To the bel canto opera cognoscenti, Norma holds a special pride of place. It represents Bellini at his most musically — and melodically — inspired. The story, despite its inherent grandeur of goddesses and deities, is fundamentally a human love story, inhabited by people of flesh and blood. It’s also a very challenging opera, one that demands four great voices. The Canadian Opera Company’s co-production of Norma that opens the fall season has fielded a splendid cast, among them American mezzo Isabel Leonard.
Leonard is no stranger to the COC audiences, having sung Sesto in La clemenza di Tito at the Four Seasons Centre three and a half years ago. She possess a lovely high mezzo combined with the requisite musicality and stunning looks. A multiple Grammy Award winner, Leonard has sung on some of the most prestigious stages, including Vienna, Munich, Paris, Salzburg, Glyndebourne and the Met, collaborating with many great conductors the likes of James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Charles Dutoit and Andris Nelsons. Her appearances here, first as Sesto and now Adalgisa, are both role debuts.
I recently interviewed her before a rehearsal at the FSC. I wanted to get her thoughts on her career, and in particular singing the role of Adalgisa. Leonard is intensely protective of her personal life. She only reveals that she’s a single mom of a six-year-old son, and like other working mothers, she finds it a challenge: “The balance of work and life is very tricky. It’s a constant scheduling struggle. I inevitably feel that when I take a contract away from home, I feel that I’m leaving my little one. And I don’t like that feeling! As he gets older, he’s becoming more verbal about me leaving and him not wanting me to go — that’s hard.” Respecting her privacy, I focused my questions on what matters most about her to opera lovers — her artistry:
JS: I think I can speak for everyone in Toronto who love opera – welcome back to Toronto.
IL: Thank you, it’s good to be back.
JS: We were looking forward to your recital last season with the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto, but sadly you cancelled. Can you tell us what happened?
IL: I’m sure I was sick. That’s what happens — we get sick sometimes. We are human.
JS: Was your Sesto at the COC La clemenza di Tito your first time singing in Canada? What do you think of the Canadian audiences?
IL: Yes, it was. Canadian audiences… I don’t really remember, as it was three years ago. I don’t remember anything out of the ordinary, except it was a warm audience.
JS: I understand this run of Norma is your debut as Adalgisa. What attracts you to this role? To Bellini? To Bel Canto?
IL: This is my first time singing a bel canto role. I’ve sung a lot of Mozart and Rossini, and some French repertoire… this is a natural progression for me. The music is so beautiful; the vocal writing is so expressive — it’s really a challenge.
JS: You sing Angelina in La cenerentola — you don’t consider that bel canto?
IL: Yes, that’s also bel canto, absolutely. At least with the people I speak with, when they think of bel canto they don’t necessarily think of Rossini. However, I would say — yes. In Cenerentola there are some very clearly bel canto moments.
JS: When you go into a new role like Adalgisa? What’s your process? How do you start?
IL: I start everything the same way. With every new role, I start by doing all my basic work on the score. I go through the text, the diction, the translation. I do all my work and write on the score. Then I start learning the music and the words. It’s all text driven.
JS: Do you take it to a coach, or do you do it by yourself?
IL: I learn it by myself. I’ll take it to a pianist in the beginning stages, just to go through it to make sure I am doing it correctly. I get used to what it sounds like with orchestration. If I have time, I take it to a coach.
JS: When you learn a new role like this, do you listen to recordings?
IL: Yes, I do. I listen mainly to hear what the orchestra sounds like with the singers, to get a sense of the piece. Not so much to hear particular singers, although that’s also fun and interesting to hear…but it’s mainly to get a sense of the piece as a whole.
JS: Musically, the tessitura of Adalgisa is very high. I guess sopranos sang it in Bellini’s day. I was listening to your “Exsultate jubilate” on your website. Your timbre really struck me as a soprano timbre…
IL: That was a long time ago — at least four years ago.
JS: As a high mezzo, do you feel Adalgisa is a comfortable role for you?
