Natasha Marsh
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Natasha Marsh is a British operatic soprano.
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[edit] Biography
Natasha was brought up in an intensely creative household where music was rarely off the agenda; she grew up listening to anything from Steeleye Span to Bach and Mozart via Shirley Bassey and Whitney Houston and, from an early age, decided she’d follow in Julie Andrews’ sainted footsteps into musical theatre. An early and passionate devotee of music on stage and screen, Natasha sang in dozens of school productions, spent four years with the National Youth Music Theatre and at 17, started taking singing lessons with her (still current) music teacher. At 21 she graduated with a first in music and drama from Birmingham University and won a coveted scholarship to the Royal College of Music opera school.
I knew my voice had potential, remembers Natasha, but I hadn’t really considered opera at that stage so I was very honoured to get a place at the opera school and to be able to maximise the opportunity of developing my voice and seeing where it would lead me. Then as soon as I started studying the art of singing and performing opera, singing in different languages and learning the process of developing a role, that was it, I was hooked!” Natasha subsequently made her critically acclaimed debut with Grange Park Opera singing Jacqueline in Fortunio by André Messager; she returned to sing the roles of Governess in Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. She won the ‘M.O.C.S.A. Young Welsh Singer of the Year 1999’, and has since created the title role in Michael Berkeley’s new opera Jane Eyre with great success for Music Theatre Wales. Roles with a number of opera companies include Musetta in Opera Holland Park’s production of La Boheme, Micaela (Carmen) at the Royal Albert Hall – “she provided the best singing of the afternoon, not just in terms of technique but because the emotion of the aria really came from somwehre. She alone seemed to be acting and behaving through her character” (The Independent) and First Lady in The Magic Flute with Glyndebourne Touring Opera. Opera North offered Natasha the opportunity to debut the role of Ilia in Tim Albery’s production of Idomeneo and the following year she sang Pamina (Die Zauberflote) for Opera Zuid. This summer she performed as Olga in Umberto Giordano’s Fedora at Opera Holland Park.
“There’s so beauty and power in opera,” Natasha says. “I love every minute of it – from the first day of rehearsals you’re exploring details of the character, developing the role in your voice, getting to know your character. And the costumes are so important – I find shoes are vital to the character, the way you wear them and therefore the way you walk in them. It’s easier to portray a role once I’ve got the shoes on; I get so involved in the role, the build-up to opening night is often a rollercoaster ride and it’s important to pace myself so I’m not exhausted for the premiere!” Natasha’s festival appearances include the Birmingham Early Music Festival and the London Handel Festival where she performed as Flavia in Silla (recorded by Hyperion). She has performed at the Beaumarais Festival and at the Teatro Calderón in Spain. Her oratorio work includes Tippett’s A Child of our Time under David Hill, the Messiah at the Arlosen Festival, the Mozart Requiem with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Silete Venti with the London Handel Festival Orchestra at Windsor Castle. Natasha has performed the Mozart Requiem and Exsultate Jubilate with Harry Christophers and The Sixteen in Spain along with making her Proms debut as Israelite Woman in Handel’s Samson. She also performs regularly at Raymond Gubbay’s classical evenings.
[edit] Debut album
Natasha’s debut album entitled Amour is a panoramic combination of core classical pieces and classic songs featuring some of Natasha’s favourite composers and artists. The familiar – Verdi’s Si Un Jour, Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 1, Delibes’ Les Filles de Cadix – will surprise and delight the listener with their fresh, contemporary yet lush arrangements while 20th century classic songs – Ewan McColl’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Jimmy Webb’s He Moves and Eyes Follow, Bernstein’s Somewhere (from West Side Story) – are performed by Natasha with the grace, lyricism and sheer musicality that has earned her a string of critical plaudits. There’s also a duet with the new, dashing young tenor, Alfie Boe – Verdi’s Brindisi (from La Traviata), and classic film songs such as Rota’s Al Giochi Addio (Romeo and Juliet), Bacalov’s Mi Mancherai (Il Postino) and Autumn Leaves (Les Portes de Nuit).
The repertoire on the cd reflects my aim to make opera and classical singing accessible rather than let it remain elitist.
Below Natasha discusses the album track by track:
- Filles de Cadix (Maidens of Cadix)
A sparkling song by Delibes about the fun loving, flirting maids of Cadix who adore the attention they get from the men. However their free-spirited hearts do not allow them to be tied down even when offered gold and riches from a wealthy admirer!
- Vocalise
I'll never forget the first time I heard this piece. I had goosebumps within seconds. The bittersweet melody is so haunting and the strings provide such a beautiful bed of sound that the singer can simply melt in and out of Rachmaninoff's harmonies.
- La Delaissado (the abandoned woman)
A heart-breakingly sad song from the set of 'The songs of the Auvergne'. A shepherdess sits waiting in the woods for her lover. He never appears and she remains abandoned and crying. The melody is simple and the orchestration captures the heartache and yearning felt with great tenderness.
