Entertainers >
P
Patricia Payne
Patricia Payne has sung to great acclaim in almost every major opera house in the world – La Scala Milan, Metropolitan Opera New York, Paris, Barcelona, Bayreuth, Royal Opera House Covent Garden London, Chicago! She has sung regularly with 'the three tenors', Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras.
Born and educated in Dunedin Patricia went to London to further her singing studies with internationally recognised teachers. In her debut as an opera singer at London's Covent Garden, one London review described her as "tall and majestic displaying an enormous voice, opulent in tone". Her 'enormous' voice is a rich mezzo-contralto of unusual strength and quality.
As well as her international opera career, Patricia has an extensive concert repertoire ranging from Bach and Purcell to Britten, Stravinsky, Mahler and Verdi. She has recorded opera and oratorio for Philips, Phonogram and EMI and she has made opera videos for the BBC.
She is also an accomplished cook – entertaining and cooking for corporate groups at her home (sister of Alison Holst – it runs in the family!), a dedicated angler and fly fisher and a successful artist selling at exhibitions and galleries throughout New Zealand.
Patricia talks about her life as an international opera singer – the truth behind life on the opera circuit – and sings some of the arias she has sung in the major opera houses of the world with colleagues such as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Monteserrat Caballe, Kiri Te Kanawa and Donald McIntyre.