The girl with the voice that charmed millions is growing up. Charmian Smith talks to former teenage star Hayley Westenra about taking her singing in new directions.
Hayley Westernra, the Christchurch soprano who swept to international success in her early teenage years, feels she has developed a lot as a singer and performer in the past year.
Back in New Zealand for her first tour in four years - and to sing at the Rugby World Cup final last month - she is performing in 10 cities around the country this month.
Now 24, she attributes her development to working with Italian composer and conductor Ennio Morricone for her latest album, Paradiso, which was released earlier this year.
Morricone had heard her sing a few years earlier and liked her voice, she explains in a telephone interview. He was asked if he'd be interested in collaborating on a track for her new album.
"Word came back he wanted to do a whole album with me. I was blown away.
"I remember going to Rome to meet him again and discuss this album. I was pretty nervous because nothing was set in stone at that point, so I was a bit of a mute in front of him, not wanting to say the wrong thing that would put him off working with me.
"He put me at the piano and I sang through some of his works and we took it from there. I found myself in his studio with his orchestra and his team of people and singing his haunting pieces, and being given the opportunity to write lyrics as well. That was a bonus."
Morricone, known for his film scores and songs, wrote a couple of new pieces for Westenra.
"He pushed me out of my comfort zone, encouraging me to get to the core of every song. Even when I thought I was really in the moment, he'd find a way of getting me to dig that bit deeper.
"It was really fantastic to have that direction. We work really well together and he was happy that I was responding to his direction."
Compared to the sweeter, polished sound of her earlier albums, such as Pure and Treasure, she says Paradiso has more depth and a raw edge.
"That's how Morricone treats all his work. It's not overly polished. The same treatment was applied to this project and that's just what I wanted, so the album does sound very real."
She was pleased when one of her colleagues said it sounded just like her singing live.
The collaboration came at the right time, as she felt her voice would not have been ready to make an album like this earlier in her career, she said.
Westenra learnt music from the age of 6 after a teacher told her parents their daughter was pitch-perfect. At 12, when she and younger sister Sophie busked in the street, they were noticed by a woman from Canterbury Television and shortly after appeared on air.
From that, she was offered a recording deal with Universal Records and in 2003, when she was 16, her international chart-topping album Pure swept her to fame.
"Dame Malvina Major took me under her wing when I'd just signed my record deal and it was just wonderful to have her advice.
Not only did she give me some singing techniques, she also imparted some solid life advice," she said.
"She had an insight into the industry, whereas my family and I were very new to the whole business." Since then, Westenra has picked up a lot of tips from others she has worked with.
"I'm a very keen learner. Seeing the way José Carreras and Bryn Terfel interacted was really interesting. I was working with them when I was 16, and they were so humble and such gentlemen. I learnt you don't need to be a prima donna to get ahead in this industry."
She also does charity work, including becoming a goodwill ambassador for Unicef when she was 16. Her special project was to raise money for bikes for girls in Ghana so they could ride to school.
"It's such a great feeling to be able to help out, and also having the opportunity to go to a place like Ghana and visit the slums.
"It was heart-breaking, that first field trip - eye-opening and life changing. Then to go back and meet all the girls with their bicycles after a successful campaign, it was a wonderful feeling."
She is also involved with the Dame Vera Lynn Trust helping children with cerebral palsy and their families, the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre in Auckland and the Women's Environmental Network.
However, a few years ago, she had what she described at the time as a "breakdown", which included an eating disorder.
"Basically, I just worked myself into the ground, which is easy to do in this industry because you don't want to say no to things," she said.
Until she was 18, her parents took it in turn to look after Westenra in London while the other looked after her brother and sister in Christchurch.
Now she has a partner, Arnaud Sabard, a French sound engineer, who is sometimes able to travel with her.
"It's definitely a bonus. It's pretty hard in this industry holding down a relationship because you are always travelling. It's a funny existence but at the same time, I wouldn't change a thing," she said.
"Live performing is what it's all about and what keeps me going. As a singer, it's that connection with the audience and that exchange of energy. It's quite a magical experience."
