(Photo credit: Faymous)

From the title role in “Carmen,” one of the most coveted mezzo roles, to Dorabella in “Cosi fan tutte,” a traditional soprano role, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey sings it all. In her interview with OperaWire, Hankey discussed her nonconformist approach to repertoire and the technique behind her success.

Hankey will be singing the role of Donna Elvira in David Hermann’s new production of “Don Giovanni” at the Munich Opera Festival.

OperaWire: How would you describe the opera festival in Munich?

Samantha Hankey: Munich is such a hotspot for opera, it’s really one of the best places in the world for it. Even though they do so much repertoire throughout the year, the Münchner Opernfestspiele feels like this extra-special moment as they wrap up their season. It’s more curated, like a highlight reel of the season, but also with new and exciting stuff too, like our upcoming premiere of “Don Giovanni!” Doing a new production during the festival adds this buzz around the whole experience. It also happens during what I think is the most beautiful time of year in Munich, so it all feels pretty magical here!

OW: Can you tell me about your role in the festival?

SH: I’m singing Donna Elvira—and it’s my role debut, which is always a fun challenge.

OW: Isn’t Donna Elvira typically a soprano role?

SH: Yes, traditionally she’s sung by a soprano, but in recent years, we’ve seen more mezzos stepping into the role, and I think it makes total sense as trends and tastes evolve. If you look at my repertoire, I’ve always kind of played around and found the most success in that lyric-mezzo space. I love to explore and experiment. I feel best suited to the lyric-mezzo and zwischenfach roles—Octavian, Dorabella, Der Komponist, Santuzza, Mélisande—those parts that can go either way, mezzo or soprano.

At the end of the day, I just want to sing music I connect with. I care less about what category it’s supposed to fall into and more about whether it feels right for my voice and my heart.

Elvira definitely sits higher than any of the Mozart roles I’ve done so far, but it works for me. What’s also really interesting is that in this production, Zerlina is sung by a mezzo too—Avery Amereau, who has this beautiful, dark sound. And when you hear us together in the ensemble numbers, Avery, myself, and our Donna Anna, Vera-Lotte Boecker—it’s such a cool blend and that adds something unique to the sound palette of the show.

OW: Have there been any challenges learning Elvira?

SH: Of course! I think the biggest thing has just been building confidence in singing in this range. Elvira kind of lives in that tricky upper passaggio for me, so it’s a constant balancing act. But it’s also been fun because I’ve been doing a lot of technical work in my last few roles, and applying that to Mozart has been a fun shift of the new and familiar.

This is my seventh Mozart role, so I do feel like I’ve got a system down for how I approach his writing. But even still, I’m checking in with myself, like, am I making this phrase work because it’s technically smart, or because it’s musically expressive? Now how can I achieve both? And if I’m adding color, am I still keeping the sound clean and supported? It can be a lot of mental gymnastics!

OW: Can you talk more about how you worked through these challenges?

SH: One of the wonderful things about being a singer is that you never stop learning. Your body changes, your voice shifts, it’s always evolving. And honestly, I think to do this job well, you really have to love learning, not just vocally, but in every way. New music, language, culture, technique, style, it’s all part of the process and you can’t really escape it, but then again, most artists are curious people!

A few years ago, I hit a point where elements of my technique that I’d been relying on just weren’t cutting it anymore, especially as I started exploring repertoire that sat higher in my range. Santuzza was a big turning point for me. That role demanded a rawness and a style, particularly in the upper part of my voice, that I hadn’t really been asked to access in quite the same way before.

Then later that same season, I sang Stéphano in “Roméo et Juliette,” which prompted me to experiment with placement and comfort up top. I’d actually sung “Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle” for some high school competitions and for my conservatory auditions, so coming back to it years later, this time at the Met, felt really full-circle. So I wanted to revisit it with a new spin on it and that’s when I started seriously exploring my high C, especially to hold it in the cadenza. Up until that point, I’d somehow just skipped over looking at my high C—not because it wasn’t there, but because I’d never actually taken the time to build a technical relationship with it and understand how to access it just like with the rest of my voice.

I realized I’d been treating those notes as something that either ‘showed up’ or didn’t. But of course, that’s not entirely how the voice works! So I went back to the drawing board: back to lessons, back to some basics I hadn’t realized I overlooked. I started asking soprano colleagues about their approach to notes over Bb/B vowel modification, tongue positioning, mouth shape, how they think about technique—all the things that come into play when you’re navigating that territory.

I found that I needed a more methodical way of accessing that part of my range, especially now for roles like Elvira, where the writing is consistently high and stylistically precise. Mozart, especially, demands such clarity and balance. Elvira’s music often mimics or references Baroque style, which means I have to think about where I can incorporate straight tone or run with coloratura, but also how to do that without compromising my authentic sound, intonation, or my breath support.

It’s definitely more strategic singing than I’m used to; singing is most of the time so natural. But this is also what makes the behind the scenes work really interesting and fulfilling. I’m now blending the intuitive understanding I’ve always had of Mozart’s music with the newer tools I’ve built through this recent exploration, and that’s been a really fun new chapter for me!

OW: Tell me about your characterization of Elvira.

SH: I feel Elvira’s really been through it and she’s been deeply wronged, like many of Don Giovanni’s other trysts. She’s hurt, and she has every right to be! The emotions she goes through, anger, betrayal, longing are all so real and valid. For me, it’s about finding that understandable arc in her story. How do you go from being heartbroken to forgiving someone who really doesn’t deserve it? Where does her warmth and generosity come from despite being so wronged?

What I love about her is that she’s fiery and also deeply compassionate. There’s so much heart in her, and that’s what I think she’s trying so hard to protect. That’s what makes her feel human to me and why she has such big emotions, she feels everything so intensely.

I do believe the emotional honesty of the women in “Don Giovanni” is timeless. While I haven’t personally experienced what they go through, many women have, being deceived, manipulated, silenced, even abused. Their stories don’t need to be reimagined in another time because they’re still deeply relevant today.

OW: What other operas are being performed during the festival?

SH: It’s a really exciting lineup! “Don Giovanni” is actually the last part of a new production cycle of the whole Da Ponte trilogy, which is such a cool project to be part of. There’s also a rarely done piece, Fauré’s “Pénélope,” and some of the other shows include “Kát’a Kabanová,” “Das Rheingold,” and “Rusalka” among others!