Copyright dailyrecord
A Lanarkshire opera singer is preparing for the world premiere of her debut song cycle celebrating and bringing to life four centuries of words and experiences from Scotland’s female writers. Monica McGhee has set eight poems penned by women throughout the country’s history to music to create The Pebbles We Keep, which will be performed for the first time at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow later this month. The soprano and composer says the project is “about representation, legacy and mentorship” and said: “I want this to be a small start in changing the narrative and finding somewhere for Scottish women to be heard.” Monica, of Motherwell, studied at the Conservatoire and the the Royal College of Music in London and is now a leading performer, having graced stages at concert halls and opera houses across Europe. She developed the Scots song cycle by setting to music poems composed throughout history by writers including Janet Hamilton, Jessie Anderson, Carolina Oliphant (Baroness Nairne), Mary Mackellar and Mary Symon, reflecting a wide range of women’s experiences. The oldest poem in the eight-movement cycle is Elizabeth Melville’s Ane Godlie Dreame from 1603 – the first published poem by a Scottish woman – while the most recent is contemporary poet Lisa Kennedy’s work The Pebbles We Keep, from which the song cycle takes its name. Now it will be performed for the first time on November 23 at the Royal Conservatoire’s Stevenson Hall concert venue, where each poem will be recited in its original form by a female actor, followed by its musical version performed by singers of all ages. Monica said: “The Pebbles We Keep remembers the poets who were often overlooked in their own lifetimes, while offering opportunities for today’s Scottish singers to be heard, in a bid to rebalance the deficit of female roles available within the opera world.” She added: “Many of these poets were forgotten, misattributed to male contemporaries or dismissed entirely. It’s much more difficult to have a career as a woman. Scottish sopranos don’t receive the recognition they deserve; ironically, even in Scotland.” The selected poems reflect Scots women’s lives and topics including disability, working-class struggle, loss, resilience, childhood, education and creativity, in their own language; and Monica said: “I want this to be a small start in changing the narrative and finding somewhere for Scottish women to be heard. “Similarly, I want to bring classical music to a new audience. Sadly, there is a perceived sense of snobbery about classical music and opera – hopefully my interpretation and composition for these poems, a blend of classical operatic music, traditional Scottish tunes with a twist of Braveheart in places, will have a wider appeal. “It feels incredibly special to be staging the world premiere of The Pebbles We Keep at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the place where my journey as a musician began as a junior student at the age of 13.” She trained as a classical pianist and opera singer at the Conservatoire, while the former pupil of Our Lady’s High had first developed an interest in the Scots language and poetry when finishing as runner-up in the national Burns Singing competition while at Cathedral Primary in her home town, revealing her talent for singing and Scottish verse. Monica’s personal life was turned upside down in 2017 when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which she feared was the end of her career – and spent the next three years battling back, beating the disease and retraining her voice which had suffered due to the effects of the cancer in her neck. Following emergency surgery, as she contended with the disease and subsequent treatment to repair her voice, she spent a number of seasons singing extra chorus at the Royal Opera House, including a tour to Tokyo in 2019. She successfully recovered from the illness – going on to become an ambassador for Cancer Research UK and staging a fundraising concert in support of St Andrew’s Hospice in Airdrie which supported her during her treatment – and was accepted as the soprano Young Artist at the National Opera Studio for 2020-2021. Monica’s recent roles include the title role in Tosca for Opera Bohemia, Beatrice in Beatrice and Benedict for Mid Wales Opera and the leading role of Iolanta for If Opera, as well as making English National Opera debut earlier this year, playing Mary Beaton in Mary, Queen of Scots, on the anniversary of her cancer diagnosis. Tickets for the performance of the “first of its kind” work can be purchased at www.rcs.ac.uk/whats-on/the-pebbles-we-keep/ *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here . And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here .
