How does emotion affect the voice, and can it be harnessed as a tool in Western classical vocal pedagogy? Eminent voice pedagogues do use emotion as a pedagogical tool and have described their experience of its usefulness anecdotally (Bozeman, 2013 and 2017; Chapman, 2007; Williams, 2019). Scientists have striven to measure emotionally produced acoustic changes in the voice; these changes can be heard and even accurately perceived by the listener (Scherer, 1986). Muscular changes occur with emotion (Scherer, 1986) in all three components of the vocal apparatus; breathing, vocal folds and vocal tract (Sundberg, 1987), and these changes affect voice acoustics (Laver, 1980). Research shows these emotional effects on vocal acoustics to be comparable in both the speaking and singing voice (Scherer, 2015). Scherer (1986) predicted these changes in his Component Patterning Model of Vocal Affect Expression and subsequent research has largely proven his model which predicts the acoustic result of an emotion based on physiological responses.

Sydney born, Katrina Sheppeard completed her vocal studies at the Western Australian Conservatorium of Music before beginning work with WA Opera. In 2002 she joined Opera Australia and remained as part of the ensemble until 2007 when she became a Young Artist for Opera Queensland.

Since moving to London in 2008 Katrina has worked extensively with UK companies and in particular with English National Opera. Roles covered by Katrina for ENO include Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Turandot in Turandot, Marta in Weinberg’s The Passenger, Leonore in Fidelio, Katerina in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Norma in Bellini’s Norma and Tosca in Puccini’s Tosca. Other UK companies Katrina has performed with are Welsh National Opera, Opera Brava, Riverside Opera, Swansea Opera, Midland Opera and Bloomsbury Opera – her roles including Tosca, Aida, Turandot, Tatiana from Eugene Onegin and Rosalinda from die Fledermaus. In Australia, Katrina has performed with Opera Queensland and Victorian Opera as Aphrodite/Echo in Mill’s Love of the Nightingale.

In 2017 Katrina performed excerpts of Isolde in concert with Australian Heldon Tenor Stuart Skelton for the Tait Memorial Trusts Wagner Concert at St John’s Smith Square, and in 2016 performed Wagner Excerpts with Australian Heldon Baritone Warwick Fyfe at Australia House. Katrina is very grateful to have been awarded scholarships by the Wagner Society NSW in both 2017 and 2018. She is currently researching emotion and voice as part of her MA studies.