(Photo: Felix Grünschloß)

OperaWire was fortunate to be present at The International Händel Festspiele in Karlsruhe earlier this month in which we caught a splendid production of the composer’s 1731 opera, “Rinaldo.” Fortunately, we managed a very quick interview with one of its star performers, mezzosoprano Valeria Girardello.

OperaWire: What was the first opera you saw?

Valeria Girardello: “L’Italiana in Algeri” at Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza when I was 12 or 13.

OW: What do you remember about the performance?

VG: I remember laughing and being surprised by how much I liked it.

OW: What was the first opera in which you performed professionally?

VG: I played a page in Donizetti’s “Le Convenienze ed Inconvenienze Teatrali.”

OW: What role will you be performing next?

VG: I will be playing Mere Jeanne in “Les Dialogues des Carmelites” at La Fenice.

OW: What is your favorite role?

VG: It has to be the witch Armida in “Rinaldo.” I have the same personality as her.

OW: Who is your favorite composer to sing?

VG: Rossini.

OW: Which opera character would you like to meet in person?

VG: I would like to meet a historically famous woman, especially one who met a gruesome death, so Anne Boleyn would be a good choice.

OW: Who has been the biggest influence on your singing career?

VG: I cannot say it is a single person; it is more a sequence of musical influences.

OW: What do you like most about your voice?

VG: That it has the potential to surprise me, and that it reflects my life’s history, both the good and the bad.

OW: Which character would you most like to exchange your life with?

VG: Definitely not Anne Boleyn. I think it would be Isabella from “L’Italiana in Algeri” – she is a clever woman who pursues what she wants.

OW: Name three people you would like to invite to a dinner party, of which at least one has to have a connection with opera.

VG: Rossini, Taylor Swift and Ulrica from “Il Trovatore.”

OW: Which character would you most like to play but have not yet had the opportunity?

VG: Malcolm from “La Donna del Lago.”

OW: If you could have a composer write an opera with you in the starring role, who would it be?

VG: Rossini, but in 15 years I will probably have to change that to Verdi.

OW: What book are you currently reading?

VG:  “Gertrude” by Hermann Hesse.

OW: What is your favorite piece of non-classical music?

VG: “Norman F**king Rockwell” by Lana del Rey.

OW: What is your favorite film?

VG: “Moulin Rouge” by Baz Luhrmann.

OW: Who is your favorite painter?

VG: Caravaggio.

OW: Apart from Italian dishes, what is your favourite food?

VG: Chinese.

OW: Who is your favorite opera singer?

VG: Lucia Valentini-Terrani

OW: In which opera house would you most like to perform?

VG: Opéra Royal, Versailles.

OW: If you hadn’t been an opera singer, what occupation would you have liked to done?

VG: A vet.

OW: What do you like most about being an opera singer?

VG: It allows you to connect to your feelings. It is also a job with lots of flexibility and you have the opportunities to meet many interesting people.

OW: You recently performed the role of Armida in Händel’s “Rinaldo.” What two adjectives would you use to best describe her character.

VG: Intense and Volatile.

OW: Your costumes for the production where quite amazing. What two adjectives would you use to describe them?

VG: Ostentatious in a good way and fantastic.

OW: What was the most pleasing thing about the production?

VG: The way in which I was able to develop my character.