Seasoned professional opera singer Ana Marina is known for her captivating performance as Christine Daae in ‘Phantom Of The Opera’.
The multi-talented star spreads her wings to new heights as she prepares to release her debut album ‘Haunted’. “After finishing off with music theatre, [and] the final show of ‘Jekyll & Hyde’, I wanted to settle down and get married. I met my husband, had the boys, and a couple of years passed. Of course once the artist is in you it's difficult to give that up. So it was nagging me, and basically that's when I decided to record my debut album.
“I got in contact with James North, a Brisbane producer, and firstly he asked me if I wrote my own, original songs… I said yes, I have done in the past, but it's been a while. [There are] five original songs, and five cover songs.”
Ana says writing original songs has been very important with the development of her original sound. “I had my first radio interview a couple of weeks ago, and the interviewer said my voice doesn't sound like anything particular, and that it doesn't sound like an opera singer; it doesn't sound like pop or rock, [and] it’s almost like a mixture of all of those things. I thought that was a really accurate description with me trying to get back to that really natural sound, and that's what I wanted on the album.
“I don’t think there are… any other soprano classical crossover artist who are singer-songwriters, so I guess that's what sets me apart from the rest. If you asked me who do you compare yourself to, I'd probably find it fairly difficult to describe. I'm relying on other people to see what they think. And I've had some really nice, good descriptions of the music, which I'm happy with, because basically it was quite accurate in what they were saying. I've had people saying that it reminds them of Enya, [even] a little bit of Sarah Brightman.
“[Brightman] is one of my very, very early influences. I started out hearing her sing 'The Phantom Of The Opera' at a really young age. Then, my voice was a little bit similar to hers, and it's good to grab hold of someone who can be a little bit of a model for you. [So] she was sort of my model when I was really young. And you know, I still like her music today. She is a little bit of an influence. People have [also] said I have a bit of Within Temptation, Nightwish, and Evanescence sound as well.”
Ana says the role of Christine in 'Phantom Of The Opera' ultimately helped her find the right style for her album. “She's lost her dad, she's looking for guidance, and I think [the Phantom] sees that – he's a genius. So I think she's ready for him to entice her and take her away into another world. I think we all like to escape, and I'd probably say some of my songs are about escape and getting away from pain and ultimately absolving them all.”
Ana’s currently got her hands full with preparations for the album launch. “I think [the album] it deserves to be heard and will appeal to a wide audience. As an independent artist, that's the hardest thing if you're not on a label. You've got to dig away at it and keep getting it out there in any way possible, so hopefully I'll get some radio play coming up soon.”
‘Haunted’ is out now. Ana Marina performs Spring Hill Reservoir 26 May as part of Opera In The Reservoir which runs 13-29 May.
