{"id":39307,"date":"2016-10-18T14:06:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-18T18:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=39307"},"modified":"2016-10-19T20:50:10","modified_gmt":"2016-10-20T00:50:10","slug":"interview-profile-wallis-giunta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/10\/18\/interview-profile-wallis-giunta\/","title":{"rendered":"PROFILE | Opera Atelier’s New Dido: Wallis Giunta"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Wallis
Wallis Giunta (Photo: Dario Acosta)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wallis Giunta<\/a> is the archetypal new generation of opera singers. She has all the requisites and then some \u2014 a gleaming lyric mezzo, top-notch training, uncommon musicality, sure-fire dramatic instincts, communicative power to burn, and the drive to succeed in the tough business that\u2019s opera. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t hurt that she\u2019s also blessed with the face and figure of a supermodel, no small asset in our visually oriented 21\u2013<\/span>century.<\/p>\n

A native of Ottawa, Giunta started in the voice program at the University of Ottawa, later transferring to the Glenn Gould School, the professional arm of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. \u00a0The first time I heard the Giunta mezzo was in April 2009, during her time at the Glenn Gould School, as Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte<\/em>.\u00a0 In my review of the performance, I wrote: \u201cBlessed with glamorous looks, a gleaming mezzo and good dramatic instincts, Giunta’s Dorabella was an unalloyed pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation, Giunta was chosen to join the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, followed by two years at the Metropolitan Opera\u2019s Lindemann Young Artists Program and the Juilliard School in New York. A year ago, Giunta made the big leap, across the pond to forge a career in Europe. She joined Oper Leipzig as a \u201cFest\u201d artist, or a member of their Ensemble. \u00a0With an ideal contract that involves only a modest number of performances each season at her home opera house, Giunta is able to \u201cguest\u201d in other places, crucial for career building of young artists. Still only 30, Giunta has already amassed a resume that\u2019s the envy of singers many years her senior.<\/p>\n

This fall, Toronto audiences get to reacquaint themselves with the lovely Giunta mezzo, when she returns to Opera Atelier<\/a> in a role debut, as Dido in Purcell\u2019s Dido and Aeneas<\/a><\/em>. She\u2019s coming back to a Company she knows well: \u201cI was in the chorus of The Magic Flute, <\/em>something like nine years ago. I think I was about 20 and still an undergraduate at the Glenn Gould School.\u00a0 My first solo role was as a Cretan Woman in Idomeneo<\/em>. My first \u201creal\u201d role was Cherubino, in Marriage of Figaro<\/em> in 2010. Then it was Bradamante in Alcina<\/em> in 2013.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Recently, Giunta took time out from rehearsals to meet me for an informal chat. We found a quiet spot in the lobby of the King Edward Hotel, where I got all caught up on her latest career adventures.<\/p>\n

In an hour-long conversation, she talked about what it\u2019s like living and working in Leipzig, once a rather grim city in what used to be East Germany. I was there recently, on a side trip from Dresden. I remember being quite struck by the imposing, if austere and even forbidding, exterior fa\u00e7ade of the Leipzig opera house, a remnant of the Soviet style architecture. Giunta assures me despite the cold exterior, the theatre inside is lovely, with an opera company full of warm, nurturing and supportive people, just the right environment for music-making. We started our conversation with OA\u2019s Dido and Aeneas<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\"Wallis
Wallis Giunta (Photo: Dario Acosta)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JS: \u00a0First of all, welcome back to TO! \u00a0Is this your first Dido?\u00a0 How are rehearsals going?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Thank you. Yes, it\u2019s my first time singing Dido. Rehearsal is going extremely well. We have the show completely staged. The opera is about an hour and fifteen minutes. They are adding a prologue, made up of dancing. There\u2019s a precedent \u2014 (in Purcell\u2019s time) when a new opera was being presented, they would add a prologue, a little montage, often to pay homage to the patrons of the opera, a little nod to those footing the bill\u2026<\/p>\n

JS: I\u2019ve always wanted to ask this question about OA productions. The Company performs six shows in a little over a week, and it\u2019s usually not double-cast. \u00a0How do you cope with this?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG:\u00a0 With OA, the pitch is A-415 (instead of the typical A-440). It makes a big difference, that semitone takes so much of the edge off.\u00a0 And everything is kept quite light. The Elgin Theatre isn\u2019t so big, so you don\u2019t have to use as much of your voice. The smaller baroque orchestra is gentle, with a lightness you won\u2019t find elsewhere\u2026 it\u2019s a much more authentic experience here.<\/p>\n

