Amy Strachan
Usher Hall - 05/09/22
Is Amy Strachan the latest Scottish opera star?
This was the question we were all asking after this performance at the Usher Hall by young Scottish soprano Amy Strachan on a quiet Monday morning. I have been aware of Amy for some years since I heard her win a prize when she was a student at Edinburgh University’s Music School. Even then I predicted she would be a star. After this morning’s recital I am totally convinced; all she needs is a good agent, maybe an apprenticeship with a German opera house and of course good luck. Scotland has a tradition of producing great mezzo-sopranos, like Karen Cargill and more recently Beth Taylor. I think Amy has the quality to join stars like these.
Amy began her musical journey at Peterhead Academy and it was lovely to see her music teacher from Peterhead at the concert. She then went on to Edinburgh University, the Royal Academy of Music in London and finally the opera school at the Conservatoire in Glasgow. She has had a great training and, with a fine voice, now she needs a little luck to break through. Amy had an excellent accompanist in Daniel Peter Silcock, who was also a student at Peterhead Academy, going on to the Royal Academy and then the Conservatoire in Glasgow, and now making a name for himself as a concert pianist as well as an accompanist. Clearly Peterhead Academy has a very good music department!
Amy’s programme began with some lovely Songs of the Auvergne by Canteloube, which were beautifully delivered and sensitively accompanied by Daniel, who then gave us a solo recital by Liszt while Amy took a break. The second part of the programme featured some Burns songs, including ‘Afton Water’ and ‘Ca the Yowes’ where Amy showed she hasn’t lost touch with Scottish culture. However the final work, the great aria from Dvorak’s ‘Rusalka’, ‘The song to the Moon’ showed what Amy really is, a very fine opera singer. Her range of voice, her colour and her personality shone through. I was fortunate to see ‘Rusalka’ at the Festival recently, with the Garsington Opera production. It was an excellent production and its star was Welsh opera soprano Natalia Romaniw, who sadly only sang the opening night. I congratulated Amy on her performance which I said compared very favourably with Natalia’s and confirmed my view that she was indeed destined to be a great opera singer.
The concert was presented by ‘Live Music Now’, organised by Carol Main, a programme which does a great job in bringing young musicians from many parts of Scotland and whose Monday morning concert series at the Usher Hall continues throughout the autumn. The Edinburgh Festival is over, but music in Edinburgh and Scotland continues and the ‘Edinburgh Music Review’ will be there to report on it.
