Argentinian tenor Santiago Ballerini makes his role debut as Tonio in our production of The Daughter of the Regiment. We chatted with him about his thoughts on this role, his experience in the Atlanta Opera’s Studio, and what he listens to while on the road (Freddie Mercury, anyone?).
Our most popular season to date is bookended by two of the greatest blockbusters that exist. We celebrate Bernstein’s centennial year with West Side Story, and close with a triumphant production of Verdi’s La Traviata. We will present the most frequently performed new American opera in the world, Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as well as a grand, romantic interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, Eugene Onegin.
Read more from ArtsATL on The Opera’s new season, and “bold new direction” >>
The Discoveries series celebrates its fifth season at the red velvet cabaret Le Maison Rouge focused on two distinct music styles: jazz and tango. We will present the company debut of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, based on the tortured and exhilarating life of legendary jazz virtuoso Charlie Parker. We will then bring the tango opera Maria de Buenos Aires back to Atlanta due to popular demand. As a reminder, only our loyal subscribers have exclusive access to limited Discoveries series tickets before they sell out to the public.
Subscribe today for a season of exciting debuts and extraordinary opera! This guide shares important information about your subscription opportunities, your opera-going experience, and exclusive subscriber benefits (including the Discoveries series pre-sale). Please be sure to check your tickets when you receive them in the mail. If something is amiss, please call Ticketing Services at 404-881-8885.
We look forward to seeing you at the opera!
Tomer Zvulun
General & Artistic Director
For the next installment of our Spotlight series, we chatted with Georgia native Mitch Gindlesperger, who has sung with The Atlanta Opera Chorus for 19 years (with an 11 year hiatus) as a bass. He was last seen on the mainstage as a German soldier in Silent Night (2016).
Roles:
Antonio, Le Nozze di Figaro
Wolf/Woodsman, Little Red Riding Hood
Second Solider, Salome
Majordomo, La Rondine
Armed Man, Magic Flute
Old Gypsy, Il Trovotore
Herald, Otello
Herald, Rigoletto (twice)
Second Philistine, Samson et Dalila
German Solider 1, Silent Night
Customs House Sargent, La Boheme
Notario, Don Pasquale (Student Short)
Where did you grow up and how did you get into music?
I grew up in Duluth, Georgia and got into music at a very early age through church and elementary school choirs.
What do you do when you’re not singing?
I am married to my middle school sweetheart, Melissa, and we have three wonderful boys: Mason, Miles, and Merritt. They all keep me very busy, but I have a day job as the Director of Interns with Reformed University Fellowship.
Tell us an audition story.
My auditions have never really gone as expected. I once did a graduate school audition where I didn’t have an aria that allowed for a lot of acting ability to be shown, so I had to act out the art song “Die Forelle” by Schubert. It’s a story about a trout swimming in a stream who gets caught by a fisherman, and it’s not meant to be acted. The whole process was very embarrassing, but they still accepted me into their school!
What genres of music and/or artists do you like?
I will listen to almost anything, but the thing I listen to the most is sports talk radio. Go Dawgs!
If you had to be another voice part, what would it be, and why?
I would probably choose to be a tenor if I HAD to be another voice part. They always get the most applause and always get the girl!
What are your favorite musical moments in The Daughter of the Regiment?
This will be my first time performing this opera, so I don’t yet have a favorite moment. I’m very much looking forward to learning the piece and finding my favorite musical moment!
What is your favorite Atlanta Opera moment?
I have two favorite moments. The first was at the very end of Samson et Dalila when Samson collapsed the temple by pushing against the temple’s pillars, and pillars went crashing towards the audience along with pieces of the temple falling from the ceiling. We would all stand off stage every night and watch the spectacle.
The other moment was before our performances of Falstaff in late September 2001 when Maestro Scott and The Atlanta Opera Orchestra performed the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana as a way to remember the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. They were beautiful moments that I think helped our community heal.
What should audiences listen for in this opera?
Listen for the tenor aria “Ah! Mes amis,” with its vertical leaps to a succession of high Cs. I hear it’s amazing and I can’t wait to hear it live!
Any advice for young singers?