- Et Misericordia
Et Misericordia from "Magnificat" is by John Rutter, the contemporary English composer. The soprano begins a melody set to this Latin text before the choir joins in to continue the journey. She soars above and develops twists and turns in the harmony towards a calm, serene resolution. The phrases are so lyrical and the London Voices provide such a fantastic cushion of sound upon which the singer weaves her melody.
- Gymnopedie no. 1
A vocalise on Satie's well known piano composition. He wrote this simple melody to evoke the ceremonial dances of young athletes in Ancient Greece but in this arrangement it has the feel of a lullaby.
- Si un jour
One of my favourite films is the classic French film 'Jean de Florette'. The famous melody played in the film originates from Verdi's 'La forza del destino'. This song has been on an interesting journey; we have created lyrics and expanded Verdi’s original melody whilst trying to capture the melancholy and nostalgia the Provencal hills evoke.
- Ai Giochi addio
From Zeffirelli's film 'Romeo and Juliet'. The song bids farewell to childhood games and speaks of the exciting and new mysteries that young love brings. This is a beautiful, poignant song to sing. The lush orchestration makes the song romantic and timeless.
- Pur ti miro
This sublime duet between Poppea and Nero comes from Monteverdi's opera 'L'incoronazione di Poppea'. The lovers are reunited and sing of their promises to one another. It's a great pleasure to enjoy blending voices and timbres with another singer - particularly this counter-tenor!
- La Wally
A well-known aria from a relatively unknown opera written by Catalani. La Wally describes the nostalgia of her childhood home in the mountains where she longs to walk amid the golden clouds. She has decided to leave home rather than marry the man her Father wants her to wed; not surprisingly the opera ends in tragedy.
- Brindisi
From Verdi’s famous opera 'La Traviata'. Alfredo has adored Violetta from afar and joins her in a drinking song at a lavish party to entertain the party goers. The company join to sing: 'Be happy.....wine, song and laughter beautify the night!'
- He moves and eyes follow
A beautiful Jimmy Webb song about a woman's desire she feels for a man at a party. Everywhere he goes, 'light follows' and when he leaves, the room remains cold, faded and bare. It’s passionate and sad at the same time.
- The first time ever I saw your face
Ewan McColl wrote this wonderful, classic folksong about his wife, Peggy Seeger, who also sang the original version in the early 1960s. The lyrics capture the whole essence of love at first sight.
- Mi mancherai
This theme comes from the beautiful film 'Il Postino' - a film I adore. The words describe the longing and emptiness we feel when our lover has left. Happiness and intensity fades when we are not together. The use of the bandoneon adds a romantic flavour to this song and gives an authenticity of spirit that allows us to imagine we are on the idyllic, isolated Italian island.
- Somewhere
'Somewhere', written by Leonard Bernstein and Steven Sondheim for 'West Side Story'’, speaks of the hope and desire to find a place where fear no longer exists and the lovers can finally be reunited and at peace. It is great to have the chance to accompany myself on the piano in this number!
- Autumn Leaves
This particular version of Autumn Leaves was inspired by the great Eva Cassidy. The arrival of Autumn with its falling leaves shed colours which bring yearning for lost love and nostalgia. The rich orchestration creates a golden melancholy while the piano plays a wistful falling melody.
[edit] Press
* FEDORA – Holland Park Opera 2006 Natasha Marsh, a glittering Olga (The Times) Natasha Marsh’a dazzling Olga shows promise of a lustrous career (The Observer)
* CARMEN – Royal Albert Hall 2005 …the real star of the show was Natasha Marsh’s Micaela. She conveyed both the vulnerability and spirit of a role that can amount to little more than just one show-stopping aria. She provided the best singing of the afternoon with that – not just in terms of technique but because the emotion of the aria really came from somewhere. (Independent)
* LA BOHEME – Opera Holland Park 2004 Natasha Marsh makes a splendid Musetta, as coquettish and secure vocally as she is physically. (Metro)
* IDOMENEO – Opera North 2003 Natasha Marsh makes her Opera North debut as Ilia…it is a strong debut, her part carried with clear confidence and fitting grace. (Yorkshire Post)
* THE TURN OF THE SCREW – Grange Park Opera 2002 Natasha Marsh confirms her star potential…a Felicity Lott in the making. (Sunday Times) Natasha Marsh breathed enough night-sweat into the phrase ‘he could see how well I do his bidding’ to steam up the theatre. Hers is a wonderful performance of gradual unhinging, sung and phrased with levels of suggestion rarely heard… (The Times)
* FORTUNIO – Grange Park 2001 The cast is first rate with Jacqueline winningly taken by the soprano Natasha Marsh, imposing of voice and figure, who convincingly twists every man around her little finger. (Guardian) Natasha Marsh looks as lovely as she sounds and brings a bright, burnished soprano and serious professionalism to her performance. (Opera Now) the ravishing Natasha Marsh, the outstanding Grange Park star this year. (Evening Standard)
[edit] Discography
- Amour (EMI Classics UK, 2007)
