“I have always felt like the odd one out. The way I put my voice together. No one knows what to do with me. In terms of my height, I was a six-foot girl since I was 10-years-old. I have always been the outsider.” This was Elza Van Den Heever’s response to my question regarding how she relates to the {…}
A butterfly can never be caged or it dies. The same can be said of an opera singer, who needs the freedom to explore and develop as an artist. When an artist is caged and not allowed to carve out an organic path, he or she may burn out very quickly. During a recent interview with OperaWire, soprano Pretty Yende {…}
When people talk about soprano Angela Meade, the first thing that they associate with her is one name – Verdi. The soprano has almost become synonymous with the great maestro from Busseto, her star thrust into the spotlight when she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in “Ernani” in 2008. Since then she has championed Verdi, singing some of his most {…}
Those two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Those immortal words by Robert Frost might as well apply to almost anyone who takes on an artistic endeavor. But for bass Matthew Curran, the path to operatic success has been a truly unusual one, as {…}
Overcoming a traumatic experience is an arduous task that really never goes away. It leaves its mark, the smallest stimulus bringing it back with greater potency. Artists don’t always have the luxury of running away from trauma. They not only have to portray it but live it time and time again. And in the case of opera singers, they might {…}
For Javier Camarena, the start of 2017 has been a blending of the past, present and future. His year started with an operatic goodbye and the month of February he will slide into comfortable repertoire that he feels will be his meat and potatoes in the immediate future. And in March, he ventures into unknown terrain that might just prove {…}
How does one discover opera? Is it through recordings, family or through music in schools? The answer is never a simple one and at times it is merely by coincidence. For some it is about discovery and curiosity. That’s Michele Angelini’s story. Discovering Opera “It was the movie ‘Amadeus.’ Specifically June Anderson singing the Queen of the Night,” Angelini revealed {…}
Every major discipline has its proverbial “Mount Everest,” the pinnacle achievement. The moment of “arrival” in which the person can feel a sense of accomplishment that few others, or only the true greats, have accomplished. In the soprano operatic repertoire, Bellini’s “Norma” is often viewed as that proverbial peak due to its taxing and wide-ranging nature. Lili Lehmann, one of {…}
What do Giuseppe Di Stefano, Mirella Freni and Fritz Wunderlich have in common? While the three opera stars never collaborated, they had a massive impact of Joel Prieto’s formative years. The tenor recently told OperaWire, in an exclusive interview, about how these three icons of opera transformed his life completely and still do in many ways. Early Turning Points It {…}
This article was a joint collaboration between David & Francisco Salazar. “I like playing the villain.” That quote, as generic as it is, has been uttered in some variation by numerous actors throughout history. There is an excitement that comes with being the bad guy or girl. Of committing acts onscreen or onstage that you could never imagine doing out {…}
The voice is any singer’s most precious treasure. Without it their career is over no matter how good you look or how wonderful of an actor you are. In modern opera, it is also something that is overlooked as careers increasingly get shorter with fewer rest periods and singers consistently being asked to walk on stage without rehearsals. This is {…}