festival in austria, where she s been performing for 30 years. cecilia s got that mystery quality that only very few singers have of complete charisma. when you see her on stage, you look at her, and it s very hard to look at anyone else. now, when you were a young girl, you wanted to become a flamenco dancer? a little bit! yes! but it was your mother, who herself was a soprano who recognised that you had real vocal talent and she became your voice teacher. what was it like to be taught by your own mother? to study with my mother was hard. my mother, she s definitely my mentor, my teacher and she was also a guide of what to do and what not to do. i think this is also important. she was quite. i will not say severe. and this is what my mother
now on bbc news, it s time for take me to the opera, with zeinab badawi. i ve been an opera fan for decades, and i m on a mission to share my passion and introduce you to some of the big names today and superstars of tomorrow and ask how they re responding to the changing world of opera. cecilia bartoli, the italian mezzo soprano who originally wanted to be a flamenco dancer, and brings flair and a female perspective. peruvian born tenor juan diego florez, whose first ambition was to be a pop singer and brings rock star appeal. two of the leading lights in opera. but how are they helping to define its future? we also meet a couple of rising stars south african soprano masabane cecilia rangwanasha.
applause i was in love with opera from the beginning, but i actually did not know that it was opera. i just thought it was music. cecilia, as friends and family call her, was born in johannesburg in 1993, and has come a long way in a short time. cecilia is a protege of the royal opera house, where i m on the board of trustees. and i m going in to meet herfor the first time. i was singing as a child. my mum said i was a singing baby so i would, like, sing my name ce ce lia as i was growing up. and then ijoined the church choir, and ijoined the school choir. and i took part in the
shines through, but it has not been an easy path for singers like her. black opera singers, mostly african americans, are amongst some of the best known names in opera history. but over the decades, performers of colour have faced major obstacles in securing big roles. particularly through the 50s and 60s, when suddenly, . there was some real talent coming out of church - choirs around america. these amazing sopranos, like marian anderson, . who was a real pioneer - she had to iron her own clothes before she went on stage, because nobody would dol it for her. it was seen as beneath - people to service somebody from that background. # a man who wishes she wasn t wearing slacks. # wasn t wearing slacks? # wasn t wearing slacks. cecilia would like to be seen as a role model for other black artists wanting to make it in opera. so i think, slowly but surely,
operatic singing cecilia bartoli is unique in opera. she s a multi award winning singer, a music scholar, and the first female artistic director of the famous saltzberg whitsun festival in austria, where she s been performing for 30 years. cecilia s got that mystery quality that only very few singers have of complete charisma. when you see her on stage, you look at her, and it s very hard to look at anyone else. now, when you were a young girl, you wanted to become a flamenco dancer? a little bit! yes! but it was your mother, who herself was a soprano who recognised that you had real vocal talent and she became your voice teacher.