Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade spent decades among the most celebrated singers of her generation, performing on the world’s leading stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera.

Though she stepped back from full time performing in 2010, retirement has proven less than absolute. In recent years von Stade has returned to the stage at the LIFE Festival for the Fundacio Victoria de los Angeles in Barcelona, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Philadelphia, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, and Hawaii Opera Theater, and she continues to teach through masterclasses around the country.

This summer brings her back to a place with history for her: the Ravinia Festival, where she is set to reunite with longtime friend and fellow mezzo Susan Graham for a shared recital decades after her earlier appearances there. She is also preparing for a run in “Follies.”

OperaWire spoke with von Stade about her return to Ravinia, her enduring friendship with Graham, and what keeps drawing her back to performing.

OperaWire: This is a return to the stage for you. How did you get involved with this Ravinia concert?

Frederica Von Stade: It’s through Kevin Murphy, because we did a little recital, or half a recital, which is what I’m doing a while ago in Los Angeles. And then he, who’s head of the Young artist Program there, invited me to come and do it in Ravinia. And I haven’t been to Ravinia in 25 or 40 years. I sung there once or twice, so I was thrilled to go back and do a master class and share a little concert with wonderful Susie Graham, who is a dear friend. So it just seemed like fun.

OW: Having retired from the stage, what does it mean to go back and perform when someone asks you to something?

FVS: I officially retired, but if people ask me to do things and I think I can do them, I say yes to the dress. And I’ve just accepted to do a run of a show here in Virginia. They’re doing “Follies” and I’m in love with Broadway music and Sondheim. So even though it’s a small little appearance, I thought, what fun. I get to hear it every night and be with actors. It’s meant to be an older lady, so why not.

OW: You and Susan Graham performed together for many years. What does it feel like to perform with her again and with a fellow mezzo-soprano?

FVS: We performed for many many years. We haven’t done that many operas together because we sort of sing the same repertoire, but we’ve done lots of galas and recitals and I just adore her. So it’s kind of like doing something with one of your best friends.

Susie is one of the dearest, most fun people you’ve ever met. And so it’s always just a joy to be around her. And I love her voice. We never competed, so I’m not going to compete now, certainly not in my 80s. So it’s really fun.

OW: Do you have any memories of performing with her?

FVS: One of the big ones I did with her was “Dead Man Walking,” and I just loved doing it with her. It was this fabulous production at the San Francisco Opera and a fabulous set. And it was this extraordinary director Joe Mantello.

She’s a great artist and in fact, I was asked at one point to do her part, and I said, “there are just too many great young singers out there, and I think they do a better job than I could ever possibly do.” And next thing I know, it was Susie, and I was absolutely thrilled. I think she sings beautifully. She’s a generous performer. She’s just one of those people who is good in their own skin. So she’s appropriately confident and she came from a great background. And she’s just an extraordinary human being. So I’m very thrilled to always be with her at any possible time.

OW: What does the repertoire that you are going to perform for this concert?

FVS: For me, it’s a little autobiographical. I sing about my daughters, and I went to all Catholic schools, so I had nuns as far as the eye could see. So I sing a few songs about that. And then I lived in Paris for about six or seven years, so I have some songs about Paris. And then, of course,  one song about my older daughter and my. And then a song about my younger daughter. So that’s my side of the program. And Susie and I will be doing “La Ville en Rose.” So, it will be fun and we’re looking forward to it.

OW:What composers will you be working with?

FVS: Jake Heggie of course is one of the because he’s a great friend of both of us. He wrote the songs for me because I commissioned them. The two songs are from a group of songs, and they’re about my daughter Lisa. The song about Jenny, is a popular song called Jenny Rebecca that was made famous by [Barbara] Streisand. And that’s what she’s named after. Her name is Jenny Rebecca. So then I wanted to write a song for Lisa, my other daughter. And who better to ask than Jake? And I did the words because I know her and I knew her when she was a little girl. So that’s where that comes from.

OW: Now that you go back to the stage as a retired artist, what is the emotion and do you miss it?

FVS: I don’t miss it that much because I have other things now, but I love it. I did “Follie” in Las Vegas and just hearing that music and being with everybody, I just adored it. And that was semi staged.

And when I do recitals, I’m thrilled to be out there and it’s kind of nice to be at a stage where, you know, I’m not trying to build anything. I’m just enjoying what I’ve done and as far as I’m able, to do it again on my level, I’m thrilled.

The pressure is off. It’s all for fun. If you’re gonna hire someone in their 80s, you’re gonna take what’s available.

OW: What are you fondest memories of Ravinia?

