The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue, the iconic composition by the beloved American composer, George Gershwin. To celebrate the occasion, Canadian impresario Robert Missen of Bobolink Concerts is putting on a tribute to George and Ira Gershwin, in a series of three concerts featuring some of the most recognizable and beloved works by the famous duo. And what better way to celebrate than to bring back to the stage the equally beloved Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, for an evening of Gershwin showtunes?
Pieczonka made her professional debut in the late 1980s, in the tiny role of the Female Convict in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Shostakovich. She went on to an acclaimed 30+ year career that took her to many of the great opera houses in Europe, North and South America. I recall vividly the first time I heard her in a lead role, as Mimi in a COC La Boheme at the Elgin Theatre in 1994. Her beautiful lyric soprano and sympathetic stage persona made me an instant fan.
In the ensuing years, I travelled far and wide, to Munich, London, Vienna and New York to catch her in some of her greatest roles: Tosca, Tatiana, Senta, Sieglinde, Kaiserin, and the Marschallin, to name a few. There were also recitals, with a particularly unforgettable one on that snowy day in February 2017. Pieczonka was taking on that Mount Everest of song cycles, Schubert’s Die Winterreise, and I wasn’t going to miss it!
On my way to the RCM’s Mazzoleni Hall that fateful Sunday, I fell and dislocated my right shoulder, in front of the Michael Lee Chin Crystal of the Royal Ontario Museum. Thanks to the kind passers by, I was helped to my feet, my shoulder miraculously popped back in place. Frankly, I was in serious pain and in no condition to attend a concert. But, being only a few hundred feet away from the RCM, and it was my favourite song cycle, I decided to go to the recital, and to emergency afterwards. I joked later that Schubert and Pieczonka inspired me to scale my own Mount Everest of health calamities.
Given the passage of time, the soprano was scaling back her performing career and focusing more on teaching. In 2019, she was appointed Chair in Voice at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. In October 2021, I was fortunate to hear her in recital at the Arts and Letters Club in downtown Toronto. The event was to promote the Art Song component to the Montreal International Musical Competition the following spring. Pieczonka sang a program of Purcell, Faure, Clara Schumann and Gershwin, combining beauty of tone and heartfelt expression. That turned out to be the last time I heard her sing.
When I found out that Bob Missen of Bobolink Concerts managed to persuade Pieczonka to come out of retirement for an evening of Gershwin, I was elated. I quickly got in touch with her for a little Q&A.
Adrianne Pieczonka: Q&A
LvT: I am really looking forward to hearing you again! Can you tell us what made you decided to come out of retirement and perform again? How would you compare a performing career versus teaching voice?
AP: It’s a very personal decision for a singer to know when and how to retire. There are singers who quit cold turkey from one day to the next, others who gradually slow down and take on fewer engagements, and then there’re others who have a concrete date or age in mind, of when they want to “hang up their vocal cords.”
I really didn’t have a plan in mind, to be honest. Every singer’s voice and body are different. There are some sopranos whose voices stay pretty much unchanged into their 60s, but others experience a shift in range either during the menopause or after this period. I noticed changes in my voice in my mid 50s, which I think is common. One feels a bit out of control when this happens, and it can lead to doubt — you wonder if your voice will behave in the way you expect, and, if it doesn’t, it can be daunting and unsettling.
LvT: I was so looking forward to hearing your Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle with Gerald Finley in March 2023 — two of my favourite singers. I was very disappointed when you cancelled. You told me at the time that you just turned 60 and decided to retire…
AP: I loved the idea of singing Judith in Bluebeard and thought I could manage it well. But, as I was coaching the role, I felt that parts of the role were slightly out of my comfort zone, like the high C and a few other big dramatic passages. I knew in my heart it was best to pull out of the production which of course was disappointing to me and others.
My voice now is more comfortable in the lower mezzo range, which is not uncommon for older sopranos — Leonie Rysanek and Helga Dernesch come to mind. I have been looking at roles like Klytaemnestra in Elektra and Mme de Croissy in Les Dialogues des Carmélites. The vocal range of these roles suit my voice much better, and they are wonderful characters to portray.
LvT: Wow, great to know that you are considering a return to the stage in a different repertoire. Do you miss performing?
AP: Do I miss performing? The answer is yes. When you have sung on the world’s great stages for more than three decades, it’s very hard to step away. It’s in my blood, my being, my sense of self. I’ve had a wonderful career with innumerable highlights. Transitioning out of performing is a delicate transition. You go through a sense of grief and mourning regarding the singer you once were. It takes time to fully come to terms with these feelings. Anyone who performs will tell you that being on stage is like a drug — you get a thrill standing in front of an audience like no other. It’s highly rewarding and risky at the same time!
LvT: Can you tell us about your choice of singing Gershwin songs in these three concerts? Why Gershwin?
AP: Broadway music was my first love, before I discovered opera. I loved it from an early age and dreamt of being like Julie Andrews. I know Renée Fleming and Debbie Voigt also had an initial passion for musical theatre, jazz, and the crossover rep — it’s quite common among opera singers. I’ve performed a few Gershwin songs as encores over the years, but I’ve never sung a concert of just Gershwin tunes.
LvT: Did you ever sing operetta in your long career? Broadway musicals? Gilbert and Sullivan?
AP: In terms of operetta, I have performed Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, but not all that often. I also recorded it with Edita Gruberova as Adele. One of my first roles at the Vienna Volksoper, way back in 1990, was Laura in Millöcker’s Der Bettelstudent (The Beggar Student). The soprano leads in operetta are challenging but very rewarding — spoken dialogue, dance numbers, quite bit of humour and usually quite a few high Cs!
LvT: In the upcoming concerts, you’ll be joined by Jonelle Sills and Justin Welsh. Would you be singing duets or trios?
AP: Jonelle and Justin will perform numbers from Porgy and Bess and a few other selected songs. We will perform “I got Rhythm” at the end in a sort of a trio, but I am singing six numbers on my own. Looking forward to it! I’m excited to be back on stage and sing these songs which suit my range and sensibilities.
LvT: Thanks so much for answering my many questions, and toi toi toi!
Concert Details
Joining Adrianne Pieczonka will be pianist Daniel Vnukowski playing the piano solo version of Rhapsody in Blue. Soprano Jonelle Sills and baritone Justin Welsh will sing selections from Porgy and Bess, with Stephane Mayer at the piano.
It opens on November 14 at the Flato Theatre in Markham, then at the Welland Centennial Secondary School on November 16. It concludes at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre on November 21.
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