‘As a child I had a dark voice’, says Carol Anne. She is referring to her unusual singing voice, with a four-octave range, something uncommon in an opera singer. But today, when I arrive at her Ballsbridge home, her voice is anything but dark. On the contrary, her greeting is warm, her intonation is varied, sing song even; her tone is bright and her facial expression animated. She looks me straight in the eye.

Perhaps this is because she is acutely aware, as we later discuss, that first impressions are crucial. “It is a well recognized phenomena that the first seven seconds are key, this is the time when a deal is made or lost”, she says.

Carol Anne only began her singing career at the age of 17. Hearing her mimicking a song on the radio from Maria Callas, her parents decided they may have been overlooking some genuine musical talent. While her grandfather had played in the national symphony orchestra in Ireland, neither her mother nor father had been involved in music; unlike in many in the business today, it was not something that had been inculcated and encouraged in her from the time she was old enough to pronounce the names of the classical instruments.

Suddenly, in her late teens, Carol Anne found herself planted in front of the well known Dublin singer and trainer, Veronica Dunne, who assessed her voice and recommended that she attend an audition the following Saturday. Unaccustomed to performing, not even at the obligatory family gatherings, she was without a party piece to drag out of the cupboard, but in a week of frantic preparations learned to perform a personal favorite, Secret Love, made famous by Doris Day. Almost immediately afterwards, she found herself studying at the College of Music in Dublin. With no previous formal training, she began from scratch what many other students of the same age had been studying for years, and in a short time, in addition to voice training she was learning to read as well as to play music.

A successful international career as an opera singer followed her years of study in Dublin and overseas. Carol Anne sings in a number of languages, and has performed in most of the major opera houses of the world, including Covent Garden in London and La Scala in Milan. ‘I have sung almost everywhere other than in Australia’. She has had the luck and talent to train under well-known personalities in the industry, having being coached by Robert Keys in Covent Garden, a man known for his work with opera-world divas Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland. Dublin based concert-goers may have seen her perform arias from Samson and Dalila, Carmen and Orfeo, and singing songs from Liszt, Schubert and Weil at the National Concert Hall last year. Carol Anne admits she has had a number of wonderful years “living her passion”, and as part of that has had the opportunity to travel extensively, having lived in Germany, the United States and South Africa. During the mid nineteen nineties she lived in Pretoria, where she worked on the promotion and development of opera in the country’s capital city. “An interesting time spent working in a country in political and cultural transition”, she comments.

From operatic diva to business woman

But there arrived the moment where the constant and prolonged travel, an issue for anyone maintaining a full time career in international opera, became less appealing and Carol Anne was faced with some lifestyle decisions. She chose to move into other areas where she could reduce the time spent traveling. A new period of her life was born and the diva-turned-actress-turned businesswoman now has a number of strings to her bow. Soap fans will have seen her appear as a Brazilian housekeeper in RTE’s Fair City. She also continues to perform regularly. ‘I still do a number of performances every year, usually about 12 between Ireland, Germany and the United States’. But her main focus at present is on the business she has built and developed through her company Blue Moon Productions. “It was a personal choice to move away from a full time opera career”, she says. “A singer is only at their peak at 50, so I could have continued for many years, but although I am still doing some traveling now, at least I’m not living out of a suitcase”.

Moving from a full time career as a performer, the challenge for Carol Anne was to take the skills and experience she had built in the music domain into the world of business. It happened partly through planning and partly evolved as a natural adjunct to what she was good at. In addition to performing, she had been involved in producing a number of events. Now through her company she works with clients across all sectors of business, commerce and public life to develop communications and personal skills and maximize their potential in their particular situation. Working with individuals who may be preparing for a particular presentation, or who want to improve their public persona in general, Carol Anne and her team “empower people in business to own the situation and win the room”.

They use a number of key techniques from the world of performing known as Master stagecraft. Just as every magician has six basic tricks, there are a number of ‘secrets of the trade’ in the acting world that can be used to enhance someone’s presence and to help them achieve their particular objectives. The key is to maximize potential and to minimize any downside. Carol Anne and her team will work with the individual to pinpoint his or her strength and to build on it. “We don’t point out the negative or weak points in an individual’s approach, but work with them to eradicate these behind the scenes”.

Blue Moon Productions

Based on a number of theories, the Master stagecraft approach includes teaching people to use techniques appropriate to their audience and situation. “The research suggests that only 7% of what you say is what makes the impression, 55% is based on how you look and 38% on how you sound. Intonation, inflection, amiability and appeal are all key. An individual, whether they are aware of it or not, sends constant signals – these include not only what you do and say, but also what you omit”.

Who has not been in a room with someone telling the most ordinary of tales but with such charm and enthusiasm that they have captivated the audience? To some it comes naturally, but according to Carol Anne, the good news is that it can be learnt. You don’t have to spent three years at RADA; armed with a few secrets and in-house techniques you can be belle (or beau) of the ball and not the bore of the boardroom. We’re not just talking about the importance of a strong handshake - we have all met the guy that insists on attempting to remove your hand from your wrist in an effort to make a positive impression - this is something more scientific.

For example, appropriate communication techniques for use in television vary from those used in theatre; a more intimate manner is required, unlike in the theatre, which is more distant in nature. The use of words, intonation, pauses and visuals are all-important, and what is appropriate varies depending on the environment. The same word can mean something totally different in two different scenarios. (Carol Anne has her own views on the communication talents of both Tony Blair and George Bush, but that can be left for another article).

There is a small core team at Blue Moon, and they are supported in turn by a wider team of professionals who are called in as the situation dictates. So a client being coached for a new public role may have access to a strategist, a voice coach and a stylist, depending on the demands of the situation. There are a number of tiered programmes that vary in length and intensity – with the bronze programme a client elects a type of mentoring role from the company, whereas someone choosing the platinum will have virtually 24-hour support from Carol Anne and her colleagues. All programmes kick off with an alignment session in which the individual is profiled and their optimum style of communication is mapped dependent on objectives.

“The importance of preparation and training can never be underestimated,” says Carol Anne. She quotes her mentor and coach in her life as opera singer, a gutsy Polish lady now in her eighties who has inspired her in many ways. Vera’s theory is: “always bake your cake before you ice it”, useful advice in any situation. As well as being a mentor, Vera acts as an objective listener in Carol Anne’s opera training, providing invaluable input to her ongoing development and rehearsal of new roles. Carol Anne fulfils a similar role for her clients in the business world.

“Ultimately, a typical client can expect to have presentations and speeches monitored, body language, intonation, style and physical appearance assessed. It may even be a case of auditing the people in his or her environs and whether they are appropriate to a strategy. Basic presentation has to be a lot better than 10 years ago, people’s expectations are now much higher” says Carol Anne. Enter Blue Moon Productions.

This is a person who is passionate about whatever she does. It is no surprise, then, when I ask her what her more memorable operatic performances have been. “Performing Carmen, without a doubt”, she responds, “Bizet’s heroine Carmen has always been my favorite role”.

This article was published in Business and Finance Magazine in 2007.