“I’ve grown more and more attached to this idea of becoming an opera singer, despite how hard it is sometimes, Dickey explains.
“Basically, my life is constantly in flux. You’re always auditioning and you never really have the opportunity to relax and say ‘I’ve made it’.
“At this point, the hope is to audition and get into a young artist program. That would give me the opportunity to perform as sort of like an apprentice in an opera company here, in the United States, or even in Europe if that happens.”
With respect to opera, what appeals to Dickey is the mix of character interaction and musical style. She was into classical jazz and musical theatre before committing herself to the genre.
“The combination of all those things makes it the ultimate genre for me as a performer,” she says, adding audiences today expect a lot from the people on stage.
“One of the great things about opera is voice is number 1. But it’s really important, especially these days, to be able to act and make something interesting and accessible to people.”
Dickey’s voice type is called mezzo-soprano, meaning her voice is basically in the medium female range, between the highest of the high and the lowest of the low. Mezzo-sopranos can play a variety of roles, both female and male, and typically “the stereotypical triad associated with contraltos of ‘witches, bitches and britches’” as described on Wikipedia.
“That’s pretty accurate,” Dickey says with a laugh after hearing the quote.
“The older you get the bigger and sometimes broader your voice gets. The witches are sort of bigger roles than I’m doing right now. Maybe later in my career, I’ll get to those.
The britches ... there was a time when we had constratos, which were males who had experienced castration for the purpose of keeping their voice in a pre-pubescent voice.”
Dickey talks about big barrel-chested men with high singing voices.
“These days those roles are sung as mezzo-sopranos, so we have to dress up like men. It’s kind of cool. “We do a lot of companion roles. We’re always somebody’s companion or their maid.”
Earlier this week, she returned to 100 Mile House to help direct a vocal camp for young singers. She received a lot of support growing up and learning to perform in 100 Mile House, so she wants to do the same.
“Music is probably the most rewarding thing on the planet. If I can offer them something that makes them want to do it more, want to explore it more, basically I will have achieved my goal....
“If I can inspire them to continue to sing even for the next couple of years, that would make me really happy.”
What advice would she give a young aspiring artist?
“Find what it is you love and do it. If it’s classical music, great; if it’s not, great.
“If it’s painting, dancing, or whatever it is, there are always people out there who want to help you do what you want to do. Once you find something you’re passionate about, there’s nothing that can really get in your way except yourself.
“It’s not easy to be an artist, but it’s very rewarding in no matter what avenue it turns into.”
The 100 Mile House community’s emphasis on the arts “only enhanced my childhood,” Dickey recalls. She says her hometown remains a regular topic of conversation in her life.
“People are always interested in how somebody from a small town [in British Columbia] can be all the way across Canada and doing something as far out there as opera. How would I even have had the chance to experience that?
“I am so lucky to have had the opportunity and the mentorship and the people who supported me and cared about me from 100 Mile, so I could find my path towards opera, classical music and doing something as crazy as music for a living.”