{"id":42317,"date":"2017-01-28T18:41:57","date_gmt":"2017-01-28T23:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=42317"},"modified":"2017-01-29T18:42:31","modified_gmt":"2017-01-29T23:42:31","slug":"interview-christine-goerke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/01\/28\/interview-christine-goerke\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Christine Goerke Talks Br\u00fcnnhilde Ahead of Wagner’s G\u00f6tterdammerung at the COC"},"content":{"rendered":"

The great American Wagnerian soprano gives a free-ranging and candid interview on her life and art.<\/h3>\n
\"Christine
Christine Goerke: Artist In Focus (Photo: Pierre Gautreau)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I<\/span>t was January 15th<\/span>, 2014. \u00a0Place?\u00a0 The Four Seasons Centre, home of the Canadian Opera Company.\u00a0 The occasion?\u00a0 The 2014-15 season launch. These events always begin with a video of the artists to appear next season. When I saw Christine Goerke on the big screen, my heart skipped a beat. Then it was official \u2014 the COC would revive its production of Wagner\u2019s Ring Cycle in February 2015, albeit minus Das Rheingold<\/em> and spread over three seasons.\u00a0 The Wagnerites in attendance at the launch were overjoyed to have the chance to see the COC Ring again after nearly a decade, especially with such a stellar cast.\u00a0 It was quite a coup, to have American soprano Christine Goerke sing her first-ever Brunnhilde here, in good old TO, before anywhere else, not even the Met!<\/p>\n

The opening of the last of the tetralogy, G<\/em>\u00f6tterdammerung<\/em> on Feb. 2<\/a> marks the beginning of the end of Goerke\u2019s first Ring journey. Through it all, the American soprano has been the only \u201cconstant\u201d in the casting. \u00a0Her two previous warrior maidens were nothing short of amazing, vocally resplendent and dramatically deeply moving. It has been an epic vocal journey, considering that she started out as a Baroque and Mozart singer, a repertoire as distant from the Wagnerian heavyweights as one can imagine.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never forgotten my first encounter with the Goerke voice. It was the summer of 1997 at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, New York, in Iphigenie en Tauride.<\/em> While her performance was impressive, it gave no indication that twenty years later, she would be a Brunnhilde of one\u2019s dreams.\u00a0 In an interview she gave to Opera News<\/em> in 2012, Goerke spoke at length about reworking her voice and moving to the dramatic soprano repertoire. It was a scary time for her, as it meant giving up her Baroque roots and facing the unknown. \u00a0It turned out to be the right decision. Now at the conclusion of her first cycle, the time is ripe to get her thoughts on singing this most daunting of dramatic soprano roles.<\/p>\n

Having been writing artist profiles for nearly twenty-five years and having interviewed hundreds of singers, Georke ranks right up there as among the most enjoyable interview subject.\u00a0 Friendly, warm, completely down-to-earth, and blessed with a great sense of humour, Goerke is spontaneous and disarmingly candid in her answers, often laced with gales of a very infectious laughter. \u00a0Here\u2019s one \u2014 when we were discussing the demands of G<\/em>\u00f6tterdammerung<\/em>, her quip that \u201cBrunnhilde in Act Two is like Fiordiligi on crack\u201d totally cracked me up \u2014 pun intended!\u00a0 To be sure, Goerke is a serious artist, her answers and comments always insightful and well-considered. \u00a0The interview was just under an hour, but it went by in a flash:<\/p>\n

\"Christine
Christine Goerke in in the Canadian Opera Company\u2019s production of Wagner\u2019s \u201cDie Walk\u00fcre\u201d in Toronto. (Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JS:<\/strong>\u00a0 First of all, welcome back to Toronto!\u00a0 What a luxury to have you here, three seasons in a row.<\/em><\/p>\n

