Every singer’s path is laden with expectations. Often, these are not established by the artist themselves, but by the world around them.

Karen Slack knows all about having to manage those expectations. She  made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2005 and was singing the major Verdi roles at the start of her career.

But the soprano in a recent interview admitted that “early in my career I made choices and sat home because I did not think those roles I was offered were right for me.”

Those decisions led her to unexpected directions in her career.

An Unexpected path

Over the years Slack began building a reputation in the regional houses as well as some of the big international houses. But her reputation was not built on the Verdi operas of her early career. Instead, she’s been making her magic with 20th-century works and beyond. In fact, she even has modern composers writing for her.

“I never realized it was going to happen and I am grateful for that opportunity,” Slack told OperaWire. “I just wanted an opportunity to flex my artistic maturity and I feel that as a young singer I had all this potential but I didn’t know or understand it. As I got older it started to make sense and I knew what I wanted to do with the piece of music. And with new work, you get the opportunity to create. I don’t know if it’s what I gravitate towards, but I enjoy it. I think it’s something harder to sing in many ways. A lot of new works get away from the bel canto singing style and it’s about text and coloring. It’s not about the voice. It’s very tricky but I love to work and if I can I will do it.”

This season she became the second performer to do “Yardbird” and has become a leading interpreter of “Dead Man Walking.” Yannick Nézet-Séguin also invited the soprano to premiere a new work with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

And while many of her engagements with the renowned companies have come in modern repertory, Slack has still found ways to sing more traditional repertory, including many dream roles.

“Today so few singers say they only sing in A-houses or they only sing in the big international houses. It has become a tough business and I have always said there is no small house. I always sing with my voice and I sing with what I have. I never hold back.”

The soprano has performed with numerous regional houses like the Arizona Opera, Opera Birmingham, Nashville Opera, and Atlanta Opera, among other houses in some of the most iconic roles like “Tosca,” “Aida” and in a production of “Don Giovanni.” Performing in these smaller houses has allowed Slack to not only sing standard repertoire but also learn more about herself as an artist.

“You get to play with colors and take more risks and dramatically you get to adjust to the physical space. It pushes you to be present and it pushes you to think harder. I feel like we should bring art to every level and I am committed to bringing quality, artistry at every theater. It should be everywhere. I am not committed to any track and I am committed to go where I am called.”

A Signature Role

Having been open to different opportunities in her career, Slack was led to what is has become one of her signature roles – Serena in “Porgy and Bess.”

Slack has performed the role of Serena multiple times, starting in 2009 in San Francisco. She has since appeared in Washington and Chicago in the opera and has also interpreted Serena four times in Francesca Zambello’s production, recently ending a run of it at the Fort Worth Opera. Next, she gets to return to the Metropolitan Opera where she will be the cover for Latonia Moore in the role.

Over the years, Slack has noticed the role grow on her and a newfound freedom take over with regards to Gershwin’s music.

“Since I started singing it I have added roles like Aida, Tosca and some of the bigger lyric spinto parts. That has made Serena so much better for me dramatically. At first I wasn’t particularly interested in playing the church lady because that’s not me at all. When I was younger it was tricky and since I had seen some fantastic Serena’s, I always wondered how could I make my own and that is something I have finally figured out.”

She also noted that singing Gershwin, while embedded in Jazz music, is like singing bel canto roles. “It’s no different, especially for Bess or Serena. They sing the big lyric parts. When you have the technique and add the soulfulness and the expression that black singers have, it will be impressive. And that is no different from anything. When you sing Strauss the lines have to be sweeping and soaring and I really think this opera is the same.”

And despite having this experience, Slack still concedes that Serena can be a difficult sing for a number of reasons. The big one for her is that she has to wait a long time between the two big solo numbers.

“It’s a challenge because the moments are big but it’s hard to stay warmed up and as a result, I have to find a way to keep my voice in shape.”

Her solution? Slack sings along with the chorus to help her vocally prepare for those big moments.

Another thing she admits to being challenging is that “it’s also a low role so I always have to check on voice after the run. There are no sustained high notes and it’s very mezzo, so it is challenging for me as I like to sing higher.”

A New World Premiere

Currently, the soprano is working on a new world premiere of Terrence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up My Bones.” The role of Billie was written for her after Blanchard and Slack worked together on “Champion.”

“I loved working with Terrence on ‘Champion’ at Opera Parallèle, and while the role was created for Denyce Graves, they accommodated for me and I made it work. I really get his musical style and when I look at it, I know exactly what I want to do with it. I love how he writes.”

After that experience, Blanchard actually approached Slack about writing a new work for her and she had no hesitation about saying yes.

“It’s amazing to work with a living composer because if something doesn’t work, he changes it. Blanchard is so humble and as a singer many times you have to do what’s asked of you by the conductor or what’s on the score. And it’s amazing to work with living composer’s like Jake Heggie, who will change a key for me and works with my voice. It’s very refreshing and takes a weight off of me. It’s freeing and I love the collaborative spirit.”

The new work is based on Charles Blow, a New York Times columnist, and a political figure on the national stage. As Slack notes, the opera will be based on “his story is in Louisana and the struggles he had with sexuality, being a poor black child and then coming into his own.”

And Slack will get to play Blow’s mother Billie. “I love this character because she goes through a transformation from being a woman in a marriage with five children and how she develops herself.”

Having started work on the score, Slack noted that audiences will get to see a different Blanchard in this new work. This time around Blanchard has brought out Blues melodies inspired by Lousiana. She believes that his writing will definitely bring new audiences to opera houses.

“I think this work will bring new people, celebrities, press, and recognizable faces to the opera because of Charles Blow and because it’s about his story and people who have never been to the opera, they will gravitate because it’s Blow’s story. It’s an important story to see on the stage,” Slack exclaimed. “As far a new work, I find that new works are not diverse enough and I hope that within the new storytelling we add people of color and not just race specific.”

The Future

After a season jumping from modern works, classic works, and world premieres, Slack is looking forward to taking time for herself and focusing on concert work.

“Learning so many new roles is difficult and moving from the standard repertoire to new works is challenging and no one ever speaks of this and what it does to the voice. Physically and mentally and spiritually, it is complex. So I am looking forward to a vacation this summer.”

After her well-earned break, Slack will get busy once more in 2019-20 with a number of recitals and concerts, which she feels are essential for her artistic growth. But there won’t be much opera.

“I am not doing a lot of opera next season. I am thankful for that because I am learning some Wagner and a few new roles. I am taking the time to learn bigger parts like Sieglinde and Elisabeth and see how they fit in my voice. I really want to take time to do different things and I really enjoy it and it keeps me fresh.”

She also revealed that she is also looking to expand her repertoire and has a number of dream roles that she hopes to sing one day.

“I would love to do Ariadne, Senta, Lady Macbeth but my way, not the traditional way. I gravitate towards the strong woman so Minnie is someone I would like to try. And of course more Tosca, which is fabulous. There is also ‘Il Trittico’ specifically ‘Il Tabarro’ and ‘Suor Angelica,’ of course.”

She also acknowledged that her big dream is to follow as closely in the footsteps of her idol, Jessye Norman, specifically with regards to the works of Strauss.

“I love Strauss, and I think he is the composer who best fits my voice. I would love to do Chrysthotemis and maybe Othalie Graham and I could do an ‘Elektra’ in the future. That would be amazing.”