Gioconda Vessichelli, an accomplished Italian singer, winner of seven international opera awards and credited with the creation of ‘BollywoOpera’ (fusion of opera and Bollywood music), was in town this week for a private concert for an elite audience. In a free-wheeling chat with Muscat Daily, she shares the accomplishments and aspirations of her curious ‘inner child’ that aspires to even someday go to the Moon or Mars:

Is this your first trip to Oman and what are your first impressions of Oman?

This is my first trip to Oman and I hope many more will follow as I loved the people, very gentle and kind, the culture and the music, the desert (I am a desert lover) and wadis as well as old villages.

As a uniquely talented artist, whom do you credit your talent to and do you fear that someday this limelight will all be over?

To God and to my resilience, perseverance, and strong brain. I don’t have any fear in life because I live every instant as it will be the last one. I live in ‘here and now’ philosophy.

Bollywood doesn’t quite have enough space to sustain your Bollywoopera – do you think this will be a short-lived craze?

I don’t have a tendency of thinking too much about the future and not live and enjoy the present moment. I just do what I feel and this is the secret of my inner happiness. Actually, Bollywood has given me more space that what I expected, as it was an experiment and it has surprised me a lot to see that the biggest labels of India (and Asia) -Tseries, Zee Music, Sony – have released my music which was so experimental. They trusted on my artistic skills and the millions of views I got on my songs actually made me super satisfied.

What do you treasure the most in life, as an artist and which is your biggest nightmare?

The love and respect for all the human beings and natural elements, the capability of protecting the inner child inside myself that grants me always lots of energy and curiosity for whatsoever is new. I don’t have the word ‘nightmare’ in my vocabulary, as I always have nice dreams and positive words in my vocabulary. So, I think that negative words like ‘nightmare’ automatically open the door to a lot of negativity. So, I really never thought about it.

Are they yet a few things that your ‘inner curious child’ wants to explore?

Yes, I have travelled to 150 countries – almost the entire world. I want to go to the moon or Mars someday.

What is your message to young Omani performers who look towards the West for inspiration?

Simply don’t look to the West for inspiration. You have much more culture than the West’s pop music and a much bigger spirituality and ancient knowledge. So, just look better as yourself, and if you really want to look at western music, listen to a lot of Mozart’s music – it will help you to enlighten your mind and your musical skills. And always exit from your comfort zone, keep the ‘inner child’  within yourself always awake!

In an earlier interview, you mentioned that everything happened when you were just 12 years old. Can you elaborate?

It was when I did my first concert and got noticed by Luciano Pavarotti who was in the jury and taken on board of the biggest Italian opera talent agency who was representing the legendary Luciano Pavarotti. That opened the doors of a worldwide career in the biggest opera houses of the world to me.

You have collaborated with many Indian artists as well as global singers/music composers. What is the main difference between Indian artists/composers and others?

Non Indian artists plan everything months of advance, they are more rigorous in respecting timings and dates whereas Indian artists are more spontaneous and less mechanical. Sometimes, I felt that we have delayed much in delivering a music project because till the last minute nothing was ready. But then, in the last minute, the magic happened! And the results were magnificent! I love the way Indian artists can remember every single note by heart, without writing hundreds of pages of music scores. It is something beautiful that Indian kids start writing when they are only 3 years old, while in Western countries, they start writing at 6 years old.