CG:<\/strong> \u00a0I love it here!\u00a0 It\u2019s like coming home. I look forward to it. I love the city. I love the company and the people I work with here.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Now that our Ring Cycle is almost over, we\u2019ll will miss your annual appearance.<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Well, you might see me again\u2026<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Now that would be fantastic! \u00a0Tell us your thoughts on singing the complete Brunnhilde for the first time.<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> I am so lucky!\u00a0 It has been a learning experience since Day 1. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve been dreaming about since I was 27 when I sang Third Norn at the Met. I remember getting off stage after the Norn Scene. I stood in the wings. It was Jane Eaglen.\u00a0 I thought to myself \u2013 \u2018someday, please, please, please\u2026\u2019 \u00a0Now, I have to pinch myself that day is finally here!<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> I heard you for the first time in 1997, in the Glimmerglass Iphigenie. I still remember that gigantic shower head with water coming down on all the women singers\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> (Big laughs) Here\u2019s a funny story. They told us on the first day: \u201cEverybody, come in your bathing suits!\u201d Uh, okay… \u00a0At the time I wore contacts. I got up there, and immediately washed my contacts right out of my eyes! \u00a0I thought \u2013 this isn\u2019t going to work! \u00a0It was also cold, so there was a bunch of screaming wet women on stage!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I AM INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL TO ALEXANDER [NEEF] FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE WITH BRUNNHILDE FOR SO LONG, AND TO FIND MY WAY WITH HER.”<\/strong><\/h3>\n

JS:<\/strong> Now twenty years later, you\u2019ve gone from that icy water to the Immolation Scene\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Hahaha, full circle! \u00a0To be able to do it here, to be in the atmosphere afforded me here, has been not just a gift, but a luxury. The cast I have been able to work with, the music staff, every one of my colleagues have been remarkable, supportive, and provide such strength in everything they do, to allow me to be strong with them. \u00a0Being able to find my way in a good rehearsal period \u2013 which is not always the case as you know. If you had two weeks, that\u2019s considered a long rehearsal period. I am incredibly grateful to Alexander [Neef] for giving me the opportunity to live with Brunnhilde for so long, and to find my way with her.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> You have a new Siegfried this season. Have you worked with Andreas Schager before?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Nope. He is the best. A great colleague, and a wonderful actor. The kind of colleague I love to work with. He doesn\u2019t necessarily do the same thing twice, and he\u2019s funny as hell. \u00a0When he opened his mouth the first day, I joked \u2013 \u201cdon\u2019t you sing me off the stage \u2013 this is mine!\u201d (Big laughs)<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> You know I saw him thirteen years ago as Tamino, right here in Toronto? <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> He just sang Tamino.\u00a0 I thought, good for you!\u00a0 I can\u2019t get anybody to let me sing Donna Elvira. I\u2019ll do it in a heartbeat!<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Mixing Tamino and Tristan\u2026Really? <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Why not?\u00a0 It keeps the voice healthy.\u00a0 For big voices, if you have an ensemble that matches, then why not. \u00a0But if you have just one big voice, it unbalances the ensemble. I would pay good money to hear his Tamino.<\/p>\n

\u201cFOR ME,\u00a0LEGATO<\/em>\u00a0IS THE ENTIRE CRUX OF SINGING THE\u00a0SIEGFRIED\u00a0<\/em>BRUNNHILDE. I HAVE COMPLETELY FALLEN IN LOVE WITH IT!\u201d<\/h3>\n

