How a degree in Maths turns into a vibrant singing career - Q&A with Natasha Agarwal

Ahead of their shared September #secretconcert series - our Head of Marketing Hannah catches up with British-Indian Soprano Natasha Agarwal.

Find out about Natasha’s background, favourite opera roles & how a degree in Maths turned into a career in Opera…

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Welcome Natasha! We are really looking forward to you joining DEBUT for the first time. It looks like you've had a super busy summer, can you tell us what you've been up to?

Thank you so much, I’m very excited to be joining DEBUT for these beautiful “secret concerts!”

I’ve been fortunate enough to spend the summer working at Opera Holland Park, where I created the role of Jack in the world premiere of Jonathan Dove’s opera “Itch”, based on the science-fiction adventure novel by Simon Mayo, as well as playing the role of Zorah in “Ruddigore” by Gilbert & Sullivan. It was such an exciting and fulfilling summer - doing two completely different shows - with the most incredible colleagues and a company that I love!

You didn't go straight into singing after school - you studied mathematics at Warwick University first! Can you tell us how you got into Opera?

I did indeed study maths at Warwick University! However, I have always had a passion for performing and was introduced to opera earlier on, singing my first opera role (Belinda in “Dido and Aeneas”) at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral when I was 14. 

Let me take you back even further… My love for performing began at the age of 3 when my parents sent me to ballet classes. Even at such a young age, I remember being fascinated by the music. A couple of years later, after taking part in the music competition at school, our music teacher recommended that I try singing lessons. I started having lessons with a local teacher, who introduced me to classical art songs and folk songs, and my love for classical music blossomed. I regularly performed in music and dance festivals and quickly began to feel ‘at home’ on stage.

Although I had performed a lot during my childhood and had always been supported by my parents, there was an expectation from my family and peers to follow a more academic career path and do a ‘proper degree’. I enjoyed the sciences most at school, so I decided to study Maths at the University of Warwick. At university, I was a choral scholar and had singing lessons with Gaynor Keeble. I spent all my spare time singing in choirs and performing in operas, concerts and dance shows. I probably should have spent a bit more time doing maths…! We were very lucky to have such a thriving music centre at Warwick (despite there being no music degree), and quite a few Warwick alumni have gone on to pursue careers in opera - including DEBUT founder Lizzie!

During my time at Warwick, it became clear to me that I wanted music (and specifically opera) to be more than just a hobby. I decided to train full-time and moved to London to do a Masters in Vocal Performance at the Royal Academy of Music. I was a bit apprehensive about making this transition at the time, but it felt like the right path for me and I soon discovered that everyone has their own unique journey into the professional world of opera. I have since done further training at the National Opera Studio and British Youth Opera and have been freelancing for the past few years. 

I was actually working as a steward at OHP in 2021 - I remember seeing you singing the role of Lapák the dog in the Cunning Young Vixen. What are the favourite roles you've sung?

Wow what a small world!! I hope you enjoyed it. That show meant a lot to me as it was my role debut at OHP and my first opera post-pandemic. (And playing a dog was so much fun!) 

I’ve genuinely loved all the roles I’ve sung for different reasons, but if I had to pick some favourites I would say Jack in Dove’s “Itch” at OHP and Neera in Will Todd’s “Migrations” at WNO as they were both world premieres and there’s something very special about creating a role which you can completely call your own, especially in such extraordinary productions. My other favourite role so far is Susanna in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” which I sang at the Warwick Arts Centre while I was a student at the university. It’s such a fabulous and iconic role - I can’t wait to sing it again. Plus, my Figaro in our uni production is now my husband in real life, so this role and opera will always have a special place in my heart!!

Can you tell me about your experience singing Ravi Shankar’s Opera?

I had the great privilege of performing the role of Sukanya’s Friend in Ravi Shankar’s only opera “Sukanya” at the Royal Festival Hall in 2020 (just before the pandemic). The piece was performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, an ensemble of Indian instrumentalists (sitar, shehnai, tabla, ghatam and mridangam), classical Indian dancers and a cast of opera singers…so it was a truly epic collaboration and fusion of art forms. I auditioned for the conductor David Murphy when I was in my final year at RAM, so it was quite surreal to make my Festival Hall and LPO solo debut soon after graduating! Unfortunately I never got the chance to meet the great Ravi Shankar, but I did meet his wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka who were so lovely (both outstanding musicians in their own right). It was a real pleasure to be part of this amazing piece and to be able to celebrate my Indian culture through the work of such a legend and trailblazer. 

Sam and I will actually be sharing a piece from the opera at the Brunel Museum and Shoreditch Treehouse so do come along to have a listen if you can! 

Grab your tickets for the 23rd September at Shoreditch Treehouse!

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