Soprano Breony Bearman Photo: Deearn Strawbridge
Breony Bearman first wanted to become a singer when as a girl. She saw a woman in a beautiful blue dress wow an audience with her voice.
But a few years into her tertiary study she gave it away, depressed and disillusioned. Not so much with music, but with what she felt her voice couldn't do.
Now the Waikato-based soprano is back on stage again, taking top place in this year's Lockwood New Zealand Aria competition held in Rotorua earlier this month.
Speaking to RNZ Concert host Bryan Crump, Bearman says her success is confirmation of her decision to return to singing after ten years spent raising three children, with a bit of livestock breeding on the side.
She says motherhood helped break down her perfectionist streak, which got in the way of her enjoying her singing.
Bearman decided to return to music after the death of a nephew, whose funeral brought home to her not just the importance of music, but that she had a gift which helped lift the spirits of others.
She overcame her nerves and enrolled in post-graduate study at Waikato University with teacher (and fellow soprano) Anna Leese, where her skills and confidence continue to grow, although she still has to deal with a bit of 'imposter syndrome'.
Crump asked Bearman if she wore blue when she won the NZ Aria Competition.
No, green is her favourite colour, and these days it's less about being that woman in blue taking the limelight but - through her voice - being part of something bigger than herself.
