SOPRANO Penny Shaw and Divalicious colleague Fiona Cooper Smyth will grace the Sydney Opera House later this month, but not before a warm-up at humble John Curtin College of the Arts in Fremantle.
With voices powerful enough to shatter chandeliers Shaw and Cooper Smyth belt out a mix of opera and pop in their show Licence to Trill that promises dressing room gossip and Hollywood glam.
The pair are sassy and talented divas who have taken on the fickle world of art to turn singing into a business.
If you want to work in the music industry in WA you can’t rely on jobs from other people, Ms Shaw says.
“You have no power, and I found it frustrating waiting for the phone to ring, hoping someone wants you.”
Cooper Smyth comes from a business background, including public relations for Andrew Lloyd Webber in the UK.
The pair were initially rivals for parts in the WA Opera chorus, and their show hams up their initial stand-off.
Licence to Trill is a cocktail of opera and pop and is a great introduction for kids, Shaw says.
“They might not want to sit through three hours, but kids in my experience really enjoy opera.”
The JCCA show is a helping hand for mate Adele Carles who is raising money for Edna Adan in Somaliland.
Ms Adan built her own maternity hospital 14 years ago, where she’s reduced the mother/infant mortality rates, and is campaigning to end the horrific practice of female genital mutilation.
Licence to Trill is on at JCCA July 16, 6.30pm. Tix at trybooking.com/LVTS
by JENNY D’ANGER
Perth Voice Interactive 
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