Fiona Henry says she was pregnant every year she was doing her music degree. Photo / Otago Daily Times
Fiona Henry says she was pregnant every year she was doing her music degree. Photo / Otago Daily Times
KEY POINTS:
It's one thing to pursue a dream, but it's quite another to do it with three kids on your hip.
Soprano Fiona Henry is about to do just that and take her young family across the world in pursuit of a career in opera.
The 30-year-old has justbeen accepted into the prestigious Morley College Opera School in London.
"It's something I've always wanted to do. It was just a case of when," the Dunedin singer said yesterday. "I've got a burning desire to follow my dream and see how far it takes me.
"It's been a real process for us. But I really believe that you've got to make things happen for yourself and that often involves sacrifice."
Henry attended Queens High School before completing a bachelor of music and performance voice degree at the University of Otago.
She married Kavanagh College teacher Carlos Henry in December 2002.
"And each year I just seemed to pop out another child," she mused. "I was pregnant every year I was doing my degree."
Having three young children was an inspiration rather than a handicap, she said.
"It is challenging at times and life is very busy. But, you've just got to believe you can do it," she said.
"Things can be complete pandemonium at home, but you've still got to go out there and perform. And the kids are used to my practising at home all the time. My doing this is part of their lives."
Henry was the runner-up in the 2005 Otago Daily Times Aria and won the Christchurch Aria last year.
"This will be a great opportunity for me, because Morely will be a good way to get into the scene and get to know people," she said.
"My goal is to audition for the National Opera Studio in London. That would be a launching pad for a career in opera."
