Uncategorized – Page 33

Ten Questions with Saira Frank

April 21, 2014

Ten Questions with…

Saira Frank, soprano
Kitty Hart in Dead Man Walking

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:

Finishing an aria or song and seeing someone in the audience who connected with my performance. I love to sing, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of performing, but the best performances are when I can feel an energy from the audience telling me that they appreciate my work.

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is:
To persevere. It’s a competitive field, and for every performance high we experience, there are equal disappointments. Lucky for me, the thrill of preforming for an audience makes it easy to forget any rejection I may encounter along the way.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:Sweeny Todd at the Lyric Opera when I was a freshman in college. We must have sung the “I feel you, Johanna” over and over for about 6 months after seeing it.

4. A few of my favorite films are:
Stand By Me, Perfect Harmony, The Color Purple, and Goonies. Apparently I haven’t watched a movie since the ’80s.

5. Three things I can’t live without are:

My morning tea, my iPhone (sadly), and the incredible support system that is my family.

6. My number one hobby is:

Cooking, baking…anything in the kitchen.

7. If you could perform with any singer, retired or deceased, who would it be?

I’d love to singer lieder with Fischer Dieskau. I have a recording of him and Schwartzkopf singing Mahler – his voice is pudding, and they make it sound like so much fun!

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
I’m pretty sure I’d be an environmental lawyer.

9. What role do you wish you could sing that you could never sing because it’s the wrong voice type/gender?

Funny thing about being a soprano…I feel like I get all the best roles 😉 I tease, I tease. I’d go for one of the big dramatic baritone roles, like Rigoletto.

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage.

I love playing evil, so my favorite moment was probably playing Alcina in her spooky spell-casting scene.

Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer)

*Ring, ring*
Me: Hello?
The Met: Hello, this is the Metropolitan Opera, can you fill in for our soprano tonight?

Need I say more? 😉

See Saira in Madison Opera’s production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking April 25 and 27 at Overture Hall. Tickets start at just $18!

Ten Questions with J. Adam Shelton

April 21, 2014

Ten Questions with…

J. Adam Shelton, tenor
Howard Boucher in Dead Man Walking

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:

I love learning something new! There’s so much great music out there to sing that challenges every part of our brains. Plus, I really dig all the languages and different interpretations for pieces! It truly is a versatile career!

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is:
Cold and flu season! When your body is your instrument, a cold or the flu can knock you back a few days.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:
I really enjoyed seeing Linda Eder live in 2012 and meeting her afterwards. She met the 10 of us in the lobby in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and talked for quite a while before hitting the road. Best birthday gift EVER!

4. A few of my favorite films are:
Comedies – I love to laugh! (Top 3: Drop Dead Gorgeous, Sister Act, & Young Frankenstein)

5. Three things I can’t live without are:

My iPhone, a caramel macchiato from Starbucks, and some sunshine!

6. My number one hobby is:

No kidding – I am really good at knitting. Kristine McIntyre actually encouraged me during Ballo to learn a skill that revolutionized my knitting. Otherwise, I’m becoming a great cook!

7. If you could perform with any singer, retired or deceased, who would it be?

BEVERLY SILLS – hands down…

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
I was actually a deaf education major before I majored in music. I learned signed English and a whole lot of ASL signs but never got to the point of learning proper ASL grammar. I remember signs at random times, but don’t ask me to finger spell…you’ll never understand it.

9. What role do you wish you could sing that you could never sing because it’s the wrong voice type/gender?

…..Tosca….. who wouldn’t want to take that jump after singing the whole show?

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage.

I find myself thinking about the times I sang in Italy with my summer programs. We were on the beach one night performing Boheme in an open air theatre. I had the fortunate pleasure of singing Rodolfo and during “Che gelida”, I was actually able to point to the full moon hanging over the ocean while holding on to a beautiful soprano’s hand. It was truly magical (and warm)! I could hang out in that moment forever!

Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer)
What’s the best practical joke you’ve ever played?
I enjoy wishing people a happy birthday and seeing what kind of response it warrants from the world. One time, I wished a friend happy birthday on Facebook while we were doing a show together (even though it wasn’t really his birthday) and a considerable number of people wished him a happy birthday on his page. The directors caught wind of his “birthday” not knowing it was a fake and ended up buying him a cake and bringing it to the theatre! I laughed for a solid 30 minutes, ESPECIALLY when he showed up and saw the cake. Not all jokes end in deliciousness and probably never will!

See Adam in Madison Opera’s production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking April 25 and 27 at Overture Hall. Tickets start at just $18!

