“I was always known as the singer,” laughs Katherine Wiles, who attended Sacred Heart from 1985 to 1989. “I used to dodge PE by hiding in the music room.”
While she did play hockey, she readily admits it was not her forte. “I played because I had to, but I was no benefit to the team!”
What she was a benefit to was the school’s choir, particularly after Sacred Heart announced it would be joining forces with St Paul’s Collegiate for combined rehearsals.
“I think choir numbers tripled the moment they announced we were teaming up with St Paul’s,” she chuckles.
Today, Katherine is a permanent soprano with Opera Australia and has been based in Sydney, performing at the iconic Sydney Opera House. She has performed as a soloist in NZ, Spain, Holland, Italy, the United Kingdom, at the Edinburgh Festival and on board the Royal Yacht Britannia. Katherine spent 18 months touring Australia in the iconic 60th Anniversary production of My Fair Lady — directed by Dame Julie Andrews.
Yes, that Julie Andrews.
“I sometimes forget I worked with Julie for nine weeks. On our first day of rehearsal, we went around the room and introduced ourselves, and when it came to Julie, she said, ‘and you can call me Mum”
I have a copy of a beautiful card signed by all the von Trapp children – now adults – from The Sound of Music, a show she’d been obsessed with as a child.
“It was a pinch-me moment. Julie is the most gracious, funny woman. So humble. We had some beautiful conversations that I will hold onto for a lifetime. She was just so normal.”
This ability to hold the extraordinary lightly is very Katherine. She was, by her own admission, an average student – “not naturally gifted in academia”- and she received surprisingly low grades in seventh-form music. Let’s just say she didn’t see eye to eye with her music teacher at the time.
Katherine’s path to the stage was anything but a straight line. After leaving Sacred Heart, she worked for the Hamilton Probation Service, continued singing lessons and competitions, enjoyed performing with the Hamilton Operatic Society, while spending a good few years not entirely sure where she was headed.
What changed everything was a Saturday-morning pre-university class at Auckland University, which led to a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) in Performance, followed by a year as an Emerging Young Artist with New Zealand Opera. She completed her FTCL in Voice from Trinity College of Music, London, then, being the proud owner of a British passport, she bought a one-way ticket to the UK, auditioned for academies, and completed a two-year Master’s in Opera at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Each door seemed to open as I got to the end of one stage in the journey,” she reflects. “It all just sort of happened, and I never thought I would ever do anything else.”
After seven years in the UK, she joined Opera Australia in 2007 and has been part of the company ever since. In a typical full season, she works across 12 to 13 operas a year: there can be several in performance, one in rehearsal at the same time, with costume fittings and coaching woven in between. She also sings regularly in up to eight different languages.
“Some weeks are horrendously busy, and some are lighter. In full flight, it is all-encompassing.”
Recently, Katherine returned to Sacred Heart to share her story with music students. She also brought along a copy of her book – ‘No Autographs, Please!’ (Published by Echo in 2024) – to donate to the library.
Previously, she donated a trophy for singing to the school. “When I was at Sacred Heart, you could only receive a Cultural Award if you showed any promise in the Arts. I wanted to change that. It’s important to acknowledge a student who loves to sing, because who knows what path they may take with their passion for music.”
She now adjudicates at competitions and delivers masterclasses, saying she wants to do more of this as her career matures. “It’s important to pay it forward”.
As the Australian Ambassador for the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, Katherine has also helped establish a formal internship with Opera Australia for young New Zealand Singers studying at the Te Pae Kōkako – The Aotearoa New Zealand Opera Studio, University of Waikato, giving them two weeks inside the company: watching rehearsals, receiving coaching, and seeing professional opera from the inside.
“The company has been amazing at providing this opportunity, and I’m very humbled that they continue to provide these resources to a group of wonderful singers. I’m so proud of it”.
Her advice to Sacred Heart students who love to sing but aren’t sure whether to pursue it? Don’t get wrapped up in the idea that a career in the arts may not be financially viable. If you love it, then follow that instinct and see where it takes you.
“People sometimes assume that performers are these extraordinary beings. I’ve had incredible experiences, but I’m still just a normal person. I failed music in seventh form, but here I am.”
She also has something fascinating to say about opera specifically – that in some ways, the style of singing chooses you as much as you choose it. “I liken your vocal cords to an athlete. You might have the muscular structure to excel as a sprinter or a marathon runner, but rarely both. The more I belted out songs from musical theatre, the more tired my voice got. Opera was more comfortable. You develop the technique, and then you can learn to manipulate your voice.”
And what keeps her going, even when it’s exhausting? Simply, the opportunity to give the gift. She thinks of her mother, who sang in a Parkinson’s choir before she passed away.
“I would sit at the back and weep at the sheer, simplistic joy they all received by singing together. They sang just for fun, and it moved me as much as being on stage at the Sydney Opera House.”