Kate Ceberano says ambition is not a dirty word: There’s ‘nothing wrong with selling your dreams’

Kate Ceberano is bringing her living legacy of music to Sydney Opera House for one night only.

Kate Ceberano will perform at the Sydney Opera House. Picture: Richard Dobson.

After four decades in the spotlight and dozens of awards, Kate Ceberano wears many hats: jazz chanteuse, pop singer, actor and TV personality.

During the pandemic lockdowns she made quilts and customised guitars with her art.

She recently published her second book, Unsung, an illustrated memoir of anecdotes, photography, and drawings.

She also mused over the unrecorded vocals for My Life Is A Symphony, which she was due to lay down the day the Victoria’s pandemic lockdowns began.

On Wednesday night, Ceberano will bring her living legacy to Sydney Opera House for a one-night-only spectacular, performed with her daughter and protégé Gypsy Rogers and a 70-piece symphony orchestra.

Kate Ceberano in Sydney. Picture: Richard Dobson

Gypsy Rogers and her mum Kate Ceberano.

“I feel like I’m delivering a living legacy of 40 years in music,” the 57-year-old artist told The Daily Telegraph.

“The highlight for me is Gypsy receiving the full benefit of what I have to teach her on the road. It’s f**king off the charts.”

Not quite literally though, as Ceberano’s 30th album cracked the ARIA Top 50 in the days after its release.

“I wanted the symphony to feel like they are playing as if my life was a movie,” she said.

“The crowds have been very emotional; very much there with us.

“They can feel the work and time and the love and loss in a big life, and a big show.”

The music industry Ceberano’s 19-year-old is stepping into is not utopian, but it’s a far cry from the unfettered sexism her mother endured.

“In my day, you had to answer to a lot of different people,” the singer said.

“There might be a board of 20 creatives discussing you. I was told don’t tell anyone you’re related to a famous French chef.

“You need to lose 20 kilos. Don’t tell anyone you’re in a relationship. Your skin looks like braille, you need a special program.

“And before you know it you’re selling other shit rather than selling yourself.”

She said Australia “has got a terrible Tall Poppy habit.

“Australians get that confused and get apologetic and pretend not to want it.”

Her advice for our next generations of musos is: “Want it. For the record, there is nothing wrong with selling your dreams, because they’re yours to sell”.