JS:<\/strong> Give us your thoughts on singing Brunnhilde. Vocally do you have a favourite among the three?<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> They are all so different!\u00a0 Coming into it, I thought my least favourite would be the Siegfried<\/em> Brunnhilde, because of the tessitura. But you know what? \u00a0I find that there are so many opportunities to show different colours and different dynamics. \u00a0The most difficult thing is to stay calm enough to take deep low breaths, to sustain bars and bars of legato<\/em>. For me, legato<\/em> is the entire crux of singing the Siegfried <\/em>Brunnhilde. I have completely fallen in love with it!\u00a0 But this one (G<\/em>\u00f6tterdammerung <\/em>Brunnhilde), I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll feel differently about it after a while.\u00a0 The vocal writing is \u2013 I don\u2019t want to say choppy, that\u2019s the wrong word. \u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s beautiful in the Prologue, and in the Immolation Scene, it gets lyrical again. \u00a0But Act 2 is a beast!!!<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> It\u2019s a difficult act for the audience too. She\u2019s so angry all the time. <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> I tell people she\u2019s a bit like Fiordiligi on Crack (Laughs)! \u00a0It has the same kind of angular vocal line as the end of Act l. The trick is to find the line even in things that are written angularly.\u00a0 I can let myself go in the Prologue and in the Immolation Scene, but the rest of it I have to think very hard. I don\u2019t think that will ever go away.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> As a woman, how do you feel about Brunnhilde as a character? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> OMG, she is amazing! She experiences everything from the beginning. When she started (in Die Walk<\/em>\u00fcre<\/em>), she\u2019s this exuberant teen. All she knows is that she loves her father and wants his approval. \u00a0Then she finds out the people she loves, people she puts on a pedestal \u2013 humans, gods, anyone, are all fallible. She learns she can only trust herself. Then she finds the kind of love that she sees for the first time between Sieglinde and Siegmund, and that becomes everything to her. \u00a0Like her father, she has the same rage in her.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> You know, as an audience member, I\u2019ve always struggled with her, with her anger, her feeling of betrayal. She brought on Siegfried\u2019s demise…<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Did she?<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Well, she squealed\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> She did squeal \u2013 that\u2019s fair. She\u2019s a squealer. The thing is, at the moment before she squeals, she\u2019s bragging about how remarkable he is \u2013 \u201cwho do you think you are! I don\u2019t care how big and scary you are; you\u2019ll never be able to beat him!\u201d \u00a0At that moment, she\u2019s still in love with him. It\u2019s almost like it comes out without her thinking. The moment it comes out \u2013 oh my god what did I just say, how can I do this!\u00a0 But I saw him with her (Gutrune)! \u00a0Woman scorned\u2026 run away! \u00a0It\u2019s not just a woman scorned \u2013 she\u2019s half Wotan. This is that rage he has that\u2019s in her. It comes out, and she can\u2019t control it. We all have these moments as human beings.\u00a0 Sometimes we get so angry we can\u2019t control what comes out of our mouth. We regret it two seconds later. In the end, as heartbroken as she is, she understands everything, why everything comes about the way it did, and what she has to do to make it right.<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll love another Wagner character as much as Brunnhilde.” via=”no”]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

