But then how many other 12-year-old Cinderellas would have the gumption and drive to make their own demos, press 1000 copies and strike deals with recording agencies, I wonder? And it seems like the magic spell is going to last quite a bit longer. Hayley's already thinking what she might like to put on a second album, and talking about writing her own songs. She has numerous appearances and performances booked until the crack of doom. And yet she's still not old enough to vote. I suspect that when she performs the line, 'We are the lucky ones' in the song Dark Waltz on her album, she knows what she's talking about.
For all Hayley's latest news see http://www.hayleywestenra.com/

	これは音楽CD(2枚！)が貼り付けてあった台紙です。
	そして、これが本の表紙。表情が違っているので得した気分！？(笑)