Be patient. Don’t push yourself too hard to do all the hard music. All of that will come. Most of all, have fun.
Mezzo-soprano Olivia Vote makes her Atlanta Opera debut as Mary in a new production of The Flying Dutchman. We chatted with her about Mary’s thoughts on Senta’s love interest, her process for each role, and what she watches during her down time.
Where did you grow up and when did you start singing?
I grew up in St. Mary’s, MD where both of my parents worked at St. Mary’s College. My dad is a professor of voice and a conductor, and my mom was an administrator, poet, and church organist. My world was full of music and art and I could not be more grateful. My parents like to tell the story that I sang my first art song at age 4. It was Du bist die ruh, by Schubert. I’m sure I was mimicking my dad who sang the song often.
Who or what are your greatest influences?
Besides my parents, I am lucky to have had some amazing professors and teachers along the way that truly helped me to realize my potential. James Allbritten, now the Director of Piedmont Opera in NC, was the head of the opera and choral department at North Carolina School of the Arts where I did my undergraduate degree. He was the first professor to truly tune me into the amazing world of opera. It was his guidance and passion that made me want to pursue a career in opera.
Some of my favorite singers are Tatiana Troyanos, Guilietta Simionato, Callas, Shirley Verrett, and honestly, Atlanta Opera’s very own Melody Moore. I was blown away at our first rehearsal of Dutchman and my admiration only grows as I’ve gotten to know her artistry and personal character. What all of these singers have in common is their complete and utter commitment to the music and the drama in their performances.
Tell us about your character, Mary.
Mary is the head of the factory and the household of Daland (Senta’s father). In our production, she is strong willed, educated, and one of my favorite choices is that she gets to be youthful (often she is portrayed much older and tired). It is her job to make sure that everything stays running efficiently while keeping watch over Senta. This proves to be a troublesome task as Senta has a very overactive imagination and sets her sights far beyond the confines of her life in the factory. I believe Mary wants the very best for Senta but finds it difficult to do her job and also care for Senta simultaneously.
How does Mary feel about Senta’s attraction to The Dutchman?
Mary actually introduced the story of The Dutchman to Senta. I believe she told it to her as a fantasy, like a campfire tale. She didn’t think that Senta would ever cling to it as much as she did, let alone believe that the story was real. Mary is tired of being asked to retell this story and is worried for Senta’s sense of reality. “The Dutchman again…let it rest!”
What is your typical preparation process for each role?
I start by reading the libretto, listening to a recording, and translating the score. After that, especially with Wagner, Strauss, or anything rhythmic, I go through and mark the beats and speak the text in rhythm. Then I start singing it into my voice and taking it to a coach. as far as building a character outside of the given text and history, I find that the music will tell you everything you need. Tempi can be physical and vocal. Harmonies and cadences map out your moods and how long one is allowed to feel one emotion before another takes over. There is so much there to uncover.
You travel a lot. What do you listen to when you’re on the road?
Personally, I have to take a break from music when I’m on a job. I’m pretty partial to Master of None, Game of Thrones, Sherlock, almost any comedy special on Netflix, just to name a few.
Any advice for young singers?
There the givens: always show up prepared, know your translations, try and coach each role with someone who is native to the language the opera is written in, study languages as much as possible, be a good colleague, bring something to the table about your character while also being flexible and open with the director, and sing out in rehearsal as much as possible (Decide what is healthy for you, keeping in mind the stamina of the role you are doing).
Then, there are things I’ve noticed from endless conversation with colleagues. The most common topic: discouragement. The best advice I have ever heard was, Someone else’s success is not your failure! Try your hardest to focus on your path and goals and accomplishments. Comparing yourself always leads down a destructive path and never makes you a better singer or person.
Richard Brady
Bass Trombone
Richard Brady has played bass trombone in The Atlanta Opera Orchestra for 32 years, and principal trombone for two seasons. He answered a few quickfire questions in our new Spotlight series for orchestra and chorus.
The Atlanta Opera: What is your favorite Atlanta Opera production
you’ve played?
Richard Brady: Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss
AO: What do you do when you’re not playing or practicing the trombone?