JS:\u00a0 What other Baroque pieces have you done?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: I\u2019ve done Handel and Monteverdi. I was the understudy for Ottavia in Coronation of Poppea<\/em><\/strong>. I\u2019ve also sung a lot of concert scenes of baroque music.<\/p>\n

JS: You are singing opposite the Aeneas of Christopher Enns\u2026 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Yes, we were in the Ensemble together, in quite a few shows. He was Tamino in Magic Flute<\/em>, and I was Second Lady. We also did school tours and Death in Venice<\/em>. I\u2019ve also worked with my other colleague, Meghan Lindsay (Belinda). She and I go way back! We grew up singing together in Ottawa. She was also at the Glenn Gould School at the same time. She and I were roommates for several years, and we sang together in Ottawa since we were 12, 13.<\/p>\n

JS: How do you enjoy singing Purcell?\u00a0 I have to say I\u2019m used to Dido a lot older than you, like Kirsten Flagstad or Jane Baker\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: I find Purcell very natural and easy. Older Dido? She\u2019s not, though \u2014 she was a very young bride, and then her husband passed away and she became a widow when she was a young woman.<\/p>\n

JS: She was probably in her mid 30\u2019s?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Oh no, maximum 25! She would have been married since she was 16 or 17, and her husband probably died when she was 21. She has been fending off suitors for several years. Dido isn\u2019t a tortured matron \u2014 she\u2019s a young, beautiful, hot-in-demand woman!<\/p>\n

JS: In addition to your OA gig, you\u2019re also singing at the Rubies in a few days\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Yes, I\u2019m singing \u201cSe Romeo t\u2019uccise un figlio\u201d from Capuleti e i Montecchi<\/em>, the first aria of Romeo. I\u2019ve never sung it in public before\u2026<\/p>\n

JS: You graduated from the COC and then joined the Met Lindemann Young Artists Development Program. Did you go directly to Leipzig after that?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: I finished Lindemann in 2013. I stayed in New York and freelanced for two years. I kept working at the Met. From there I went to Leipzig.<\/p>\n

JS: How long have you been in Leipzig now? \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Exactly one year. I started at the end of September 2015, although I\u2019ve been gone a lot. In total, I\u2019ve been there about six months out of the year.<\/p>\n

JS: You are there on a Fest contract, which allows you to guest?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: A lot!\u00a0 I got really lucky.\u00a0 Most people I know with a Fest contract in a good house, they are used for 30, 40, 50 performances in a season. I only have 16! \u00a0They do a lot of productions but not as many performances (as other houses). Like the Parsifal<\/em> this season, we do only one performance! When I was guesting in Frankfurt, we did Carmen<\/em>, and they have two casts. Altogether they did 16 or 17 performances. In Leipzig, the average number of shows, even new productions, is between 3 and 6. They are doing a brand new Salome<\/em> this season, and there are only two performances.\u00a0 Because of that, I have a very light load there.<\/p>\n

JS: What is it like to live and work in Germany?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: I really, really like it. A lot more than I thought I would. Lifestyle-wise, from New York to East Germany is a major change in the pace of life and the expectations.\u00a0 Germany is like slipping into a warm bath in comparison to the pace of life in Manhattan. I was in New York for four years.\u00a0 Every day there I felt I could barely keep up with my own expectations and what people\u2019s expectations of what a person should be able to accomplish in 24 hours. In Leipzig, they really do value the quality of life, taking time off. When it\u2019s time to go home, they go home. People don\u2019t stay at the office until 10 pm.<\/p>\n

JS: Do you live in the city? \u00a0Are there other Canadians at Oper Leipzig?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: I do. I\u2019m a six, seven-minute bike ride away from the theater. There are three Canadians there \u2014 (COC Chorusmaster) Sandra Horst\u2019s brother, Keith Boldt, is there.\u00a0 And there\u2019s another guy, Randall Jakobsh, who just started.<\/p>\n

JS: Are you fluent in German?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: No but I\u2019m getting there! \u00a0I picked up a bit when I spent three summers in Bavaria in a training program, with (soprano) Edith Wiens. When I started the Lindemann program, I continued with her. Since I finished at the Met, I’ve continued to make regular pilgrimages to New York to work with her. She\u2019s my main teacher.<\/p>\n

