Luke Sinclair, who left Moulsford in 2001, is enjoying a distinguished career as a professional tenor. His singing career has seen him perform across cities in Europe to great international acclaim, and he is currently based at the Salzburg Landestheater, one of Austria’s leading classical music institutions. We caught up with Luke to talk to him about his flourishing career.

Can you tell us what sparked your musical interest in the early days? Was there someone in particular who inspired you?

Mrs Hoare, Moulsford’s Head of Music at the time, encouraged me to join the choir and eventually persuaded me that I could sing, alongside playing the flute. She was the most inspirational, friendly and passionate teacher I ever had. She was also very supportive of my early career and came to see me in Les Miserables in Henley-on-Thames a few years later, as did Mr Bissell, her successor. He was another whose passion for musical theatre in particular really rubbed off on me.

How and when did you realise that you wanted to be a professional singer?

Originally my dream was to play professional football. I’d played for Henley Boys FC since I was five, and at eleven I joined the Reading Academy. Sadly, two knee operations to repair torn ligaments ended that career path. However, my football skills helped me win a scholarship to Bradfield College, which also included a music scholarship. In fact, in order to get the award, I had to play two instruments but at the time was only studying the flute. Having discovered the voice was also considered an instrument, I started my first singing lessons with Duncan Saunderson, also my flute teacher, and within a few months, I’d managed to get to an acceptable level.

I think I only really discovered that singing was a viable career when I was at Bristol University reading History. I took part in some student operas there and was surprised to discover that the stage was the place I was at my happiest and most fulfilled. With some nudging from teachers and fellow students, I applied to the Masters Vocal Performance courses at the major UK Music Colleges, and thankfully, ended up going to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to start my journey.

Can you tell us a little about your musical career journey to date?

After four years studying opera in Glasgow, I was a freelancer for three years performing in many UK and European productions including Verdi’s La Traviata at Scottish Opera, Verdi’s Macbeth at the Buxton Festival and Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Boheme in Dresden, Germany. In 2018, I won a competition to perform as the lead role in a new opera being produced in Reinsberg in Germany. While I was there, a well-known German agent invited me to join her agency, which opened a huge amount of International doors for me.

In 2019, I joined the Lyon Opera House as part of the Opera Studio for developing singers before moving to The Salzburg State Theatre, where I’m currently based on a full-time contract, singing a huge variety of leading tenor roles. I also perform as a guest singer around Europe when time allows. For example, I performed in Strauss’ opera Salome in Geneva last season.

What have been some of the highlights of your career?

I’ve been lucky enough to perform in a lot of exciting venues and at large events including the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, The FA Cup Final in 2006 between Liverpool and West Ham and most recently singing Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth in Salzburg’s Felsenreitschule, one of the most famous opera houses in the world.

Photos by Anna-Maria Löffelberger

Can you share some of the biggest challenges you have experienced as a professional singer?

Opera is enormously demanding, not only for your voice. Learning three hours of orchestral music whilst also learning the staging and choreography takes many hours of rehearsing. For my role as Don Jose in Carmen, which was staged in a huge circus tent, I had to attend circus school for weeks beforehand. My next production is in Russian, and I’m expected to sound like a native, which, as you might imagine, is very tricky to learn in a few months. Moving to Germany, I had to learn German almost overnight as there was no time for a conductor or director to translate during rehearsals.

My current biggest challenge is keeping healthy and keeping my voice in good order, which is not easy with a young toddler who has a constantly runny nose!

What advice would you have for someone thinking of taking their passion, be it music, art, sport or anything else, and developing it into a career?

Work hard, be cooperative, determined and very focused. Be flexible and prepared to travel at short notice. Also, accept that your voice/talent is unique so try not to compare yourself with other singers and accept that it’s a long journey, opera is particularly complex and cannot be learned overnight. We all develop in our own time.

Sadly, a huge part of our lives as freelancers is rejection. You have to get used to the fact that there is far more rejection than success. I might get 1 role in 8 that I audition for if I’m lucky! Perseverance and a balanced mindset are absolutely key to dealing with the mental pressures of a career like ours.

It’s particularly important to look after your health, you can’t have one early night and expect your voice to be perfect the next day. In fact, you have to live a lifestyle that is very demanding, so if you don’t look after your body, it will let you down in the end.

Accept that you won’t always be able to play cricket with your local team on a Sunday like all of your friends with ‘normal’ jobs!

How would you describe the arts sector in which you work? What are its positive and negative aspects?

After singing in a couple of operas in Germany and France, I discovered that my voice type was particularly appreciated there and there were many more opportunities than in the UK. European opera is state-funded and available and enjoyed by all ages at reasonable prices. Sadly, the UK government and Arts Council is not doing enough to support opera and art in general at the moment, which is a huge shame not only for young singers but also for the opera-going public. When I traveled around the UK singing at various opera houses and events, there was so much support and gratitude. It would be very sad to lose one of the UK’s proudest historic establishments.

What exciting projects have you got coming up?

This season I have already sung The Italian Singer in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) in Salzburg and I am very much looking forward to singing Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Johann Strauss’ comic masterpiece Die Fledermaus (The Bat).

Looking back, what advice would you have for your younger self? What has been the secret of your success?

TAKE YOUR TIME. This is something I’m still learning, unfortunately. I’ve never been a very patient person and found it very difficult to not be good at something straight away. I wanted to immediately be a superstar and that just isn’t realistic. Some professions and talents take a long time to develop, and being an opera singer is certainly one of them. Singing over a huge orchestra without a microphone is extremely challenging and it takes thousands of hours to develop the strength and technique required.

My single-mindedness, drive and willingness to go outside my comfort zone are the keys to my success. You’ve got to be prepared to fail, otherwise, you can never succeed.

What have you learned about yourself through your career? What personal qualities do you believe are most valuable for a thriving and fulfilling career?

I never thought I’d end up singing opera and enjoying it so much, and it’s not something I would ever have considered in my Moulsford days. I love being on stage and the process and challenges of working with new directors and fellow performers. I enjoy working within a team, there’s such support and commitment in every production. But when one production ends, hopefully in a blaze of glory, then you’re back to the basics again trying to learn yet another daunting score and possibly another language. It’s an exhilarating and challenging lifestyle that I adore, and as long as my voice is healthy, then hopefully I can look forward to many more years. An Opera singer usually reaches their peak in their mid to late forties. As a professional footballer, I’d have been retired by now!

Level-headedness, self-belief and perseverance are the keys. You can be the most talented person in the world, but it you don’t work hard, there is always someone waiting in the wings to overtake you. I would hate to look back at the end of it all and think that I hadn’t given it my all. Finally, and more importantly than anything else, ENJOY WHAT YOU DO. Otherwise, what’s the point!?