Nine Questions With…
Norma Saldivar
Stage Director of Sweeney Todd
1. Where were you born / raised?
Born and raised in Chicago Heights, Illinois.
2. If you weren’t a director, what profession would you be in?
I would have been a lawyer. I went to college as a pre-law/poli-sci major.
3. My favorite opera is…
Too hard to answer. I love too many to name a favorite – but I love Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. I love La Bohème. To name a few.
4. People would be surprised to know that…
I was first chair violin in my youth orchestra. I hated it because people could see me play. I didn’t understand it was an honor – it wasn’t until years later that I understood the position.
5. What is your favorite song to belt out at the bar / in the car / for karaoke?
Usually whatever is on the radio.
6. What is your pop culture guilty pleasure?
Say Yes to the Dress. Love watching the salespeople and the manic brides – then there will be some sad story that breaks your heart.
7 A few of my favorite films are…
Rear Window, Swing Time (or any Fred and Ginger film), The Third Man, Field of Dreams. I love a variety of classical and contemporary films.
8. If we were to turn on your ipod right now, what five artists/songs would we see on your recently-played list?
Sweeney Todd – Broadway cast album.
9. What is the worst costume you’ve ever worn?
A costume in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. It was beautiful, but extremely heavy and multi-layered. It could stand on its own and was way too large due to a rapid weight loss – I could practically turn fully around while it stood on its own.
Don’t miss the chance to see Norma’s production of Sweeney Todd, a thrilling American masterpiece! Performances are February 6, 7, and 8 in the Capitol Theater. Tickets start at $25; visit madisonopera.org for more information.
Ten Questions With…
Jared Rogers, tenor
Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd
1. Where were you born / raised?
I was born in Carthage, Illinois, but my dad was in the service, so I grew up all over – California, Oklahoma, Germany, Washington, etc…
2. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
Race car driver. Formula 1, of course.
3. My favorite opera is…
There are so many, but if I had to pick one it would be Eugene Onegin. I love Russian!
4. My favorite pre/post-show meal is…
A big steak after. If I have anything before singing I feel sick, so by the time I’m done, I am famished.
5. People would be surprised to know that…
I did not start singing until my second year in college. I wouldn’t even sing “Happy Birthday” until my twenties.
6. What is your favorite song to belt out at the bar / in the car / for karaoke?
Anything by U2 from the 80s.
7. What is your pop culture guilty pleasure?
Game of Thrones, if that counts.
8. A few of my favorite films are…
There are so many…. I love movies! Pulp Fiction, Glory, Amadeus, A Bridge Too Far, the list goes on.
9. If we were to turn on your ipod right now, what five artists/songs would we see on your recently-played list?
Callas, Wunderlich, Pavarotti, Terfel, and Sweeney Todd.
10. What is the worst costume you’ve ever worn?
A silver skirt, Mercury’s helmet, roller blades, and nothing else. It was a strange show.
11. Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer):
Q: Why opera and not some other form of singing?
A: Because of many things, but the bottom line reason is in opera there is nowhere to hide. No mic, no auto tune machine – if you don’t have it, you don’t have it.
Don’t miss the chance to see Jared in Sweeney Todd, a thrilling American masterpiece! Performances are February 6, 7, and 8 in the Capitol Theater. Tickets start at $25; visit madisonopera.org for more information.
Ten Questions With…
Robert Goderich, tenor
Pirelli in Sweeney Todd
1. Where were you born / raised?
I was born in Miami. I was mostly raised in Montana… so that’s where I say I’m from.
2. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
Chef! I love being in the kitchen!
3. My favorite opera is…
La Traviata.
4. My favorite pre/post-show meal is…
I try not to eat before a show, so after a show it’s ALL OF THE THINGS!
5. People would be surprised to know that…
I just started to take voice lessons.
6. What is your favorite song to belt out at the bar / in the car / for karaoke?
Don’t have a favorite song, but I would say anything Broadway or Adele.
7. What is your pop culture guilty pleasure?
Food Network and Real Housewives.
8. A few of my favorite films are…
All About Eve, Some Like It Hot, The Princess Bride, Disney’s Hercules.
9. If we were to turn on your ipod right now, what five artists/songs would we see on your recently-played list?
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Sweeney Todd original cast recording, Disney’s Hercules soundtrack, the Dreamgirls soundtrack.
10. What is the worst costume you’ve ever worn?
In middle school, I played the Wolf in a musical production of Johnny Appleseed and wore a fur zip-up body suit, with hat and mittens. To say it was HOT would be an understatement.
11. Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer):
Q: Celebrity look-alike?
A: That one guy, from that one show!
Don’t miss the chance to see Robert in Sweeney Todd, a thrilling American masterpiece! Performances are February 6, 7, and 8 in the Capitol Theater. Tickets start at $25; visit madisonopera.org for more information.