RB: This has changed as I have gotten older. Before: martial arts, flying (I am a licensed pilot), cave diving, rock climbing. Now: hiking, camping, astronomy, ham radio.
AO: Where did you grow up and how did you get into music?
RB: I am a native Atlantan. In the fourth grade I started playing with a Southwest Atlanta elementary band program called the West End Elementary Band. An amazing number of top brass and wind players came out of the program.
AO: Any advice for young musicians?
RB: Try to be professional about everything; practice until you can’t get it wrong; practice until you are tired and add 10 minutes; get private instruction; listen to everything you can get your hands on.
AO: What genres of music and/or artists do you like?
RB: Oddly enough, I like pretty much everything. My favorites: Blood, Sweat & Tears; the Beatles; Earth, Wind & Fire; Johnny Cash; The Dear Hunter; Leah Partridge (she puts her whole being into her music).
AO: If you had to play any other instrument in the orchestra, what would it be?
RB: Cello. Other than the trombone, it is the closest to the human voice.
AO: What are your favorite musical moments in The Flying Dutchman, and what should audiences listen for in this opera?
RB: This is a stunning work. This will be the third production of this work I have performed in (including one production in Italy). My favorite moment is probably Act III, Scene 8 with the chorus. Always listen for the low brass!
AO: Overrated or underrated: “76 Trombones” from The Music Man.
RB: When performing in the musical — underrated. When performing out of context — overrated!
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore will join us in September to sing one of her “bucket list” roles, Anna, in Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins. We chatted with her about growing up in Atlanta, women and the opera industry, and her recent book, Una Voce.
You’re an Atlanta native! Where did you go to school and when did you start singing?
I grew up in Southeast Atlanta where I attended H.O. Burgess Elementary school, then we moved to Marietta when I was 12 years old. I went to J.J. Daniell Middle School, then Sprayberry High School. You know the old saying, “You can take the girl out of the South, but not the South out of the girl”? Well, I can certainly attest to that! Here in Paris, I’m a long way from Georgia, but I still yearn for the atmosphere of the deep South. When I’m feeling nostalgic, I think of my mom’s squash casserole, the fans going non stop on a hot day, the moss hanging from the trees, boiled peanuts and so much more. Growing up there was a delight for me.
My mom, Eloise Larmore said that I sang before I talked! I was always the little child in the class with the loudest singing voice, the one who got overly excited when music time came in class, and I wasn’t afraid to sing solo. I started piano when I was 7, flute when I was 12 and at 14 I had the basic voice that I have even now. It was a given for me. Music was always in our home because my father, William Larmore, sang in The Atlanta Opera Chorus, Barbershop quartets, played records for us, and took us to the hear the Atlanta Symphony, The Atlanta Opera, the MET on tour and to voice recitals.
Who or what are your greatest influences?
My greatest influences hands down have been my parents. I know not everyone has had the total support and love like I received from them, but for me it gave me the foundation to go out in the world and pursue a dream in which very few ever find success. I believed them when they told me that I would be successful at whatever I did. I never questioned it because they didn’t. That kind of unwavering support is worth it’s weight in gold! Of course later on, influences in my field became people such as Leontyne Price, Regina Resnik, Frederica von Stade, Marilyn Horne, Maria Callas–all these women showed how elegant being an opera singer could be. They were and are mezzos who made it to the top and paved the way for mezzos in the future to become glamorous, when all that was available to us in the past had been hags, witches, and old woman parts! I’m thankful to them for what they did to achieve their goals and show me how to do the same. I have tried to be an advocate for young singers in the same way.
Any favorite roles?
For two decades I sang Rossini, Handel and bel canto music. I loved that repertoire, especially Isabella in l’Italiana in Algeri, mostly because she was a woman with a solution for everything, and I wanted to be that kind of woman. I loved developing her more every time. Cesare in Handel’s Giulio Cesare was one that fit me like a glove as did Romeo in Bellini’s Capuletti ed i Montecchi. He was such a hot head with music to match his moods. The bel canto flow throughout that opera is filled with elegance and passion which I found so engaging and fun to explore. Rosina was the pal of my youth, and one which saw me through important debuts at the MET, La Scala, Teatro Colon, Vienna and many other theaters, so she will always be close to my heart. As I’ve gotten older and more “age appropriate” roles have come into my repertoire, I’ve found Kostelnicka in Janacek’s Jenufa to be a great favorite of mine! She is driven by the love for her step daughter to an act of terrible depravity. Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth was also a surprise and a treat for me. I never, in my wildest dreams ever thought I’d do that role because I had the mistaken idea that it should be sung by a honking huge voiced verismo singer, when in reality, it is a bel canto role meant for a voice like mine. Verdi wrote that he wanted an “ugly voice” and hopefully I don’t fit that description, but he also wrote specific bel canto dynamics and instructions that only a true bel canto singer can do.