IL: It certainly has its challenges… it forces me to sing in a specific way. I try very hard not to put any weight in my voice. In the course of the evening, there’re certain moments that if I put weight in my voice, it will have adverse effects on the top of my voice. These are the things you think about as you navigate different pieces.
JS: Have you worked with Stephen Lord and Sondra Radvanovsky before? Can you comment on the two colleagues?
IL: I’ve not worked with either one before. They are both wonderful. Stephen is a singers’ conductor. He’s the kind of conductors we love and cherish. He is there to keep everything together, but also allow us to soar. He isn’t one of those conductors who fits you into a box, in a tempo that they think is correct – that can be incredibly dangerous to a singer. A voice vibrates at a certain frequency, and if you cannot allow an artist – a singer, an instrumentalist, a dancer – if you cannot allow them to use their instrument the way their instrument is built, you immediately suffocate the part of what they can do. Stephen is the opposite. He knows and he can hear where your voice will bloom; where the tempo would suit you perfectly. It’s not something that’s necessarily discussed, but he’s so good at it… it’s a great thing.
JS: And Sondra? Where did the two of you meet?
IL: I don’t remember now. We probably have seen each other many times at the Met; on the red carpet and at all sorts of other random things. It’s just lovely working with her. She’s an outstanding colleague, a lovely person, down to earth. I love watching her sing high notes, how she manages to do it, because it looks so easy!
JS: Other than your first Adalgisa this season, you also have your first Charlotte coming up. Tell us about Charlotte — in terms of characters, they are very different women….
IL: In some ways yes; in other ways not. They both struggle with the crisis between duty and love. I am still evolving in my perception of who Adalgisa is… I think she vacillates between being strong and being vulnerable. She allows herself to be vulnerable, allows Pollione into her life. But because of the choices she has made, to be a priestess, her vows, her sacrifices to her faith, she’s a strong woman. That’s human nature … people are not strong all the time. They are vulnerable some days, and other days they can withstand everything. I think that’s the most wonderful about Norma, as these women are human. In spite of their vows, things they have pledged to do, they have vulnerabilities.
JS: I read that you’re also going to sing Donna Elvira. Any other dream roles?
IL: Yes, Donna Elvira in Aix-en-Provence. Every time I have a new role, I love it. I look forward to singing Carmen in four years — that’s going to be fun. For me, singing is more than just opera. There are so many other things to explore. I also listen to a lot of other music — jazz and rock. Opera wasn’t my favourite thing to listen to; I still wouldn’t put it on now around the house, I put on something else.
JS: I notice you give a lot of recitals, some in Spanish. Is that very much a part of you?
IL: Yes, I am Argentine on my mother’s side. I am very connected to that side of my family. I happen to love the music. It’s not done that often. I enjoy it.
JS: Do you have singers from the past whose voices inspired you?
IL: When I was in high school, I used to listen to Renata Tebaldi and Callas all the time. I had a CD player that wake you up in the morning. It could be an alarm, but it could also be the first song of a CD, rather than an obnoxious beeping sound. The first song on the CD that woke me up every morning was “Vissi d’arte” by Tebaldi (laughs). Her’s an amazing sound.
JS: Interesting you like both Tebaldi and Callas. Do you like Callas for her sound, or for her drama?
IL: Both. I don’t need a perfect sound. I think (singers) are overly criticized. The minute you have a crack in your voice, you are stormed by the furies. It’s awfully unfair…it’s such a vulnerable thing to do in the first place. I think Callas had her way of expressing – that was her way. It was phenomenal, as long as what you are expressing works in tandem with your voice. I’d rather listen to that than a perfect voice that communicates absolutely nothing, or a broken voice that communicates nothing. By “broken” I don’t mean somebody who has a horrible technique and is a disaster… that’s painful. I am speaking of somebody who’s 100% genuine in their portrayal of the character. If there are imperfections, that’s okay. There should be imperfections; we humans are not perfect! There’s no such thing as a perfect anything, so why should we assume that opera singers should be perfect?
JS: But as artists you always strive for perfection, right?
IL: Absolutely. In life too, that’s great. You do it every day and work as hard as you can.
#LUDWIGVAN
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