Music that makes the earth move

Christine Brewer was the initial Sister Aloysius in the opera Doubt.

With Australia behind her, having garnered ecstatic reviews for her Four Last Songs with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Christine Brewer is looking forward to appearing with Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra next Thursday.

The American soprano first visited us two years ago, when she graciously took over for an indisposed Deborah Voigt; this time she returns to deliver a set of sumptuous late romantic songs by Joseph Marx and Beethoven's brilliant concert aria, Ah! Perfido.

This is richly secular fare for a woman who tells me she has just "kicked the habit after a year and a half playing nuns".

Brewer created the role of Sister Aloysius in Minnesota Opera's Doubt, fashioned by librettist John Patrick Shanley and composer Douglas J Cuomo from the Shanley play that eventually became the Meryl Streep movie.

"It's a beautiful piece," she says, "and the operatic version brings many more layers of emotion to the story."

Hopefully, the opera may have a life beyond Minnesota; "you spend so much time learning it, it's nice when you have more than one chance of singing it", she reflects.

"You often need to see something a couple of times before you get the feel of it. And certainly, with singers, it's better every time you do it."

Taking the role of Mother Abbess in Chicago Lyric Opera's uber-successful The Sound of Music was "the kind of thing you'd never have the chance to do on Broadway. The nuns were played by a wonderful operatic chorus, and we had the luxury of a full orchestra, mammoth sets and the sort of budget that allowed Maria the luxury of 17 different costumes."

Eight performances a week was a test for a singer used to opera house schedules. "If it had been Tristan and Isolde, I'd be dead," she shrugs. Yet launching into Climb Ev'ry Mountain twice an evening was "just so thrilling, with all that orchestration behind me".

Christine Brewer is celebrated on the international opera house circuit for her Wagner and Strauss, but she is equally excited to be on the stage of Auckland's Town Hall next week. "I have lots of friends who only sing opera and rarely do either recital or orchestral concerts, but I love both of them."

Brewer feels particularly close to the songs of Joseph Marx (1882-1964), having recorded them for Chandos Records five years ago with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Jiri Belohlavek.

"Marx is rather overshadowed by Richard Strauss," she explains. "But he is a really superb composer. There are times where you wonder where the hell he is going with his harmony, but he just weaves away and pulls you along."

The glorious Selige Nacht (Blissful Night) is a favourite with both of us, although she cannot resist spinning a hilarious tale of singing it in San Francisco when an earthquake hit the hall.

"I didn't feel it," she laughs. "I could see people's eyes getting big for a moment, but I thought they were enjoying the music. Afterwards I asked them whether the earth moved for them too."

On Thursday, Brewer will be working for the first time with the young British conductor Leo Hussain. "The bottom line for me is to make a beautiful performance and serve the composer. That's what I'm shooting for in Auckland and, just talking to Leo, I think we're going to hit it off."