Anna Patalong, soprano

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music and who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve needed music in my life. I remember befriending children at primary school purely because they had pianos at home! To me, they were the most exciting toys imaginable. I suspect my friends quickly lost interest when I spent more time at the keyboard than actually playing with them!

I taught myself to read music when I was quite young, and I vividly remember coming home from church each week and transcribing the hymns from memory. There was never any real doubt that music would be central to my life, although I didn’t properly discover opera – or classical singing of any sort – until university. When I found it, it felt like the coming together of two of the great loves of my life – music and acting – and I was hooked!

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

I’ve always tried to view challenges as opportunities for growth – although that perspective often comes with hindsight! The pandemic was a turning point. At the end of 2019, things felt like they were finally aligning: I’d had my daughter two years earlier, my diary was full, and I was starting to feel like myself again as an artist.

Then everything stopped. Like everyone else, my work disappeared overnight. But something else was happening in parallel – my voice was changing, naturally moving from lighter lyric and coloratura repertoire into spinto roles. By the time engagements were finally rescheduled, I no longer fitted the fach I’d been working in. That meant making some very difficult decisions and, in many ways, starting again from scratch.

Looking back, it was the right call. I feel a real sense of renewal in this repertoire now – but at the time, it required a fair bit of grit and faith!

Which performances/recordings are you most proud of?

Recording William Alwyn’s Miss Julie with the BBC Symphony Orchestra just before lockdown will always be very special to me. Not least because I got to perform it alongside my husband, Benedict Nelson. It was the first time we’d worked together since our British Youth Opera days – so it felt like something of a full-circle moment.

Which particular works/composers do you think you perform best?

I absolutely adore singing Puccini, and by the end of this season I’ll have performed over two-thirds of his soprano roles. I’m quietly hoping Minnie and Turandot might come calling one day so I can complete the set…!

More recently, I’ve discovered a real affinity for Janáček. There’s something deeply instinctive about his music for me – perhaps because he was born just over the border from where my family originates in Poland. When I first opened his scores, I felt I understood the musical language and characters immediately. I’d met them before. In a strange way, it feels like coming home.

How do you make your repertoire choices from season to season?

Very few of us have complete control over what we’re offered, but I’ve reached a point where I can be clear about what I shouldn’t take on. Protecting your voice, and your mental and physical well-being, is absolutely crucial. The repertoire you choose has to sustain you, not just technically, but emotionally too.

Do you have a favourite concert venue to perform in and why?

For me, it’s less about acoustics or grandeur and more about what’s created in a space. Venues can hold a kind of magic. I firmly believe that almost anywhere can become a theatre – though that doesn’t necessarily mean we should stage opera in car parks for the sake of it. Ultimately, it’s the symbiosis between the music and the space that brings something to life.

Some of the most transformative experiences I’ve had, both as a performer and an audience member, have been in unconventional spaces – performing in Das Rheingold at the Ruhrtriennale, or proudly watching British Youth Opera’s The Rape of Lucretia in the Brunel Tunnel. Those moments really stay with you!

What do you do off stage that provides inspiration on stage?

I’m a bit of a tree-hugger at heart. Being in nature grounds me and gives me the emotional space to take on the intensity of operatic roles. I’m also fascinated by mycology – studying the hidden, microscopic world of fungi. It’s a useful reminder of scale, and it keeps the opera world in perspective!

What is your most memorable concert experience?

For better or worse, it probably has to be “EU dress-gate day” at the Albert Hall!

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

If one person leaves the audience feeling changed in some way, that’s success as a musician. As a person… that’s a more complicated question!

What do you feel needs to be done to grow classical music’s audiences?

It’s the million-dollar question. But at its core, I think the answer is simple: do the work well. Audiences can tell when something is done with integrity versus when it’s been diluted. Even if they can’t articulate it, they feel it.

We’re living in a time where shared cultural experiences – whether it’s opera or The Traitors – need to feel like events. Opera is already brilliant at that, and I think we should lean into it. That might mean tuxedos and champagne, or it might mean an underground tunnel with sticky floors. Both can be completely valid.

What’s the one thing in the music industry we’re not talking about which you think we should be?

Honestly? Fees. Money underpins almost every issue in the industry. The reality is that we’re not attracting – or retaining – a truly diverse range of talent, because many of us simply can’t afford to sustain a career in opera without financial backing or independent wealth.

It’s a real loss. And it’s still something people are reluctant to discuss openly – even amongst fellow singers. The gender pay gap is also still very much alive and kicking in opera, and there are very few meaningful mechanisms in place to address it. It’s the industry’s last big taboo.

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?

Be a good colleague. Respond to emails. Be kind. Understand that everyone in a production is doing their best, often to make you look good.

It’s a small world, and people talk – a lot. Learn German. Stay humble, because things can change overnight, but don’t lose heart if they do. There’s often very little logic to how careers unfold. Know your worth and add tax.

Most importantly, work out who you are as an artist, and hold onto that for dear life. It’s the one constant you’ll always need.

Anna Patalong will be singing the role of Tosca alongside Gwyn Hughes Jones as Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as Scarpia with the CBSO on 27 June.

Anna Patalong is Chief Executive of British Youth Opera, who have just accepted their 2026 cohort of young artists for the Serena Fenwick Programme with their showcase performance scheduled for 18 July at Garsington, with Summer opera performances to take place in August.

annapatalong.com