JS:<\/strong> Would you say, at this point, that she is your number one Wagner role? You\u2019ve done many now \u2013 Elisabeth, Ortrud, Sieglinde, Senta\u2026 Have you done Elsa? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> \u00a0No, I haven\u2019t \u2013 I covered it for two years at the Met when it was new. There was a plan to bring Lohengrin<\/em> back, but it was scrapped. I was sad as I would have gotten to do Ortrud. \u00a0I\u2019d be a fool if I said Brunnhilde isn\u2019t my favourite.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll love another Wagner character as much as Brunnhilde. She\u2019s amazing. What she experiences \u2013 the emotions, the text, the relationships she has. I know it\u2019s a story about gods, but it\u2019s the most human thing I sing.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> What about the Marschallin?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> I haven\u2019t sung it yet. They usually hire very lyric soprano voices for that. I just had a conversation with my manager. She said she\u2019s on it! We\u2019ll see!<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Speaking of the Marschallin – you also sing lots of Strauss: Dyer\u2019s Wife, Ariadne, Chrysothemis, Elektra. Any more on the horizon?<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> There\u2019s nothing left for me, maybe Die Aegyptische Helena<\/em>.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Absolutely! Helena is a great role for your voice.\u00a0 I saw Christine Brewer did it in Santa Fe\u2026\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> \u00a0She\u2019s amazing! She\u2019s been my role model. She has everything. She has a family. She\u2019s doing it the right way.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Speaking of family, I want to ask how do you balance family and career?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Got me! Everyday I ask myself that question. No matter where I am in the world, my alarm is set to go off at 7:25 am eastern time so that I can talk with my girls for 25 minutes on their way to school.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Will they come up to see you?<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> They will come up but they\u2019ll never make it through this! They have short attention span, and my little one has no interest in opera. My big one only like the short operas (Laughs)! \u00a0You know what, that\u2019s totally fine. \u00a0They\u2019ve got music in their lives.\u00a0 My big girl just had her band concert \u2014 4th-grade school band. She comes home and says \u2018I\u2019m going to play the trombone!\u2019\u00a0 My big girl is going to be 10 on the 2nd, my little one will be eight in May.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Did you sing throughout your pregnancies?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> I sang six months with my first. I was on stage as Foreign Princess in Rusalka<\/em> almost eight months pregnant at the Met. No corsets for me! \u00a0I remember they were terrified as I had to run up this flight of stairs \u2013 \u201cYou can\u2019t run up those stairs\u2026 you are pregnant!\u201d I said \u201cpeople had babies in potato fields! \u00a0Besides the hospital is right next door.\u201d \u00a0They said to me \u201cYou have to\u00a0give us a signal if there\u2019s a problem.\u201d \u00a0If you see water coming down the stairs, take me to the hospital (Big laughs)! \u00a0I laugh because I really liked singing pregnant.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> I noticed your Twitter handle is \u2018HeldenMommy\u2019 \u2013 your kids must be very dear to you.<\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> \u00a0Yeah, I had to come up with something!\u00a0 It\u2019s completely incorrect, but it makes me laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cMY KIDS CALL ME \u201cMOMMA-TIGER.\u201d \u00a0IT\u2019S AMAZING HOW FIERCE ONE BECOMES WHEN YOU HAVE CHILDREN.\u201d<\/h3>\n

JS:<\/strong>\u00a0 You are \u2018Helden\u2019 for your kids \u2013 I think that\u2019s very sweet<\/em>.<\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> My kids call me \u201cMomma-Tiger.\u201d \u00a0It\u2019s amazing how fierce one becomes when you have children.\u00a0 You don\u2019t know what\u2019s in you until you protect your children.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> What advice would you give for young women singers who want to balance career and family?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Be gentle with yourself.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard! There\u2019s no magic way to do this. You\u2019ll have tears. You have to decide when it is more important to do something career-wise, and when it\u2019s more important to be home.\u00a0 I had to say \u2018no\u2019 to some important things for the sake of my family. I knew it was the right choice for my kids. The thing is \u2014 they aren\u2019t going to want me forever; I\u2019m going to be \u2018stupid\u2019 very soon! Right now they want me, and I don\u2019t want to miss that time. I try to schedule all my big travels, my big time away during the school year. They have something else to do. I spend easily an hour on Skype or Facetime with them every day. Sometimes they \u2018d say \u2014 \u2018I don\u2019t have anything to say\u2026\u2019 \u00a0I tell them that\u2019s okay; I just want to see your face.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s just five minutes, but I\u2019ve made a connection with them that day. \u00a0It takes a village (to raise a child) \u2014\u00a0make sure you have help, whether it\u2019s family, or friend, or someone else. You need to have someone who can help you as it\u2019s not the kind of thing you can do by yourself when you have a career.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Let\u2019s go back to earlier in your career. I saw your Iphigenie (1997) in Glimmerglass and your Agrippina (2004) in Santa Fe. A few years ago, I read your Opera News article about the change in your voice. That sounds harrowing. Can you tell us about that?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> It was<\/em> scary. You mention Agrippina<\/em>. I remember when the lights went down in the final performance, and I was backstage waiting for bows, I just sobbed. I was completely inconsolable. I knew it was my last Handel. I knew it was the end of something. I already had my last Mozart. I was mourning something, mostly because of the unknown that was coming.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Had you started studying with Diana Soviero at that time?\u00a0 Did she advise you to switch fach?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> I knew it was time. I trusted what Diana was saying. She\u2019s all about bel canto<\/em> technique. People wonder why in the world did I go to her; people say \u201cshe doesn\u2019t know anything about your repertoire.\u201d She doesn\u2019t need to know anything about my rep \u2014 she knows how to sing. \u00a0If I sing this like Puccini, I\u2019m doing my job right! Wagner loved bel canto<\/em>. He wrote these unbelievable lines; you can\u2019t sing this by screaming \u2014 you\u2019ll bore your audience within 30 seconds. But if you do what he wrote, sing it with dynamics\u2026 Diana understood that. For me, it was the right choice. Besides she has the right personality. You wouldn\u2019t want to be in same room with us during a lesson, we just yell at each other for three hours! (Big laughs). We are both stage creatures. It was the right choice for me. It might have been unconventional, but it was the right choice.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> \u00a0I read somewhere that Isolde is on the horizon?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> She\u2019s coming! That\u2019s all I can say right now. She\u2019s on the books. Dramatically I have a hard time with her, not vocally.\u00a0 For three years, the score has been sitting on my piano. I opened it; I closed it. I thought \u2014 I don\u2019t like her! The whole Act 1, she\u2019s angry, angry, angry.\u00a0 Then in Act 2 something happened and it\u2019s all pretense. It\u2019s beautiful, but it\u2019s fake, the whole relationship. I kept thinking I can\u2019t do this, I don\u2019t understand her. \u00a0Then I got an offer \u2014 I thought I\u2019d be an idiot if I don\u2019t take this one! \u00a0I said \u2014 \u2018can you wait a week?\u2019 \u00a0I sat down, read through the entire thing. What I came away with was that it\u2019s not really about the characters. It\u2019s more about the feeling we have when we perceive that we are in love. Whether it\u2019s real or not, it changes us. \u00a0I thought \u2014 you know what, I\u2019m going to do this! \u00a0I\u2019ve made a complete 180 on this one, and I\u2019m really looking forward to it!\u00a0 It might be in three seasons \u2014 gives me a chance to learn it (Laughs).\u00a0 It takes that long to learn something like that, to get it in your psyche and your body.<\/p>\n

