The Scouse Diva A Prophet In Her Own Land

Eurovision and Lieder are not comfortable bedfellows, but I am catching up with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston just before she watches Liverpool be handed the keys to Eurovision countdown. Fiercely proud of her home city Johnston tells me the Scouse Diva sobriquet has been around for some time and is something she chose to embrace as it helps promote England's only UNESCO city of music.

“The irony is that people who know me don’t recognise the description, I’m no diva, but it is flattering to be closely identified with the city where I was born and live.

“Normally people say you can't be a prophet in your own land but in my case, it's been quite the opposite. I am proud of the label, especially if it helps dispel prejudice against Scousers.”

We are catching up because Johnston is returning to the popular Leeds Lieder and as we chat, we stray into subjects such as arts and culture policy, politics, and the state of music education more of which to follow. Johnston is someone, Sam Jackson, Radio 3’s new controller, should listen to.

Johnston did not start out with a music career in mind. Initially, she trained as a barrister, and the transition from Law to music happened by chance.

“I was working as a barrister in a London chambers, specialising in environmental law and professional negligence. A friend, and fellow barrister, asked if I would sing at his wedding. It happened there were some important people from the music industry there including the late Sir Stephen Cleobury, then Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge.

“He suggested I sing professionally and offered to coach me in advance of auditioning for a place at a conservatoire. When I told my singing teacher, Lillian Watson, who I still study with, she laughed and asked me how on earth I would have time to prepare when I was in court every day. But I persevered, including travelling to Cambridge a few times to run through my repertoire with Stephen.”

It all fitted into place and Johnston won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music, not in the opera school, just as an ordinary postgraduate, and she left the Bar behind, not knowing whether she would return after a year.

Within the first couple of weeks at the RCM, a notice was posted inviting students to audition for a production of Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring, to be directed by the superstar baritone Sir Thomas Allen, making his directorial debut.

“I thought I'd give it a go even though it was early days at college. I auditioned and, to my shock, was cast as Mrs Herring, Albert's mum. I was given the role over anyone in the opera school which caused a major political row, but Tom was determined to choose the cast that best fitted to the picture he had in his head of Albert and his mum.

“It was a wonderful experience working with him, and we all had individual sessions developing our characters.

“On opening night, the professional opera world turned up en masse, and loved it as a production. Shortly afterwards, as a result of being seen in the production, I was signed by the international agency that still manages my career, Askonas Holt.

“It’s funny how life turns out but for me it was a mixture of hard work, luck and being in the right place at the right time.”

Since then, a lot of roles have come her way and she balances her work between 40% opera, 40% concert with orchestra work, 10% recitals and 10% recordings including radio.

Johnston enjoys the work with orchestra the most. “There's something really wonderful about standing in front of a symphony orchestra, or within it if performing Mahler 3, it is irreplaceable.”

She is preparing for a recital in Leeds this month, work that can be physically tiring but Johnston loves the intimacy of being with a pianist in front of an audience. “There’s something quite naked about it,” she says.

“There's nothing broad-brush about a recital, I have to be specific in my storytelling to keep the audience engaged.”

For her Leeds recital on February 10 at Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall, Leeds University, she will be accompanied by Joseph Middleton with whom she has had a long-standing relationship working together for over a decade, meeting him when she was a BBC New Generation Artist.

“He's a consummate artist who can bring colour to a score coupled with an amazing range, absolutely spectacular; hence why he is so well-known.

“We are equal partners and he is just as important in terms of producing a range of colours, my voice can do certain things but his playing is an essential part of it.”

On February 10th Lieder concert on Johnston has chosen programme fitting in with what she wanted in terms of a sound world. It ranges from Britten folk song arrangements and contemporary composers like Jonathan Dove and Cheryl Frances Hoad. Johnston has chosen a work by Joseph Horovitz and some songs by Ned Rorem, both composers having died during the past year.

It’s not her first visit to Leeds Lieder, telling me it is impressive both in terms of being a specialised area of classical music and the broad audiences it attracts.

“It is a testament both to the quality of the artists appearing and the outreach work, all of which is fantastic. They do splendid work with schools and Leeds University. Credit to Joesph Middleton who was appointed Director of Leeds Lieder in 2014.

“It carries the hallmark of excellence, something we should always be striving for, and which helps to ensure that the UK won’t ever become a cultural desert.”

The last remark is passionately expounded, and one of Johnston’s top priorities is giving music a voice in the national landscape.

“There's a whole generation of children who may never discover if they have musical talent. Without decent music education and falling numbers of young people taking GCSE and A level music and learning instruments, it undermines the entire music industry.

“Even if you don't end up as a professional musician, you may end up elsewhere in the culture sector, so we need to recognise the link between having a thriving, developed music industry and the wider culture sector.”

The passion is palpable, and Johnston really cares. There is also evidence of a worrying trend across the country with significant numbers of children who've never heard of Mozart or Beethoven, let alone heard any of their music. It all points to a worrying time for the music industry.

Even the Government’s Levelling Up agenda hasn’t helped Music in some quarters.

“Take Liverpool, a city with some of the country’s most deprived council wards: Arts Council England cuts to Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne touring budgets mean that Liverpool has been removed from both companies plans and will see no live staged opera in the future. Liverpool has been one of the big losers in terms of levelling up.

“As an industry, we are grappling with a whole range of issues all of which seems to occupy an increasing proportion of my day.”

Johnston doesn’t think under the current government things will improve and believes nothing will change until there’s a new government, to help kick start a new era of investment into the arts and culture across the board.

“It is sad to think that there may be megastars of the future who will never develop because they don't know that they're musically talented.

“It is also unhelpful that classical music and opera are labelled as elitist, which can put young people off either studying or listening. We are finding that new audiences are emerging both from gaming and film music, and the amazing music education projects taking place across the country. Young people tend to love opera and classical music if they are introduced to it without labels, so there is a glimmer of hope.

Not only is Jennifer Johnston an accomplished mezzo soprano, but she is also an excellent ambassador for Liverpool; I wonder if anyone has thought of appointing a national ambassador for opera and classical music, to advocate placing it back into the heart of the national curriculum and to highlight the benefits society can gain from opera and classical music. If they do create such a position, I can think of the perfect candidate.