How would you describe your character, Anna I? How is she similar/different to Anna II?
Anna I and Anna II are very different sides to the same woman. Anna I sees herself as a pillar of morality with the right point of view about everything. She sees herself as the savior of Anna II. She thinks Anna II cannot see what is right, and it is her duty to make sure she does. In the Prologue, Anna I says that they find a job dancing in a cabaret, when the reality again is the Anna II is a topless dancer in a strip joint. It is a split personality. Anna I feels a bit trapped and only wants to go home and live a quiet life. Anna II wants love and adventure and her impulsiveness is an impediment to their success. Personally, they aren’t so different from a lot of us singers out there traveling constantly! When we’re on the road, we dream of being home in our favorite chair, and when we’re home, we dream of going again, so it’s a swirling circle of ups and downs all the time. The Annas are at odds with themselves as are most singers.
What are the challenges with the role?
The challenges of any role is bringing it to life for the people in the audience in a way that they can relate. When we read books or watch movies, we want to be a part of the story and that is the job of the performer: to bring the audience up onstage and make them a part of the experience. When I sing The Seven Deadly Sins, I want to do just this. I want my audience to go along this journey with me, so my challenge will be to relate to them through the music, the words and the staging. I also have to wear the costumes in a way that communicates who I am as Anna. If you cannot make a costume work, then you have a problem. That is a special challenge. I’m lucky in that we have a wonderful costumer for this production, Joanna Schmink. She has been nothing but respectful and communicative with me during this process, which isn’t always the case. I appreciate it when someone takes into consideration the thoughts and feelings of the performer. I’m not comfortable if I’m standing onstage baring all like some directors want these days. I can’t concentrate on the important things like singing and communicating if I’m worried and self conscious about what I look like! Joanna is finding just the right costumes for me that fit my body and personality and not forcing me to wear something just because she and the director had an idea. They are both open and willing to make costumes in which I can actually work comfortably, elegantly, and in which I can feel myself and the character fully.
How is Anna’s story relevant for a modern audience?
Anna’s story is completely relevant for today. Women are always searching for recognition, love, a place in society, and a way to make a living. Anna goes away from Louisiana, and she gets a job because she needs money. Many women do this today and will continue to leave where they were born to go make their mark in the world in another place. I came all the way to France! Women are always going to search for love and maybe even lose it along the way. Women are always going to try to find the right job, but sometimes get stuck doing something they don’t want just to make a living. Anyone can relate to this piece and some of the the statements it makes are as relevant today as when they were written.
Your book, Una Voce, came out last year. You mention that you were inspired to write it for young singers, and “ordinary people doing an extraordinary and sometimes misunderstood job.” What misconceptions do you think people have about opera singers?
My book Una Voce grew out of the many Q & A sessions I had after master classes. It broke my heart sometimes to hear how much help the young singers needed to achieve even the most basic steps in having a career such as securing an agent or deciding on repertoire. The book almost wrote itself!
The misconceptions that people outside of our profession may have are that it is a glamorous job where you just stand up there, open your mouth and glory pours out! Or that just because you have a fantastic voice, you will make it to the top. It simply doesn’t work that way. There are literally years upon years of lessons, vocal and psychological struggles to understand the process of singing–which sometimes never ends. It is years of rejection tinged with a few successes here and there which are just enough to keep people going towards their dream. There is glamour, but it is only accessible to a privileged few. I was one of the lucky ones because I was at the right place at the right time and everything seemed to be aligned in my favor. Not to say that I didn’t work extremely hard, but I realize I have been one those happy few who actually got to grab the brass ring and I’m eternally grateful that it happened as it did for me. However, I never for one minute forget how hard it was just getting started or any of the hardships I had along the way. The person observing our lives from the outside can now get a glimpse of what it’s like inside from Una Voce.