Ten Questions with Jamie Van Eyck

April 21, 2014

Ten Questions with…

Jamie Van Eyck, mezzo-soprano
Jade Boucher in Dead Man Walking

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:

Having the opportunity to tell a story and communicate with an audience.

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is:
Managing the demanding schedule.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:
The Austin City Limits Festival, last year.

4. A few of my favorite films are:
Life is Beautiful. 12 Years a Slave.

5. Three things I can’t live without are:

As a singer: humidifier, neti pot, and lime mineral water.

6. My number one hobby is:

Traveling.

7. If you could perform with any singer, retired or deceased, who would it be?

Leontyne Price!

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?

I might work in marketing or advertising.

9. What role do you wish you could sing that you could never sing because it’s the wrong voice type/gender?

Scarpia.

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage.

Any moment during a performance where I feel connected with my colleagues, and everyone is relaxed and energized.

Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer).
The question – “Can I buy you a new car?”
My answer – “Of course, thanks!”

See Jamie in Madison Opera’s production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking April 25 and 27 at Overture Hall. Tickets start at just $18!

Ten Questions with Caitlin Cisler

February 7, 2014

Ten Questions with…

Caitlin Cisler, soprano
Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:

I get to do what I love every day. And on really special days, I get to share what I love with lots of other people!

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is:

Subjection to constant self-criticism. I also feel, though this is a challenge, it makes me live my best life most days.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:
Carmina Burana, in college. In a live performance, that piece burrows into your bones and stays with you forever.

4. A few of my favorite films are:
The Princess Bride and Zoolander – mostly because they remind me of great moments shared with great friends.

5. Three things I can’t live without are:

The three C’s: cheese, coffee, and cuddles.

6. My number one hobby is:

Lately, hacking away at the ukulele.

7. If you could perform with any singer, retired or deceased, who would it be?

Maria Callas.

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
Medical research, probably.

9. What role do you wish you could sing that you could never sing because it’s the wrong voice type/gender?

The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier.

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage.

It’s impossible to pick just one favorite moment, but I will always remember a particular performance of Hansel and Gretel. Hansel and I pushed the witch through the oven and the set came crashing down around her. Hansel and I look at each other – each of us obviously thinking “What do we do?? The show must go on!” and then looking at our accompanist whose face is beet-red from stifling laughter. I don’t know how we made it through the next number, but when it was through the set was standing again and the witch had disappeared behind that oven. The show must always go on!

See Caitlin in Madison Opera’s production of Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment (La Fille du Régiment) February 7 & 9 in the Capitol Theater at Overture Center. Tickets start at just $25.

Ten Questions with Javier Abreu

February 7, 2014

Ten Questions with…

Javier Abreu, tenor
Tonio in The Daughter of the Regiment

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:

Seeing so many new cities, and meeting so many wonderful people in my travels.

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is:

Being on the road for so many weeks at a time.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:
My first night at the opera. I was 15 years old, and my high school voice teacher gave me tickets to go see the dress rehearsal of The Elixir of Love.

4. A few of my favorite films are:
Leap Year, The Incredibles, Y tu mamá también, Clue, and Blue Jasmine.

5. Three things I can’t live without are:

Chocolate, cellphone, internet.

6. My number one hobby is:
Hard to say. Too many!

7. If you could perform with any singer, retired or deceased, who would it be?

I would love to perform with Luis Miguel (Mexican ballad crooner).

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
If I were not a singer, I would probably work in accounting, or a non-profit, or as a recruiter in an admissions office.

9. What role do you wish you could sing that you could never sing because it’s the wrong voice type/gender?

If I were a soprano, I would love to sing the role of Violetta in La Traviata. If I were a baritone, I would love singing the role of the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro.

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage.

My favorite moment on stage was when I made my New York City Opera debut in 2004. My voice teacher and first mentor in college is a very dear and influential person in my life, and he is very proud of his tenure at City Opera during the Beverly Sills era. He always spoke very highly of his experience there. As I walked on stage to sing my first line, I thought about him, and all the years he invested in me to get to that point, and I was proud that I was walking the same stage he once did years before.

Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer).
How did you start singing?
I was a pop singer until the age of 18. At the age of 16, I won a big competition in Puerto Rico that almost propelled me into the pop music world, but my parents had other plans for me. In the end, music ended up being my field of work, though an entirely different genre.

See Javier in Madison Opera’s production of Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment (La Fille du Régiment) February 7 & 9 in the Capitol Theater at Overture Center. Tickets start at just $25.