*What is your daily
musical and physical routine like?
I am a big advocate of
fitness for singers, and I personally like to line my practicing up with my
work outs. I am also a very big believer in rest too, and I believe that there
are a lot of things that one can do to "practice" with out actually
using the voice. 5-6 days a week I tend to have the same routine: I like to
head to the gym for a 45 minute to an hour long cardio work out and stretch, then
I come home to shower and steam, and then I practice vocally. I work for an
hour to two, depending on how much I need to get done. I like to save score
study for the evening when I want to rest. Like I said, there are so many
things one can do to practice with out using the voice - between translation,
diction work, score study, memorization, and character research, there is
plenty more to do when not singing!
*How do you prepare
for a role?
I
have a process for preparing a role that really works for me - as an actor and
singer, you have to find a process that works for you; Every one is different!
I start with the score - preparation begins with highlighting for me - My score
usually looks like a coloring book! I use different colors for different
important things that I need to know: my vocal line, important orchestral lines
that I need to pay attention to, important dramatic points that other people
say, and things in the orchestra that will help my entrances. Then I translate;
I like to know exactly what I am saying from day one. Then I look at the IPA; I
want to know what vowels are open, closed, etc so that when I am working
technically, I can focus on these things. Then I like to start researching the
opera itself; I read the history. I read the book or source material that the
opera is based on. I read any letters from the composer. I want to know if the
characters are based on actual people, and if they are, I research those people
as well. Then, I start learning the notes down an octave usually, to start.
After I feel comfortable that I've got the notes and rhythms cleanly, I take it
to my teacher and start working technically. Then I seek out one of my coaches
to work on the role musically and stylistically. I have a great team of people
that I really trust to help me prepare very cleanly and musically. There are
different people who I trust for different things; for example, if I am
preparing Mozart, I know exactly who I want to take that to. But he is not the
same person I take my Verdi roles to, or some thing in French, etc. Then, after
I feel technically solid, I memorize. To memorize, I write out the text and the
translation in red pen. I buy a notebook for every role, and I fill the
notebook with the text. Red pen has scientific properties which write into the
memory - two or three times through writing text, and I usually have it solidly
memorized.
How did you get cast
in La Boheme?
I was very fortunate
to be cast in a new production of Boheme in Oslo, Norway, which was directed by
the incredible Stefan Herheim. It was a very special production, and a concept
that was unique and worked exceptionally well. The Met sent a VIP to Oslo to
see the production, and when I was finished with my contract and back in NYC, I
was invited to come and audition for musetta there! After that audition, my
manager was called and told that I needed to do another audition so that Mr.
Gelb could see me on the stage. A month or so later, I went back to the Met to
sing on the stage for the whole team. There must have been 6 or 7 people in my
audition. I was asked to sing in Lizst hall first, and then was invited to the
stage, and Mr. Gelb was called down from his office. I had never been on the
stage before! It was an absolutely surreal experience for me. I couldn't help
but smile and giggle: I was actually going to sing on the Met stage! I sang
"Quando m'en vo" and that was it! A week later, we got the offer! It
was one of the happiest moments of my life! I felt so bad for my neighbors - I
ran screaming up down my hallway, while jumping up and down and crying! After
dreaming of it for years and years, There it was - the offer for my Met debut.
The feeling was incredible.
What is your
experience of singing at the Met like?
The Met is an
unbelievable place to me; so much talent and history under one roof. It is
difficult to take it all in some times, but the sense of pride that I have to
be a part of it, is major. I started at the Met last season as the cover of
Desdemona in Otello. I felt so supported by every one in that production, so my
experience started off extremely positive! It was as if every one from the
conductor, to the director, to the coaches wanted me to succeed. You really
can't help but do your best when you are placed into an environment like that.
It was an incredible way to learn Desdemona, and to get my feet wet with the
company. I have had a very similar experience with la Boheme this season as
well! The conductor is so kind, and really wants every one to have a huge
success! He is tough - naturally! He knows the score inside and out, and he
wants it perfect. But he wants it perfect so that the performance can be
everything that he knows it can be, and more. The team of coaches has been very
supportive of me as well - they work hard, and have pushed me to work even
harder myself! But I really do feel this energy that every one wants me to have
the best debut possible! I have been very fortunate to have that feeling of
support.
*What are some
difficulties you've encountered and how have you conquered them?
Every singer faces
difficulties. It is part of having a career. Some have them on a much more
public scale than others. I have, like many, faced my own share of difficulties
and challenges. But, I have made it a point to learn something from each experience,
positive or negative. It's important for young singers to know that the
business isn't always easy, and not every one is going to like you. I am
fortunate to have been able to take my experiences and lessons in the business,
and to use them to help the next generation of singers. I love lecturing and
giving masterclasses to university students; I love helping young singers
understand the business, and hopefully thrive in it in the future! At every
age, in any discipline, artists have to face challenges. It's really what you
learn from those challenges that make you grow as an artist and a person. I
have taken my challenges and allowed them to teach me, so that I can pass along
advice and information to young singers - I am happy to have taken my lumps,
especially if it allows me to help some one else for their future!
*Best advice you've
ever received?
Jose Cura quoting
Oscar Wilde - "Jen, be your self. Every one else is already taken. If you
are going to have a dramatic voice, have it! Don't put it in a box to fit some
idea of what some one else wants you to be."
*Your advice to young
singers?
Learn how to be your own independent artist; learn how your own
instrument works, and what it needs. Learn a solid vocal technique that will
allow you to sing well, even when you are ill. Build a team of great people
around you who help you prepare, practice that technique, but then when you are
out to work, know how to do it independently of those people. Build a process
to be able to prepare a role independently, if you need to! (Some times you may
not be near your team when something comes up last minute!) You have lots of
time as a student to learn HOW to be a performer; take that time and build that
process for yourself. You will be happy that you did that work
10 years from now!
