MEET: Colette Lam, Katterwall's newest singing teacher
Katterwall: What is your background?
Colette: I am an opera singer, a Hong Kong born Chinese. I graduated from London's Royal Academy of Music last November.
K: You've just finished a production of “The Daughter Of The Regiment” at HK City Hall. Can you please tell us about your role and the experience?
C: I played Marie, the lead role of opera. Marie was adopted and brought up in the French army as a vivandiere (a woman attached to a military regiment as a canteen keeper). She is an outgoing, energetic and fun-loving character. In terms of musical style, it is an Italian Belcanto role. Despite the fact that the opera was written in French, the composer Donizetti is an Italian composer who wrote typical Italian belcanto music that contains florid coloratura passages. This is my first Belcanto role since returning to Hong Kong. I enjoyed the experience so much with young and fine Hong Kong opera singers and musicians. Marie is not an easy role for me as people carry high expectations on the quality of singing as well as acting. I often play serious or even mad roles in opera, so this was a huge challenge for me.
K: Do you have any upcoming performances?
C: I will be singing in "In Love With Opera" with Musica Viva in Yuen Long Theatre this week. Also, I will appear as a guest singer in Wayne Yeh's recital on 23rd Feb at City Hall Theatre. I will be singing the soprano solo part in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in Bristol's Colston Hall in March.
K: What are your interests other than singing / performing?
C: I love European films and contemporary theatre performance. I'm also interested in meeting new people and travelling to new places!
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