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In Book Takes, authors share three things that readers will gain from their books as well as give an insight into what they learned during the researching and writing. This week, opera singer Katherine Wiles discusses her autobiography No Autographs, Please!
A self-described shy girl from Hamilton, Katherine Wiles has gone from rural Waikato to singing on one of the world’s most famous stages, the Sydney Opera House.
In between, she’s shared the stage with the likes of country music legend Kenny Rogers and been directed by Dame Julie Andrews; performed as a soloist onboard the royal yacht Britannia, and toured Australia in a 60th-anniversary production of My Fair Lady. She’s had her costume eaten by a performing horse and slipped into some unscripted giggling on stage.
A permanent member of the Opera Australia Chorus since 2007, Wiles has performed and understudied principal roles with Opera Australia, State Opera South Australia, New Zealand Opera and companies throughout the United Kingdom.
But the spotlight follows the leads, meaning she’s almost used to being dismissed as “singing wallpaper” by those who think she’s an opera chorister because she “didn’t quite make it”. Not so, says Wiles. She and her chorus colleagues are exactly where they want to be.
In her autobiography No Autographs, Please! Wiles gives a first-hand account of what it takes to survive as a member of an opera chorus. Here, she shares three things that might surprise readers of her new book as well as an insight into what she learned through researching and writing it.
Working as a professional opera singer is different from what people might expect
Nowadays, you need to be a triple threat. No longer do we just “park and bark”. Of course, there are some scenes where that is required, but I’ve done everything from the can-can, the splits, jumping onto tables, lying on the stage floor in a bikini, riding a corrugated iron horse and performing an entire scene on my knees dressed as a fairy.
We sing in French, German, Italian, Latin, Russian, Polish, Czechoslovakian and even Sanskrit. Working with our specialised language coaches, precise study is required to get each language correct.
Working on five or six operas at a time means we possess a ridiculous amount of memory capacity. Music calls are run by our Chorus Master at the podium and their assistant at the piano. We become vocal athletes because every opera is different. Some are easy, while others test our patience and brain power if confronted with a modern work, difficult harmonies or vocal gymnastics. If it’s an opera we perform often, thankfully, we only need to dust off the cobwebs.
Opera Australia is one very well-oiled machine. Every production takes a village, and without every person in that village, we couldn’t do our job.
Opera is not as elitist as some might think
Some people view the world of opera as elitist, unrelatable or too difficult to understand. Discounted tickets are available now more than ever, for students, under-30s and across multiple reduced ticket websites. Opera tells real stories, whether set in a period 300 years ago or present day, and are presented traditionally, or performed in a modern setting. They’re about love, loss, relationships, community, conflict, celebration, drama, tradition, culture and comedy. These are themes that are as relatable now as they were centuries ago. Surtitles give every member of the audience the ability to read along and understand what is being sung/said.
We’ve had the audience clapping along to particular scenes in a show, kids breakdancing on stage, wedding cakes thrown across the stage, cascading flowers, petals, snow and even water, I’ve had my costume eaten by a horse, sung alongside giant polar bears, dragons breathing actual fire, larger-than-life flying birds and danced on stage where everyone was dressed as either Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe. If that’s not breaking down the elitist barrier, I don’t know what is.
Like any endeavour, the people are what make it truly special
I had the privilege of working with Dame Julie Andrews for nine weeks in My Fair Lady. Julie was someone who played a significant part in my love of theatre and music from a young age, and she was one of the most gracious, generous, humble and kind human beings. But she hasn’t been the only one. There are many I could mention who have come into my life through music and gifted me some wonderful memories. When I returned to the chorus after the tour, so many said, ‘welcome home’, and it really did feel like that.
When performing with my chorus colleagues, I’ve sometimes wept at the sheer beauty of the music and their singing. It is an honour, and to be a small part of that sound is a very humbling experience. A lot of them are not just colleagues but dear friends, and I think if you can go to work every day, perform beautiful music, have a laugh and know that they’re there for you when things are tough, it feels like the best job in the world! And I get to call the Joan Sutherland Stage at the Sydney Opera House home.
I came away with a lot of gratitude by reflecting on my career
It gave me a sense of pride to catalogue my career in this way, to honour the part my family played in allowing me to discover the joy of singing, the opportunity to highlight the life of a chorister and to celebrate our contribution to the art form.
This is the first book I’ve written, so each stage of this journey has been a new experience. Joining a writers’ group with Writing NSW and engaging an editor throughout this process meant I had a group of people with my best interests at heart. It has certainly given me an appreciation and respect for every single book on a shelf and the person who has undertaken the journey to get it there.
My beautiful mum died in 2022, and as I placed a draft of my book in her casket, I made a promise that I would do everything in my power to get this story out into the world. I know she would be very proud to see me achieve this goal, and I will be forever grateful to the publishers for making this dream come true.
