Kishani jayasinghe school specialty

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Young mother and acclaimed international singer—Duvindi Illankoon finds out how Kishani Jayasinghe-Wijayasekera plays both roles with ease

When little Kitaara was born three months ago, soprano Kishani Jayasinghe- Wijayasekera faced a choice familiar to most working mothers.

Bask in the cocooned warmth of motherhood for the next three months-or grit her teeth, get her vocal coach on speed dial and head off to the States a mere three weeks later to keep to her contract. “I don’t like cancelling,” she says simply.

“Reliability is so important in any profession.” As Kishani herself will tell you, in opera you’re only as good as your last show and to take a break-however well deserved it may be-is career suicide.

Back in Colombo from her home in London, Kishani counts her lucky stars very thoroughly indeed; she has a ‘well oiled machine’ that effortlessly launches into operation at these times in