Hayley Westenra Exclusive

It's been six years since the young New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra recorded her first album 'Pure'. Selling faster than any other 'classical' debut in UK history, it paved the way to Hayley's future success as the biggest selling classical artist of the 21st century. Now aged 21, she celebrates her singing career so far with an album of her greatest hits - 'River of Dreams'....

CFM: How does it feel to be releasing an album of your greatest hits?
HW: Great. To some, it may seem a little strange that I'm releasing a 'best of' at the age of 21, but it's really just the end of an era rather than the end of my career! This album is the culmination of the last five years of my work.

CFM: Is there a song on the album that is particularly special to you?
HW: Well, on this album there are 3 new recordings.  One of them is a song many will know -'Now Is The Hour' -except what people may not know is that it was originally a New Zealand folk song.  Gracie Fields discovered the song on a trip to New Zealand and took it back to the UK with, soon releasing her own version in English.

CFM: Now that you've released River of Dreams, have you any ideas or ambitions for future recordings?
HW: Of course, I'm very excited about my next album which I'll be recording next year -in fact, I can't wait to get back in the studio.  As to what it's going to be like, well, you'll just have to wait and see!

CFM: If you could re-live any moment in your singing career so far, what would it be?
HW: Performing at the Faenol Festival with the lovely Bryn Terfel and Jose Carreras.  It was the first major performance of my UK career -I got such a warm welcome from the Welsh audience, without them even knowing me!


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