Who is Georgie Darvidis?
Not a girl, not yet a woman. Below average height. Exactly like my mother.
What would you differently to what you do now?
I would have better posture. I would get my wisdom teeth removed. I would learn how to make my computer run faster. I would take better care of my skin.
Who inspires you and why?
The women in my life when they show strength and the men when they show weakness. And Liza Minelli.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I think if your intention as an artist is to change the world then you’re going to find making work hard going. The most honest moments I experience are when I am lost and ugly, not when I enter a room full of people I already know. I have no business changing the world … I wouldn’t know what to do to it.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Friends of mine have a little shack on a hill in Apollo Bay. I celebrated my graduation there, my 18th birthday, my partner’s goodbye and homecoming on that hill.
When friends come to town, what attractions do you take them to and why?
The only place I can think of is the Pinnacle Hotel on a Sunday afternoon. Loud outside trad jazz, musicians with babies, beer and chicken wings.
What are you currently reading?
Pages of complex vocal music by Kate Neal.
What are you currently listening to?
Chaka Khan. The new Meredith Monk record. Serpent with Feet. Vulfpeck.
Happiness is?
Easily spoiled if you look it right in the eye. I don’t know if happiness is something you make or something that happens to you. I’m always trying to make happiness smaller and smaller: Chewing, counting, stretching.
What does the future hold for you?
I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up because I think I might already be doing it … I guess that means I’ve grown up which doesn’t sound right.
Georgie Darvidis is one of Melbourne’s most exciting and in demand young vocalists. She possesses not only a powerful and agile instrument but also a deeply artistic sensibility that she brings to many different projects and ensembles. Since graduating from the VCA in 2012, she has performed regularly with her own projects as well as her major roles in Victorian Opera’s Turn of the Screw and Cinderella.
She is an original member of the acclaimed vocal ensemble Invenio and has performed with the Australian Art Orchestra’s Electro-Acoustic Series. She recently attended the Banff Jazz and Creative Music Workshop learning from the likes of Theo Bleckmann and Vijay Ijer and spent further times in New York studying with Shelly Hirsch.
Georgie will be performing in Chamber Made Opera’s world premiere season of Permission to Speak at Arts House – North Melbourne Town Hall: 23 – 27 November 2016. For more information, visit: www.artshouse.com.au for details.
Image: Georgie Darvidis