KEY POINTS:
Australian soprano Antoinette Halloran, who plays Mimi in NBR New Zealand Opera's La Boheme, has been in New Zealand for over a month and is enjoying what she describes as "an artistic, less frenetic Australia".
Is Sydney that bad, I ask? "It's so noisy and crazy," is her immediate response.
And if you want to make a career as a singer, "you have to keep on top of it and be true to your art and your voice", she warns. "There are so many wonderful singers out there - all unemployed."
Halloran has versatility on her side. She has been in productions of Rusalka, Madama Butterfly and Don Giovanni, but you will also find her name on the cast lists of The Phantom of the Opera, Forbidden Broadway and Sweeney Todd.
"When I moved from music theatre to opera, I was constantly being told to act less and sing more," she says. "I'm still acting my pants off, but placing more importance on the music and the voice."
Her experience on the lighter side has served her well.
"I understand the drama better," the soprano explained. "When I look at a score I'm not just seeing the music and the words but also the underbelly of the dramatic intent."
She has already been in a string of Bohemes, but what Auckland will see tonight is something different.
Director Patrick Nolan has "stripped it back and got rid of all the grand operatic gestures, trying to find the core of who these people are.
"He constantly reminds us of the feeling when we first fell in love by keeping it natural, real and linked to our past experiences.
"Every time you come back to this opera and put your trust in a new director you get a new perspective on your character. Patrick's ideas came together with what I have always thought, so it was nice to have that validation.
"I don't see Mimi in acts one and two as a frail woman. It's quite feminist in a way. She's got her own apartment, her own life and she doesn't have a man. She's strong, not a fragile little waif."
Perhaps the most valuable thing for Halloran was taking part in the Puccini Festival in Torre Del Lago.
She was so impressed by Italian soprano Carla Maria Izzo that she enrolled for a course of lessons that demanded she relinquish everything she knew and give six days a week dedication to Izzo's teaching.
"If I had gone on singing the way that I was, my career would have been over in five years."
I am reminded of the physical rigours demanded by the operatic profession when she tells me how she tried to "sell" La Boheme to a television sportsman.
"I told him that if you're into extreme sports and want to see a size 10 woman fill a 2000-seat theatre for three hours without a microphone then you should come and see the opera."
However for all the blood, sweat and high Cs, there have also been victories. One has been the acceptance of Halloran as a lyric soprano.
"I've always been a lyric, but I've had to masquerade as a soubrette for a few years. It's so relaxing not having to pretend you're something you're not. I find it easier to sing Mimi than Johanna in Sweeney Todd. When I'm singing Sondheim, I use the thin edge of my vocal chords, but with Mimi I can use all my voice. One is like walking on a tightrope, the other like walking solidly on the ground."
What: La Boheme
Where and when: Aotea Centre, tonight 7.30pm; May 31, June 5 and 7, at 7.30pm; June 3 at 1pm