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

GC:<\/strong> I coach everything with Kathleen Kelly. She\u2019s been my go-to person forever. She was at the Wiener Staatsoper and in New York. She now teaches at the University of Michigan.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> I once heard a singer say \u201cI want to coach with the most famous Isolde in history.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Why would I do that?\u00a0 That\u2019s hers. \u00a0Every singer has to find her own way.\u00a0 There are no two paths that are the same for Isolde. When I learn something like Brunnhilde, I went out-of-the-way to find the voice that is the least like mine. I listen to Hildegard Behrens. She\u2019s so clear \u2013 the text, the rhythm, everything is right on, and her gorgeous acting and beautiful singing. She\u2019s so human. I learned Elektra listening to her. Her Elektra is child-like and heartbreaking. Not like my instrument at all, so I cannot copy her, as I am a parrot! Once I have something under my belt, then I\u2019ll go find (Astrid) Varnay who\u2019s someone I listen to all the time.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Do you know she sang Elektra at the COC? Did you ever meet her?\u00a0 She lived in Munich for many years.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> I wished I had! Any interview I\u2019ve seen of her, I felt like I just want to know her as a person. She looked like a remarkable human being.<\/p>\n

\u201cIT\u2019S VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME. I WANT EVERYTHING IMMEDIATELY.\u201d<\/h3>\n