Ten Questions With…
Emily Pulley, soprano
Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd
1. Where were you born / raised?
I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, where my dad was helping to install the first computer for the University of Mississippi medical school, but we moved to College Station, Texas, where my dad helped install the first computer at Texas A&M, when I was a couple months old. We have kept the same house (with some of the same carpeting and furniture), but the town sure has changed!
2. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
I always figured I would teach English Literature (still have the filled-out applicaton to TAMU grad school somewhere), but the closest I’ve come to that is giving a lecture for the New York C.S. Lewis Society last spring (titled “True North v. Magnetic North: Divine Paganism in Wagner’s Ring Cycle“).
3. My favorite opera is…
Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West. I have often said that Minnie is the type of person I hope I would have been had I lived in that time and place. I’ve sung the role three times now, but have yet to make my entrance on a horse in Act III. Maybe someday…
4. My favorite pre/post-show meal is…
I’m a big fan of sandwiches and usually snarf one down right before the show (pre-costume and lipstick, of course). After the show, it’s generally whatever I have in the fridge (hopefully not *everything* I have in the fridge).
5. People would be surprised to know that…
I’m a First Class Girl Scout (it used to be the equivalent of Eagle Scout) and have done a great deal of hiking, including the Laugavegurinn in Iceland and the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Still hoping to solo hike the Outer Hebrides and some other extended trails.
6. What is your favorite song to belt out at the bar / in the car / for karaoke?
Any song by Heart, which I’ve been belting out since “karaoke” was just a hairbrush and a mirror.
7. What is your pop culture guilty pleasure?
I used to be a Law and Order junkie, especially the original series. I’m allergic to almost all reality TV, but my DVR is full of late-night talk shows. Oh, and Nathan Fillion (Firefly and Castle) is totally my boyfriend (but may not be aware of that).
8. A few of my favorite films are…
The Man from Snowy River, the original Star Wars, classic Steve Martin comedies (especially All of Me, Roxanne, and such), The Princess Bride, Monty Python, Mel Brooks, etc.
9. If we were to turn on your ipod right now, what five artists/songs would we see on your recently-played list?
I’m a huge fan of audiobooks and just finished re-reading Terry Pratchett’s entire Ankh-Morpork City Watch storyline.
10. What is the worst costume you’ve ever worn?
The worst costume was for First Lady in Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic Flute, when we had to black out our faces and ears with dark blue paint and wear big puppet heads mounted on top of a cone-shaped hood. We did a lot of running around, and the paint would mix with sweat and run down our necks, etc. We would find it everywhere, even days later….
11. Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer):
Q: Who is your favorite author and your favorite book by that author?
A: C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.
11b. Another bonus question.
Q: What were your favorite TV shows as a kid?
A: Scooby-Doo and Gilligan’s Island.
Don’t miss the chance to see Emily in Sweeney Todd, a thrilling American masterpiece! Performances are February 6, 7, and 8 in the Capitol Theater. Tickets start at $25; visit madisonopera.org for more information.
Ten Questions with…
Jeni Houser, soprano
Johanna in Sweeney Todd
1. Where were you born / raised?
I was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, and grew up in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
2. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
I would be a dancer in a dream life. In my real life, I would be a teacher.
3. My favorite opera is…
Don Giovanni has been my favorite since I was four or five. Verdi’s Falstaff is also high on the list, as well as Britten’s Peter Grimes.
4. My favorite pre/post-show meal is…
A hearty sandwich or something with a lot of ginger.
5. People would be surprised to know that…
I have an undergrad degree in English literature and I studied abroad in Amsterdam.
6. What is your favorite song to belt out at the bar / in the car /for karaoke?
Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.”
7. What is your pop culture guilty pleasure?
HGTV and the Food Network, especially House Hunter and Chopped.
8. A few of my favorite films are…
The Philadelphia Story, The Sting, Singing in the Rain.
9. If we were to turn on your ipod right now, what five artists/songs would we see on your recently-played list?
Bon Iver,
Sweeney Todd, the Radio Lab podcast, and Pentatonix.
10. What is the worst costume you’ve ever worn?
In the 8th grade, I costumed myself for the role of Betty Body, who was a personal trainer tasked with shaping up Santa Claus so he could fit down chimneys better. I wore jean shorts, an ill-fitting sea green t-shirt, and big ol’ pink scrunchie in my ponytail. So simple, so classic, so bad.
11. Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer):
Q: Can you say all 50 states of the USA in alphabetical order in one breath?
A: Yes.
Don’t miss the chance to see Jeni in Sweeney Todd, Sondheim’s masterpiece! Performances are February 6, 7, and 8 in the Capitol Theater. Tickets start at $25; visit madisonopera.org for more information.