FVS: The happiest one is I was singing a concert  and I was backstage with Isaac Stern and Alicia de la Rocha who were performing in different concerts. And we were backstage listening to Lang Lang on his debut. And it was the most jolly group. It was a thrill for me to just be listening to this future star. Lang Lang was a kid then. So that’s my happiest memory of Ravinia.

OW: Looking at the upcoming generation, there are a lot of challenges in the industry. Why do you think is?

FVS: There are less jobs. The opera houses are in trouble. But what didn’t exist in our day were all these fabulous training programs. The Met and Chicago, San Francisco all have fabulous programs. But there was a trajectory. When you made your debut in a couple of houses, you got known and then you went around. In my day I was with Columbia Artists  and they had a whole series of recitals. I used to do 20 to 25 a year in places like Waco, Texas, and Plano, Texas, and South Dakota, North Dakota, that had these pockets of Europeans that lived there still. So they were happy to hear German and they were happy to hear French, and all those have virtually disappeared. There’s Carnegie hall and maybe one in Indianapolis and San Francisco, but all the others have, have vanished.

OW: As you do master classes, what advice would you give a young singer?

FVS: The basic thing is don’t give up if you really love it and you’re passionate about it. No career is totally easy sailing. Surround yourself with maybe two to three people you really believe in and believe in you and take only their advice. Don’t listen to everybody. Listen to a good singing teacher, a good coach, and a good manager. And be yourself. That’s it.

I mean, I came into the business as a total ignoramus. I didn’t know what I was supposed to sing or anything. And I had this phenomenal manager, Matthew Epstein, who created jobs for me and pushed me down people’s throats. He said, “I’ll give you Marilyn Horne, but you got to take this kid.” I was very fortunate in that regard.

OW: Today it seems that finding that right manager is a difficult task for singers, Why do you think that is?

FVS: They’re not as trained as they were in my day. They’re trained in the business aspect. Most of them really love music, but they haven’t grown up with it. Matthew was a fan at 14, so he heard everybody, and he heard them multiple times, and he knew when it wasn’t right for a voice. He knew when a voice would be great for something  A lot of managers don’t have that. They haven’t had a chance to grow up with it now. None of the ones I’ve worked with, but I don’t think they have that capability in the same way.

OW: What is your focus in a masterclass?

FVS: I don’t focus on technique because I figure all these kids have the best voice teachers and the best coaches.What I really focus on is the meaning of what they sing. So it’s text and intention. I always ask, “Are you really are sure of what your character feels or what they’re doing or why they’re doing it?” Opera singers don’t have the opportunity to develop characters the way stage actors do. In fact, most stage directors don’t want them to have any ideas first because they want to give their ideas. We don’t have that because we have to learn our whole repertoire and have it all memorized and perfect. So it’s a little bit different. Plus, some of the characters are ridiculous. A lot of Rossini characters repeat their words 500 times. And girls play boys and a lot of different things. It’s just a little bit more arch. But if you can connect to the words you’re singing, especially in song and in lieder, it will mean more to you and it will mean more to the public. And in being so convinced of it yourself, you’re able to pass it on. If you haven’t done that work for yourself, you can pass on a great voice but it doesn’t have the same impact.

That was what Callas was all about. There were faults in her voice, but it was her conviction. Pavarotti was the same. That was pure voice, but his concentration and devotion to what he was doing was so extraordinary that it just swept you away in his passion.

And that’s what I try and get them to do. And one of the things that weren’t available in my day were translations. Now you can just click on your phone and get a translation, but it might not be in your own words. And I try and get them to put things into their own words so they realize what exactly they’re doing at that time. I always ask “why they’re singing pianissimo, why they’re singing loud, why they’re cutting a note short?” And all those questions are important.

OW: You generation is still very active in the industry. How important is it that many of you are still performing and mentoring?

FVS: It shows the longevity that a voice can have. You might not be able to do the things you did at 30, but you can still do some things, and it’s a testament to how you’ve treated your voice for all these years. So it’s good for kids to know that they have to take care of their voices and they have to keep learning. Women’s voices change after childbirth and they change when you get older. All voices change, but men’s voices, with the exception of tenors, change less than anybody.

And it’s fun for us!

OW: What are some of the performances that you will always cherish as you look back at your career?

FVS: I cherish the “Marriage of Figaro” that I did in Paris in Versailles with this great director, Giorgio Strehler. I cherish “Pelleas and Melisande” that I did in Santa Fe 40 years ago. I cherished doing Mahler Four with [Claudio] Abbado. I cherish doing “Il Ritorno di Ulisse” at Glyndebourne. That’s what comes to mind first. I loved the productions and everything. I was living in Paris and England at the time which also made those moments special.