My brilliant career as an unsung hero of the opera

It all started with a simple idea, according to opera singer Katherine Wiles.

“I literally woke up one morning with the sentence ‘How many singers dream of having a career in the chorus?’” she tells Central News. “It’s what came into my head.

“I think you also have to think for yourself, what is success like? How do you determine success in your chosen field of study?”

Wiles, who has just published her autobiography No Autographs, Please! about her life in the opera, is keen to reframe audience and industry attitudes towards the chorus line.

The chorus in opera is made up of the background characters who don’t have a primary role, however, they play crucial parts adding vocals and depth to the stage production.

Despite this the chorus line is often seen as a means of ‘settling’ for singers, as it provides a stable lifestyle, which the principal roles cannot.

The 52-year-old New-Zealander began working for Opera Australia in 2005, and her career has flourished since joining the country’s premier opera company, where she has played a variety of primary and chorus roles.

“I’ve done some principal work, but if I’d have decided to leave the chorus or not join the chorus and just solely focus on principal, then I probably wouldn’t be employed that often,” she says.

“We catch the bus sometimes back to the car park — but the patrons would say, ‘Oh, do you get paid for that? Is this a real job?’

“There’s an absolute, sincere, real-life belief that people just don’t think you can do that as a career.”

I think you really have to believe when you walk in there that you’re going to be their solution, and the rest is out of your hands.

Wiles’ book is full of personal and cast member experiences of being spoken down to while in the chorus line, and that they are considered less important solely because they are not performing the principal roles.

“Somebody said to me once ‘Walk into a room, believing that you’re what they’re looking for, that you are exactly what they need’,” she says.

“I think you really have to believe when you walk in there that you’re going to be their solution, and the rest is out of your hands.”

Wiles’ book guides readers on how to succeed in the very competitive and dynamic industry, detailing the importance of self-advocating.

A first-time writer, she started the process, that has taken four years, initially jotting down her experiences in her dressing room while working, before joining writers’ groups and getting a range of feedback and critiques.

Like the opera industry, navigating the writing process takes resilience, hard work, and criticism to succeed too. Initially publishers looking at her draft told her: “It’s not a yes, but it’s not a no.”

“I’ve had reviews, and I always remember the bad ones,” she says. “So, this is really personal. And if someone criticises it, that’s fine, you know, I’m used to being criticised.

“Being your own boss is taking control of your own ability to do the job and to do and to present yourself in the best way.”