JS: Who do you coach with?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Lots of people. One of my most important coaches is Ken Noda \u2014 he accompanied me here in Toronto, in recital at Roy Thomson Hall. Jordan de Souza \u2014 he\u2019s now at the Komische Oper. I coach with him in Berlin.<\/p>\n

JS: I\u2019m curious \u2014 in your Fest contract, is it written that you\u2019ll only do sing certain roles and that they\u2019re not going to throw you in everything and the kitchen sink? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Each year, they tell you what your assignment will be for the following year, and you have a period of time to negotiate if you feel really strongly about something.<\/p>\n

JS: What are your dream roles?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: \u00a0I\u2019d love to start singing Strauss \u2013 Octavian and the Komponist. There are plans for an Octavian in a couple of year\u2019s time\u2026 I can\u2019t say where, but it\u2019s coming down the pipe.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been offered Komponist twice and I turned it down – it was too soon. I\u2019m ready now \u2013 if someone offers it to me, I\u2019ll say yes! \u00a0I\u2019ve learned it. I studied the role during my time at the COC when they were doing it. It\u2019s a logical progression for a Cherubino, whose voice is getting larger. Some mezzos who sings Mozart pants roles, and that\u2019s where their voice stay, but mine has been getting bigger every year.<\/p>\n

JS: Would you say you are a high mezzo?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Just a regular lyric mezzo. I can sing high notes \u2014 any mezzo should be able to, but it\u2019s not where I like to stay.<\/p>\n

JS: Would something like Adalgisa be in your future?\u00a0 I\u2019m thinking of that because of the current COC Norma\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: For sure, it would be. It\u2019s for a regular mezzo. I\u2019ve actually sung scenes from it.<\/p>\n

JA: It goes to a C\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: So do I (laughs)!\u00a0 I am wary of the term “high mezzo”. The only differentiation between a soprano and a mezzo is the colour. The range is the same. A lyric mezzo should be able to sing a high C. \u00a0A lot of repertoire, like Rossini\u2019s coloratura roles, or Urbain in Les Huguenots<\/em>, Stefano, even some of the Mozart I\u2019ve always have in my repertoire, roles that will take me up that high in the voice.<\/p>\n

JS: I agree. In Mozart\u2019s time, there was no such thing as a mezzo, just soprano 1 and 2. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WF:\u00a0 Exactly. It\u2019s the colour of the voice that determines who\u2019ll be Susanna and who\u2019ll be Cherubino.<\/p>\n

JS: Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming Angelina in La cenerentola for Opera North?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: It\u2019s a new production that\u2019s going to be relatively dance-based, with lots of movement. It\u2019s my Opera North debut.<\/p>\n

JS: Is it your role debut?\u00a0 You feel comfortable singing Angelina?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: No, my role debut was this past season in Leipzig, that was also my Rossini debut. I really like singing Cenerentola. (Also) I\u2019d love to sing a Rosina\u2026.<\/p>\n

JS: You\u2019ve sung baroque, Mozart, 20th<\/sup> century, a very wide range. Do you make vocal adjustments depending on the rep, from one style to another? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: I make specific choices of vocal colours here and there, to use it as a tool, like a colour on your palette. \u00a0In this production of Dido, I\u2019ve been experimenting with that. I did a modern piece that\u2019s less classical, John Adams\u2019s I was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky. <\/em>It\u2019s a hybrid. The show is more like a Broadway show in structure but with a difficult rhythmic base to it. It requires classically trained singers. There\u2019s no orchestra but a band in the pit \u2014 drum, electric guitar, keyboard\u2026 It\u2019s a really a powerful piece, about racial tension in Los Angeles in the mid 90\u2019s, it\u2019s heavy but gorgeous.<\/p>\n

JS: When you sing contemporary music, are you worried that it may\u2026 I don\u2019t want use the word \u2018damage,’ but that it may not be as grateful to your instrument? Have you sung 12\u2013tone? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: \u00a0No, I never have (sung 12\u2013tone), not yet. I love contemporary music, but I always gravitate to pieces that are based in tonality.\u00a0 In terms of keeping my voice healthy, I make sure I strike a balance. I think I am always going to sing Mozart \u2014 I keep these roles in my repertoire, to keep my agility and to sing healthily.<\/p>\n

