From primary school choir to international opera singer, Michael Lampard’s musical journey is the stuff of dreams.
Growing up in Hobart, his talent was spotted at the age of seven by a music teacher who quickly took him under her wing.
“She ignited my passion for opera and inspired my love of music and kept pushing me to discover my interests,” Lampard said.
“I fell in love with opera at a young age; I knew it was what I wanted to do.
“Boys in their late teens are still limited about what they can do as an opera singer, because they don’t have the power or technical capabilities of more mature singers, so I did musical theatre to build my vocal range without the demands of opera.”
At 19, he was selected to star in the Rome Opera Festival season of Cosi Fan Tutte and two years later was a finalist in Placido Domingo’s (of Three Tenors fame) Operalia competition in Paris.
The 28-year-old Point Cook resident will star in Melbourne Opera’s new production of The Pearl Fishers, which will run at The Athenaeum Theatre until September 30.
He admits that as an opera performer, he is still a novice. “Opera places huge demands on your voice. There are roles I won’t be able to touch for decades simply due to the demands on my voice.
If you look after your voice, opera singers can continue well into their 70s and Placido Domingo is a great example, because he’s still singing in the best opera houses in the world when most other singers his age are long retired.”
Lampard said it was a privilege to perform in The Pearl Fishers, which is set in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and tells the story of how two men’s vow of friendship is threatened by their love for the same woman.
For more details visit www.melbourneopera.com.
Michael Lampard. Photo: Joe Mastroianni
