By Rachel Curry
He may have left Perth to make a name for himself in the London opera scene, but former Principal Cantor Daniel Mullaney still has a presence at St Mary’s Cathedral.
Mr Mullaney’s composition, Seven Last Words, was performed by the St Mary’s Cathedral Choir on Good Friday this year, showing that the young man’s impact still lingers more than three years after his departure.
Joining the Cathedral Choir at just 11 years old, Mr Mullaney sang at the Cathedral for a decade, with his powerful and resonating voice leading him to become Principal Cantor from 2008 to 2012.
Now singing for the English National Opera in London, Mr Mullaney told The eRecord he was honoured that his work was still being used at the Cathedral.
He said he began composing Seven Last Words when he was 17, motivated by the last phrases Jesus spoke on the cross.
“Musicians are driven by a desire to express that which is extraordinary, that which is extreme. There is no point singing about something unless it carries some kind of significance,” he said.
“These Seven Last Words are my attempt to express through music the gravity of Jesus’ words, and what they mean for all of us.”
Music has always been a huge part of Mr Mullaney’s life.
With his sister a singer and his brother a pianist, he said there was always music in his family home while growing up.
“I don’t know if there was any point in my life where I ‘discovered’ singing,” he explained.
“It is something I have always done, and I don’t think I could see myself being happy doing anything else with my life.”
Mr Mullaney said he felt very fortunate to have been offered opportunities to progress vocally and musically in the Cathedral Choir, and was particularly thankful to Musical Director Jacinta Jakovcevic.
He also studied classical voice at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, before leaving for London in late 2012 to pursue his dream of becoming an opera singer.
It was a dream that began when he was 15, after his singing teacher gave him a ticket to Puccini’s Madama Butterfly performed by the West Australian Opera.
“When I first heard the singers, I couldn’t believe my ears,” he recalled.
“I couldn’t believe that these were people’s real voices carrying with such raw power and heightened emotion in a large space, over an orchestra.
“I sat there transfixed, and all I could think was that I wanted to do what those people were doing.”
Six days after he moved to London, he auditioned for the extra chorus list of the English National Opera (ENO), but said he didn’t expect anything to come of it.
To his surprise, he was offered a full-time job and has been working there ever since.
“The wonderful thing about this job is that you get to sing a huge volume of repertoire, meaning there isn’t much of a chance to get bored with anything,” he said.
“Since working at ENO I have sung all types of repertoire from Baroque to Bel Canto, to Verismo, to modern and everything in between.”
Mr Mullaney has also kept his “foot in the door” with Church singing, although he doesn’t sing with any choir regularly.
He admitted that, after spending his whole week singing, it was nice to take a break and remain anonymous during Mass.
“I have sung with a few professional Church choirs on a casual basis,” he said.
“Singing in a professional Church or Cathedral choir is a completely different experience to singing in an opera chorus, and I have missed it since I left Perth.”
Mr Mullaney’s career ambition is to become a professional soloist and perform on all the major operatic stages of the world.
However, since moving to London he has developed another goal which fits perfectly with his Christian beliefs: to bring music to as many people as possible, regardless of their background or wealth.
“I firmly believe that art is not merely a luxury for the wealthy, but is an essential part of our humanity,” he explained.
“As Nikolaus Harnoncourt said, ‘the Arts are the umbilical cord to the Divine’.”