
Q & A: Judit Kutasi Describes How Listening to Her Voice & Becoming a Mother Have Changed Her Life for the Best
By Mike Hardy
Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi is described as possessing a “deeper dark voice” and has been predicted to be the “the Verdi mezzo of the next years.”
Born in Timisoara, Romania, she studied voice, piano and cello at the Colegiul Național de Artă “Ion Vidu” and continued her studies at the University of Oradea and the Music Academy Gheorghe Dima in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, graduating with a master’s degree.
OperaWire caught up with Judit via video-link during her run as Amneris in “Aida” at the Metropolitan Opera.
OperaWire: Hello, Judit. Thank you for speaking to OperaWire. You’re currently midway through your “Aida” run at the Met. How is it going?
Judit Kutasi: It’s a pleasure talking to you, and thank you for having me. The “Aida” performances are going great, and I couldn’t be happier to sing on this iconic stage one of my favorite roles.
OW: I see you are frequently described as “The Verdi mezzo for the coming years.” Is that how you see yourself and is that the direction you wish to focus on?
JK: I love singing Verdi; it’s where my heart is, but I have started a new journey with Wagner roles, and I must say I quite enjoy it. If possible, I would love to do both.
OW: Speaking with Vasilisa Berzhanskaya last year, I was surprised to learn that she had quite a dramatic change in her voice after giving birth to her child, which enabled her to develop other roles more suited to the soprano rather than the mezzo voice. As a mother yourself, did you notice any change in your voice? If so, has it led you to consider roles in a different direction?
JK: Motherhood does change a lot of things in a woman’s body, especially in a singer’s voice. Quite a few things changed after giving birth, and I must say I do enjoy some of the vocal changes. For now, I love singing mezzo-soprano roles, but when I do get asked to sing a Zwischenfach role, my first question is: What is it going to bring me vocally, artistically, and career-wise in the long run? It is very important for me to know why I am going to do it—or not. Then I try it out and see if it feels right for me.
OW: Of course, at one time, the lines between the mezzo and soprano fachs were less prominent, with both types singing a variety of roles that artists today perhaps wouldn’t consider.
JK: Of course, there were those exceptional “voce falcon” singers who could pick and choose what suited them best from the two fachs, and I have huge respect for them.
OW: I believe there is a school of thought that says, in the fairly distant past, this division between mezzo and soprano was more blurred. Some sopranos of old would sing mezzo roles if they had a particular lower register, and mezzos with a higher upper register would more willingly take on soprano roles. The notion is that the fach wasn’t quite as important historically as it is today.
JK: Yes, that is true. If you feel as a singer that you can perform roles from both fachs, then try it out. That’s why I always sing what feels good for me. Whenever I am asked to sing a new role, something rings in my mind from one of my university teachers. She would say: “Don’t say no. Don’t listen to anyone who may tell you yes or no. Go and try it out. Try it on your voice and on your body—it will signal to you if you can sing it or not.”
When I was offered the role of Ortrud by San Francisco Opera, I was scared. My first thought was, I shouldn’t sing this! But then I remembered my teacher’s words: “Try it out.” And let me tell you, I had the biggest surprise of my life when I realized how well this role suited my voice.
OW: That ties into what you mentioned earlier about motherhood and its impact on the voice.
JK: Absolutely. Motherhood does play a huge role in sometimes changing the voice. I think Vasilisa Berzhanskaya and I are among the lucky ones because I know colleagues who were not so fortunate after giving birth. Being a mother is one of the most beautiful things you can ever experience as a woman—and also the scariest because there are no instructions on how to do it (laughing).
OW: Perhaps we have embarked on an important, seldom-discussed topic here. Do you think mezzos and sopranos ever give serious consideration to the possibility that having children, a natural and desirable thing, might affect their voice?
JK: Of course, my mind did wander about what would happen to my voice after giving birth, especially since there are no scientific studies about it. But at the same time, I couldn’t imagine my life without my son. He is everything to me!
OW: Who inspired you as a singer?
JK: Oh my goodness, I have an entire list! To mention a few, my fellow Romanians Elena Cernei, Viorica Cortez, Zenaida Pally, and Angela Gheorghiu. I also loved listening to Elena Obraztsova, Fiorenza Cossotto, Giulietta Simionato, and Shirley Verrett, whose recording of Dalila was the first I heard—and I just fell in love.
OW: So, having discovered that you can sing roles you thought you couldn’t, what is your dream role now?
JK: For now, my dream role is Amneris, and it’s my favorite to sing. But I would love to explore more German, French, and Russian repertoire. Who knows? Maybe I’ll discover a new favorite role!
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