She gently opens the album of her memories, trying to order the paths that have guided her throughout her already long career.

Silvie Paladino is renowned as one of Australia’s most versatile artists, praised as one of the best female voices on the continent.

Her musical oeuvre represents an objective and candid lens through which reality can be observed from a higher, more privileged viewpoint, devoid of elitism, and never deviating from her faith and Christian values.

She has always reacted to the harshness of life with a vast array of emotions, knowing how to love, suffer and dream.

Last January, during an intimate meeting accompanied by a collection of some of the most treasured images of her life, she told me that she had recently trodden the boards of the Athenaeum Theatre, performing with the Melbourne Opera in a special Christmas concert — her first as a soloist — standing alongside a famous 50-piece orchestra and a choir of 60 voices.

She was about to perform in Essendon at a charity concert to raise funds for those tragically affected by the bushfires during the last Australian summer.

Last March, she was also scheduled to travel to Newcastle, in New South Wales, to perform in Chess The Musical, followed by a tour across Australia with Menopause - The Musical starting in April.

Unfortunately, life has put a very high wall in front of us and we are trying to crash through it in a bid to survive.

But Paladino, once again, through pain and resolute energy, has transformed her troubles into something beautiful: music.

“If God gave me this voice, it is because I have to share it with everyone,” she says.

“The entire artistic program for this year has been cancelled.

“We don’t know if we will start again in July, September or December, but I really believe in the strength of my heart and I think there is a bigger lesson to be learnt as the burdens in life are alleviated and do not just revolve around work and money.

“Many people are suffering right now and despite everything, I find myself infinitely grateful.”

And while she has begun to reach her audience virtually with live concerts from her dining room and an interpretation of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong with the Australian Pops Orchestra, Paladino is sure that everything will soon return to normal and people will start to feel comfortable in a theatre or at a concert again and try to return to their former lives.

Since entering the Italian Song Festival in 1986 with the song Vado Via, written by John St Peeters, and appearing on Young Talent Time on Channel 10 – winning both competitions – Paladino has established herself as one of Australia’s most talented performers.

Raised in a Christian family, she gives credit to the values ​​ that still accompany her professional and artistic journey and admits that she has not always had a close connection with God.

Everything changed for her 15 years ago.

“Now I go to a Baptist church through which I have a more intimate relationship with my spirituality, even if I am always the same person – crazy, often angry and creative,” she says.

“I finally know who I belong to and that there is a purpose in my life.

“Music can indeed touch you in a way that words often cannot.

“It takes you back to your childhood, to the love of your life, to your happy moments and to those you would like to forget.

“It puts you in touch with your feelings.”

Paladino gained great recognition of her talent at the beginning of her career, at the age of 18, when, in 1989, she was offered the theatrical role of Eponine in a London production of Les Misérables.

Her ability was acknowledged over time and, in 1992, she continued to play the same role until her emotional journey culminated performing the role of Fantine in the same musical.

From that moment, she embarked on a long road marked by success.

“As a child I took dance classes but I suddenly got tired of them and started singing,” she says.

“I never really studied; I don’t know where my voice comes from.

“I started to receive lots of compliments from people and began to believe in my talent.

“When I won Young Talent Time, someone said to me: ‘Silvana, go out and show the world the Australian talent’.

“Even today I am thrilled to think of those words, because in a certain way I feel I have succeeded.”

Silvana immediately changed her name into the more modern “Silvie”.

“Silvana was a migrant name, too European for the Australian industry during that time,” she explains.

“I first became Silvie, in the wake of stars like Madonna and when I approached theatre, I adopted my surname again.”

Silvie Paladino, age 9, during a performance at a family function. (Photo supplied)

This was when she started her international career, travelling from London to the United States, from the “54 Below” on Broadway to tours in Europe and Asia, all the while growing as a woman, wife and mother.

“In the music industry you are a product,” she says.

“You must really love this job because it is not always [about] fame and fortune.

“When I’m in concert, I try to put it all together: the songs that made me known to the public and the world of theatre, my family and my Italian background, which has such an important role in my existence, and of course, the story of my spirituality.

“But I am a woman, a mother who is raising two children, who wakes up in the morning and looks terrible, who does the housework like everyone else.

“I like that the audience can also know the real Silvie.”

Dynamic, stubborn, reliable, raised by a Calabrian father and a mother born in Egypt to a Yugoslav father and Sicilian mother, Paladino has made her dream come true by embracing her insecurities.

“I have never felt uncomfortable in my professional experiences, but sometimes I don’t think there are as many opportunities in theatre for women as there are for men, even if this is changing,” Paladino says.

“I believe that if a woman has something to say, she should be able to say it, if a woman wants to try something, she should be free to experiment, and I think men and women should be paid equally for the same kind of work.

“Women should always have a voice – mine has always been very decisive, since I was a child, and my father didn’t like it very much!”

Paladino continues to be inspired by the likes of Shirley Bassey and Barbra Streisand – international artists who, despite their age, still share their talent with the world.

“There’s a lot to be done, but I am already certain that I don’t want to retire at 65 if my voice is still strong and wants to express itself,” she says.

In the meantime, she still listens to every single breath during her performances, while wishing herself and her loved ones nothing but happiness.