You write about the challenges women face in the industry, and you even recall some pretty frightening scenarios you had to endure. Do you think the landscape is changing for women in opera, or is there still a lot of work to be done?
Hollywood has come to stay in the opera world which will always make it difficult for some women to get ahead. We have to look like the characters we’re performing. The days of standing on the prompter’s box, hands folded and simply singing beautifully are gone. There isn’t a prompter box anymore in most theaters, and nobody can stand still anymore. All the power is in the director’s hands and if you don’t have a confident director who believes in the power of the music to stand alone in some instances, then you will find yourself in a bra and panties running non-stop around the stage! Personally, I like the realistic point of view where you fit the character you’re portraying, and I definitely support the notion of being as fit as possible. But, in reality, we are not dealing with movie stars who work out hours per day, starve themselves to be thin and make it a priority to have no body fat! We are dealing with opera singers who travel constantly, eat comfort food, drink after a performance and raid the mini bar at 1:00 a.m.! We are a different animal altogether with different needs and eventually different physical results. The industry will continue in this vein and hopefully, we will be able to adapt even more by staying as fit as possible and as attractive as possible. But, also, hopefully we will continue to have people in the positions of dressing us who realize that we are sometimes normal people with an abnormal job who need a little help to feel good onstage!
You’ve been in the industry for more than 30 years and have performed all over the world. Are there any roles you still want to sing that you haven’t?
In this time of my life, I’d like to do The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier. My voice has gone up which has been a surprise for me as I always thought it would go down the older I got. I feel comfortable in that tessitura and in every way I’m ready for her. I hope to do Kostelnicka in Jenufa again as I know her so well now and once you learn all that Czech, you want to use it as much as possible! Other than those, anything that I do now is icing on the cake. The Seven Deadly Sins is a real cherry on top of my cake and I’m grateful to Tomer for asking me to sing Anna. Coming back to my hometown to sing the music of a composer that I’ve sung my entire career is kind of like coming full circle. It’s a delight and a treat, not to mention having my family and dear friends close by, as well as squash casserole and boiled peanuts at my fingertips!
The Atlanta Opera Chorus had the honor of singing our national anthem at the Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds game on August 19th. It was a beautiful day at the ballpark made even better by our amazing chorus. Bravissimo!
Atlanta classical radio producer and writer Noel Morris explains the history and context of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s The Seven Deadly Sins, which opens Sept 28 at Le Maison Rouge at Paris on Ponce.
By Noel Morris
Kurt Weill was a refugee when he wrote the score to The Seven Deadly Sins. On March 22, 1933, he had dropped everything and crossed into France with his mistress and a small suitcase.
A month earlier, on Feb. 18, crowds streamed into theaters in the German cities of Leipzig, Magdeburg, and Erfurt to see Der Silbersee, a new show by Weill and playwright Georg Kaiser. Inside and outside the theaters, the SA (paramilitaries) staged raucous protests; they served at the pleasure of the newly appointed chancellor, Adolph Hitler.
“The audience that night knew it was a historic occasion, the end of something,” says Weill biographer Foster Hirsch. Weill was the son of a prominent cantor at the synagogue in Dessau. His star rose during the short-lived Weimar Republic, a creative pressure cooker of opera, theater, nightclubs, jazz, literature, visual art, and a heavy dose of political satire. (American audiences saw a bit of this world in the Broadway musical Cabaret.)
In the Weimar’s twilight years, Weill partnered with leftist author Bertolt Brecht to conjure a popular entertainment that synthesized the sophistication of classical music, the soul of jazz, and the wallop of a Marxist rally. Emblematic of their sound was the husky voice of Weill’s wife and muse, Lotte Lenya.
When Weill left for France in March 1933, he was estranged from both Brecht and Lenya (he and Lenya divorced later that year). Weill received a warm welcome, arriving on the heels of acclaimed performances in the French capital.
