Loud and Clare

Some hate it and consider the stylised singing - often in a foreign language - and complex plots snobbish. But those who love it make the highest possible claims for it.

Clare Haworth, from Blackburn, has enjoyed a versatile and successful career embracing opera and has recently clinched a prestigious full-time contract with the Scottish Opera after a 12-month stint with them. The 25-year-old, of Suffolk Street, Mill Hill, said: "I was over the moon with the contract. Opera is more believable and accessible now. It's not a case where a big woman comes on and sings. There are very talented actors and singers in the opera now and competition for jobs is fierce."

Clare's talent was spotted when, as a 10-year-old at St Aidan's Primary School, Blackburn, she was urged to take voice lessons at Blackburn School of Music.

She became the BBC Choirgirl Of The Year while a pupil at St Wilfrid's High School, Blackburn, and won two singing competitions during Blackburn Festival of Music and Drama.

"I knew I could sing a wee bit and loved getting up and performing at family gatherings but I never dreamed I'd become an opera singer." Her interest in classical music was fostered while she was an A-level student at Blackburn College, undertaking music and theatre studies. "I was suddenly listening to classical music and thought 'Wow, this is great.' The college was a real inspiration and we put on a lot of opera shows."

The voice gradually changes with physical and emotional maturity and Clare's pure choirgirl sound developed into a big, wild, uncontrollable voice.

"I didn't know how to use it and had to change my singing technique. It was much harder to manage than the old voice. "

Only when Clare was vocally mature enough to sing an operatic role on stage around the age of 18 was she eligible to compete against 500 hopefuls to become one of the 50 people who landed a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Three long years and hundreds of voice lessons ensued and Clare worked hard with professional producers, conductors and music coaches. As most people can sing naturally, it is difficult for many to understand the long years of intensive and specialised training undertaken by an opera singer.

A good voice alone is not enough. Singers need intelligence, physical stamina, acting ability, an equable temperament and endless capacity for hard work.

Knowledge of harmony, music theory, history, languages and regular singing lessons are just part of the training required. Stage movement, mime, fencing, make-up, speech and drama are talents also needed to tread the boards.

"You have to give a flawless performance on stage," said Clare. "It can be very demanding."

She graduated with an honours degree in musical studies and completed a masters specialising in opera. But she soon learned that her chosen profession was an overcrowded one and success is very much a matter of luck as to whether a singer catches the ear of the right person at the right time.

If they do land the role it's a case of whether they can stand the rigours of constant rehearsals and performances taking priority over their outside life. But her heavy, earthy soprano voice landed her endless parts in operas such as L'Elisir d'Amore, the Marriage of Figaro and the Dialogue of the Carmelites, performing on TV and stage with companies such as Opera West, Glasgow Grand, Huddersfield Choral Society, Scottish Opera, Newbury Symphony Orchestra and Opera North.

"A lot of it is luck," she said. "It's what a company needs at the time. It's not a stable nine-to-five job with a regular income but I'm used to the work insecurity. I take every day as it comes and if I'm successful at it, then that's a big bonus. I'll never make a fortune and it's hard work but it is something I really enjoy and hope to always do."

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