JS:<\/strong> What\u2019s the best piece of advice you\u2019ve been given?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> (Without hesitation) Patience! \u00a0It\u2019s very difficult for me. I want everything immediately. I walked into the first day of rehearsals here, and I was angry with myself because I forgot a few words. I wanted it to be performance-ready when we started rehearsals. I want everything yesterday, I always have! I don\u2019t care what kind of music you sing and what kind of voice you have, your voice, your craft, your art, your heart, your soul, your brain, will go on a journey from the first day you start doing this for a living until the day you stop. Patience is required because everything changes. What you didn\u2019t understand yesterday you might understand tomorrow. What you weren\u2019t able to do yesterday, you might be able to do tomorrow.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> In one of the interviews you gave, you said you are a bit OCD…\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Oh, I am so OCD!<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> \u00a0Don\u2019t you think to be a bit OCD is good for an artist? <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Some do, but some thrive on discord. That\u2019s how they find their way. My family makes fun of me. I can\u2019t practice until I\u2019ve cleaned house and put things where they belong because when I see clutter, it makes me crazy and I can\u2019t concentrate. People come over, and I say \u2018I\u2019m sorry the house is a mess.\u2019<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Interesting! Probably that means you are very hard on yourself\u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Oh, I\u2019m so hard on myself! \u00a0I\u2019ve been doing this since I was 24, but I can\u2019t listen to myself. I have no idea why people hire me. I hate everything I hear when I listen to myself.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Really?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Really! I can only listen with such a critical ear. I am happy I\u2019m working, and I\u2019m paying bills and putting money aside for college, and that\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> When you were a teenager, was your voice big?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> I wasn\u2019t a singer. I played the bass clarinet!<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> How about when you were singing Handel and Mozart, was there any sign that your voice was big?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Oh yeah! When I was 24, people were talking that I was going to be a dramatic soprano. My teacher said to me \u00a0\u201cI want you to stick your fingers in your ears and not listen because right now you sing Mozart.\u201d<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> I\u2019ve noticed that voice teachers don\u2019t want students who have naturally big voices to sing big. <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> There\u2019s a reason for that. It depends on the voice. I made a mistake \u2014 it was my fear that did it. I am sure it was also driven by the fact that so many people said, \u2018be careful.\u2019 I probably should have switched over to the rep I am in now when I was 37, 38 at the latest. \u00a0I didn\u2019t get into the hoch dramatischer sopran<\/em> fach until I was 42. It requires having unbelievably long breath. It\u2019s not necessarily about being louder, and more about focus. [She demonstrates the placement of the sound by changing the shape of the vocal tract] If you don\u2019t have the support when you were younger, for the amount of sound you have to make, then you\u2019ll wear yourself out. Deborah Polaski said to me, \u201cdon\u2019t let anyone give you a number when you have to start this repertoire. Everybody is different. If your support is ready, then do it.\u201d She was absolutely right. \u00a0We just started last year a Wagner Fest in Miami for training young Wagnerian voices. My coach, Kathleen Kelly, is involved. It\u2019s amazing to see people getting excited, realizing it\u2019s not as scary as they had thought.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Do you do some teaching?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Yes, I do, masterclasses.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> Do you have your own students?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> I can\u2019t do that right now, it\u2019s a huge responsibility to say \u2018I am her teacher.’ That means I have to be there when they need me. I am happy to coach people, I love working with people, but I can\u2019t have a studio yet.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> When you give masterclasses, do you deal mostly with interpretations, or do you also deal with technique?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

GC:<\/strong> Ah you are not supposed to deal with technique. I have a line I try not to cross. If I see something that I feel I can help with, I always say \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m going to say something here, and if your teacher disagrees with me, or you disagree with me, throw it out. But I am going to give this to you, and you play with it. If it helps, and your teacher feels it\u2019s safe, then go ahead, give it a try.\u201d \u00a0The game of working with anybody new, is you take what makes sense for you and what works, and throw out what doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

JS:<\/strong> On that note, I want to thank you for the great interview, and Toi toi toi for the opening!<\/em><\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The great American Wagnerian soprano Christine Goerke gives a free-ranging and candid interview on her life and art.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":42321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6439,29,43,63],"tags":[628,5278],"yst_prominent_words":[9172,9205,9174,9197,9173,9199,9207,9203,9175,9200,9198,9208,9204,8798,9171,9182,9201,9196,9206,9170],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/01\/Goerke__Christine_2_c_Pierre_Gautreau_Photography.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-b0x","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42317"}],"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=42317"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42365,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42317\/revisions\/42365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42317"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=42317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}