Hello from sunnier-than-usual Seattle! I'm here this summer singing the role of Serena in Porgy and Bess and am very much enjoying my time here. I was very happy to hear from Arizona Opera a couple of weeks ago, asking me to write a little something in preparation for my arrival next season in Tucson and Phoenix for Aida. I'm very much looking forward to coming back to Arizona; I sang my debut with the company with the title role in Tosca during the '09-'10 season.
I am anticipating that this visit for Aida will be even more fun, because it's always more fun the second time around! Now, I'll know my way around the city a little better, and I will already feel at home with the wonderful musical and administrative staff at Arizona Opera. In addition, the cast is full of good friends like my fellow Aida, Lisa Daltirus, Kevin Short (playing the King) and Arnold Rawls, who is singing Radames. We are already planning what to do together with our days off! I'd personally like to get out away from the city--I remember the haunting beauty of the terrain, and it'd be wonderful to spend a day (or two, if I can) out enjoying the desert landscape. I also plan to do my fair share of shopping! Arizona is home to so many wonderful artists; although I managed to bring home quite a bit of southwestern jewelry and artwork last year, I'm always interested in adding to my collection...
Aida, as one might imagine, is quite a challenging sing! Although I want to see more of Arizona this time, I need to be careful not to overschedule myself. This will be my fourth production of Aida since I made my role debut at Atlanta Opera in 2010, and every time I discover new things--both in the character of Aida herself, and the technical requirements the role demands of me as a singer. It's easy to distill Aida down to a love triangle during a time of war--that is, in essence, the story line. For me, however, the fun comes in finding moments to add layers of interaction between characters and shades of emotion to make "Aida" as real a human being as possible.
It's going to be a great time in Arizona, and I'm really looking forward to it! Until then, all the best for a wonderful start to the opera season!
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