British arts patron Edward James immediately put him to work on The Seven Deadly Sins, a new ballet for the great Russian choreographer Georges Balanchine. Only two months passed between their first meeting and the first performance of The Seven Deadly Sins — although those months were not without drama.
Part of Weill’s genius lay in his ability to work within the cracks, whether bridging musical styles or art forms. Not shy about his standing in the cultural universe, the refugee composer negotiated to add to the effort a literary partner, one of “equal stature.” Billing The Seven Deadly Sins as a “ballet chanté” (a “sung ballet”), Weill offered the project to Jean Cocteau, who declined. James then pressured him to mend fences with Brecht.
Weill called Brecht “one of the most repulsive, unpleasant characters on the face of the earth.” Brecht, also a refugee, scoffed at James’ “bourgeois” project but couldn’t bring himself to say no. He needed the money. So he joined Weill in Paris, giving the work 10 days of his life, and then returned to Switzerland. This was Brecht and Weill’s last collaboration. Lenya sang the premiere.
The Seven Deadly Sins is a smart, ironic, and compact satire about a small-town girl who travels from city to city for a noble cause: to earn enough money as a dancer to build a home for her family. But this isn’t an allegory about small-town values and big-city vice. This is a drama that rages within the human heart, whatever the circumstance.
By splitting the principal character into two performers — Anna I and Anna II — Weill and Brecht give us a window into the young dancer’s inner dialogue. With each stop on her journey, she struggles with one of the seven sins, but Brecht’s book is far from unambiguous. The characters tend to commit one deadly sin to avoid another.
In the movement labeled “Anger,” Anna I scolds Anna II: “If you take offence at injustice, Mister Big will show he’s offended. If a curse or a blow can enrage you so, your usefulness here is ended.” In other words, Anna I justifies committing the sin of sloth (inaction) to avoid the sin of anger, although one senses that greed is her true mistress.
“Think of our house in Louisiana! Look! It’s growing! More and more it needs you!
Therefore curb your craving. … Gluttons never go to heaven.”
ANNA’S FAMILY
The Seven Deadly Sins
The story takes place in America. Over seven years, Anna travels from city to city as her family cackles about virtue, always with an eye on the money. The family’s presence is particularly oily, with music that pivots between church chorale and barbershop quartet. Notably, the mother’s voice is sung by the bass.
W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman prepared the English translation of The Seven Deadly Sins. The original score features a soprano as Anna I, but the publisher offers an arrangement for a “low female voice.” This alternate version favored Lenya (although some argue she was outside her vocal range at the Paris premiere).
In 1935, Weill and Lenya settled in the United States; they remarried the next year and, in 1943, Weill became a U.S. citizen.
In 1947, when a Life magazine article referred to Weill as a “German composer,” he wrote to them: “I have a gentle beef about one of your phrases. Although I was born in Germany, I do not consider myself a ‘German composer.’ The Nazis obviously did not consider me as such either, and I left their country (an arrangement which suited both me and my rulers admirably) in 1933. I am an American citizen, and during my dozen years in this country I have composed exclusively for the American stage.”
Photo credits:
Kurt Weill
Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2005-0119 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Bertolt Brecht
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-W0409-300 / Kolbe, Jörg / CC-BY-SA 3.0
Music Administrator Rolando Salazar began working at The Atlanta Opera in 2015, and since then, he has worn many hats. Since the departure of longtime Chorus Master Walter Huff, Salazar has stepped in to lead The Atlanta Opera Chorus in the meantime, and recently facilitated the general auditions in June. We chatted with him about the huge task of casting chorus members, audition prep, and what makes a cohesive opera chorus.
Tell us a little about yourself: where did you grow up and how did you get into music?
My three passions are opera, country western, and sacred music, but not necessarily in that order. This season I will be serving as interim Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor for each production in the 2017-18 season. In addition, I will continue to coach and work with the Atlanta Opera Studio each week on solo rep, roles, and the Studio Tour. I moved to Atlanta seven years ago to study conducting at Georgia State University. I had previously been living and working in Amarillo, TX, and worked with Michael Palmer as his assistant at the Bellingham Festival of Music in Bellingham, WA.