JS: What advice do you have for young singers who are thinking of going to Europe for a career? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: Learn German before you go! \u00a0Just to know it\u2019s actually a lot easier, and less scary than you think it\u2019s going to be. It might seem that you\u2019ll be lonely and isolated, but it\u2019s actually a lot less different than it appears, in the way they work, the lifestyle there, the people.<\/p>\n

JS: It strikes me the main difference is that classical music is a much more central part of their lives\u2026 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: It is, and that\u2019s a lovely way to be. I was expecting it to be rigid and impersonal and the people would be stand-offish, but in my work environment, there are people from South Africa, Korea, Sweden, UK\u2026. We have a very lovely, supportive, inviting, inclusive community, and the company itself is very sensitive (to our needs.) The environment is great for us to do our best, it\u2019s non-judgemental. If you are not perfect that day, you don\u2019t feel your job is on the line.<\/p>\n

JS: Can you give me one example, of something that happened to you, that makes you very happy to be there? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: In April this year, I was in three operas in one weekend. I had Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows \u2014\u00a0Parsifal, Figaro, and Cenerentola<\/em>, all back to back. They needed me in the Parsifal<\/em> with its complicated choreography for the Flower Maiden. They didn\u2019t have anyone else in the company who could do it. They needed me in Cenerentola<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 my face was on the poster, and I was the only mezzo in the company who could sing it. \u00a0In the few days going into it, I was starting to have vocal fatigue from all the rehearsing. I was really tired, but I didn\u2019t say anything. One day the Intendant came to me and said \u2014 \u201cI think we\u2019ve made a mistake asking this of you. I\u2019m going to take you out of the Figaro<\/em> and bring in a guest to sing the Cherubino so you can focus on the Parsifal <\/em>and the Cenerentola.<\/em> \u00a0And I didn\u2019t even ask!<\/p>\n

JS: That\u2019s nice to hear. It shows they are caring. Finally, I\u2019d like to ask you about your well-known interest in animal activism\u2026 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: I foster rabbits! I am currently fostering a rabbit while I\u2019m here. Her name is Emily. So every time I come to Toronto for a contract, and if I am here for more than a few weeks, I go to the humane society, and I volunteer my services. Emily is my 14th<\/sup> foster rabbit in five years\u2026<\/p>\n

JS: I am going to ask you a difficult question \u2014 how do you feel that so many Europeans eat rabbits? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: \u00a0Everyone is on a journey, and I do not judge people for that.\u00a0 We all have our own level of consciousness. My life experience has led me to the place where I am at now. I was raised vegetarian, all my life. \u00a0I am vegan now, on my own. It comes naturally to me. I do the rabbit fostering and volunteering because I love to give back, but it\u2019s also a nice balance. When I am in a new place, like when I did a La clemenza di Tito<\/em> in Taiwan, I was in Taipei by myself for five weeks\u2026 didn\u2019t speak the language. I had some colleagues whom I didn\u2019t know before, and we became friends. Through a friend, I got in contact with a rabbit rescue in Taipei. The second day I was in Taipei, I went to this rabbit shelter. Taipei has one of the best rabbit rescues in the world that I\u2019ve seen. \u00a0A lot are domesticated rabbits that have been surrendered. Rabbits are popular pets there. People change their minds, people pass away, they move to a new building with a no pet policy\u2026 there\u2019re all kinds of reasons. When I was in Taiwan, I went to the shelter every second day. The connection with the shelter, with the animals, and with the people involved in rabbit rescue really helped me feel that I wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n

JS: Do you have a pet in Leipzig?\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WG: No, because I\u2019m gone so much. So I foster, and I volunteer. When I was in school, I had a pet rabbit for five years. When he passed away, I thought my schedule was getting so crazy, and I was traveling so much that it wouldn\u2019t be fair to take on a pet. So since then I\u2019ve just been volunteering.<\/p>\n

JS: Thanks, Wallis, for sharing your interesting stories. Toi toi toi for the opening!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and review\u00a0before anyone else finds out? F<\/em>ollow us on\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or Twitter<\/a><\/span> for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week we profile mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta as she sheds light on her upcoming role debut as Dido in Opera Atelier’s production of Purcell\u2019s Dido and Aeneas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":39312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5723,29,43],"tags":[1029,5913,2494,3541],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/10\/Wallis_Giunta2_Dario_Acosta-5.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-adZ","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39307"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39376,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39307\/revisions\/39376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39307"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=39307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}