Kateriana Fenech: ‘This is a trick question: a lady never gets drunk!’

Kateriana Fenech is a British singer who moved to Malta in 2017. Known for her vocal dexterity and wicked sense of humour, she has enjoyed a career singing in venues as varied as the Royal Opera to a local pub. Fenech is currently rehearsing her role debut as the morally bankrupt pie-maker-in-chief, Mrs Lovett, in preparation for Teatru Manoel’s production of the musical Sweeney Todd, 17-24 July 2022

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

Switch on BBC Radio 2

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Don’t take things at face value.

What do you never leave the house without?

Shades.

Pick three words that describe yourself

Honest. Empathetic. Artistic.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Turning a passion into a business.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Double-layer cheese toastie.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

It’s ok to be different, there’s a space out there for all of us to thrive.

Property and cars aside what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?

A gorgeous couture red gown.

What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

30 isn’t old. You have time to grow and develop your own sound and style.

Who’s your inspiration?

Barbara Hannigan – she is a supremely talented woman, opera singer, instrumentalist, conductor and fierce advocate for young artists.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Leaving a successful living behind and stepping into the unknown.

If you weren’t a singer what would you be doing?

Theatre producer.    

Do you believe in God?

I believe.

If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?

A friend who died during the pandemic. We would always end up with painful cheeks from laughing so much, double-trouble!

What’s your worst habit?

In Malta, it’s definitely road-rage.

What are you like when you’re drunk?

This is a trick question: a lady never gets drunk!

Who would you have play you in a film?

Jessie Buckley please.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Narcissism.

What music would you have played at your funeral?

‘Libera me’ from Verdi’s Requiem with full choir and orchestra.

What is your most treasured material possession?

Having packed a lot of my life into storage, I honestly can say that I don’t think any of my possessions are treasured as such.

What is your earliest memory?

The sound of birdsong.

When did you last cry, and why?

I’m in touch with my emotions, so it may have been yesterday about something in the news.

Who would you most like to meet?

Bernadette Peters.

What’s your favourite food?

Classic meat pie.

Who’s your favourite person on social media right now?

The hilarious Celeste Barber.

If you could travel in time, where would you go?

Vienna in the 1780s.

What book are you reading right now?

‘Phosphorescence’ by Julia Baird.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Teleportation or ending conflicts.

What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

See the Northern Lights.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

‘Evermore’ on repeat.

In the shower or when you’re working out, what do you sing/listen to?

Not to upset my neighbours, I save singalongs for the car, and I’m afraid it’s a best of 80’s album featuring ‘Boys Boys Boys’ by Sabrina Salerno.