I have a funny history with Atlanta. When I was in high school, I was a singer and had been very successful in competitions – UIL and those types of things. One year, the Texas All-state Choir rep included the Verdi ‘Quattro Pezzi Sacri.’ Being from Beeville, a small town in South Texas, I had zero clue about what I was singing or what being a good singer really meant. One afternoon at a rehearsal, my choir director, Penny Lamberson, gave me a CD of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Robert Shaw performing the Verdi and the Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms. I had never heard music like that. That recording, that very night at home changed my life and inspired me to want to be in music.
A few years later right before college I started my piano training with my former middle school chorus director, Cheryl Roberts. When I started college I had been playing only for about three months, but soon discovered that I could sight read. The piano skills developed, the singing developed, and that then took me down the path of wanting to be a conductor. Conducting allowed me to sing (yes, I do sing often in private coachings) and work with choruses, amazing soloists, and orchestras.
Upon arriving to Atlanta on the invitation of Michael Palmer, I fell more in love with the music scene and all the wonderful singers and instrumentalists in town. The talent in Atlanta in incredible! I often pinch myself in coachings and rehearsals, or I play a recording of the Verdi ‘Quattro’ on my way home from a long day at the office because it reminds me that the Atlanta music scene, in a weird and distant way, played a hand in my development as a musician, and I am honored and humbled daily to be able to give back in so many ways.
What is your casting process for putting together a cohesive opera chorus?
The score. One must always go directly to the score and see what the composer intended in his or her writing. In addition to looking at divisi and the character of the writing, one must also be aware of the accompanying forces in the pit. For The Flying Dutchman we have opted for forty men and twenty women. The basses have to have good top Fs, the first tenors have to have great high B flats, and the women must be able to sing beautifully and in tune as an ensemble, as well as match twice as many men and a strong orchestra underneath. I also like to look at the text of an opera as it really helps to identify what sort of approach to the sound I would like to take, sometimes measure by measure, sometimes even beat by beat. Once this “sound” is set in my head, I look at the voices we have available and start piecing together each section, one person at a time, until the entire chorus is cast. It’s like a great big puzzle, and it takes hours to put it together, and the anticipation increases daily for that first chorus rehearsal to see how it’s all going to work out!
During auditions, is there an “it” factor you’re looking for, or is it more technical than that?
There kind of is an “it” factor, but it is very difficult to explain. For me, that “it” factor is what the voice does. How does it fill the room and make the air seem to vibrate? How does it fall on our ears and go through our bodies? What about the dynamic range and technical ability? Is is powerful, beautiful, exciting, unique? Does it move me? Having sat on numerous audition panels I can tell you we always want to hear people sing their absolute best. It is thrilling for us listening to feel the energy, the focus, and hear great vocalism from a singer. It really usually takes a few notes to grab or lose a person listening. Presentation, confidence, and choosing pieces that show off the best of your singing go a long way. And even if all these things are present, or not, the sound of the voice itself, that “it” factor, is what will win a person an audition.
Besides knowing the material, what else should singers do to prep for an audition?
Every singer is different, and I have all the admiration in the world for all they must go through before an audition or performance. For some that means hydrating all day and the night before, eating only certain foods, yoga, so many different things. My advice is to be sure you select rep that you can roll out of bed and sing well. Be sure you have coached your music before your audition. Don’t bring in something obscure that nobody has heard of. And I always tell singers, because this is what I try to do before a performance, use the nerves to your advantage!
Are there any audition pieces that you think are overdone?
I don’t really think so. Sometimes the nature of hearing sixty to hundreds of singers in a day makes it seem like pieces are overdone. If twenty sopranos come in and sing the same aria well, then I am happy to have heard every single one of them.
What makes a good chorus?
The singers, period. Great singing, commitment to creating another character on the stage, made up of the entire chorus, great acting, and loving what you’re doing!
Finally, overrated or underrated: Colorful socks (a la Justin Trudeau)
YES, wear them!
What do you think of when you think of summer? Long days, a relaxing, easy-going vibe, and heat, heat, heat. That’s what Music Administrator Rolando Salazar thought of when we asked him to put together his idea of the perfect summer opera playlist. Everything is listed below for your reference. Enjoy!
