{"id":45214,"date":"2017-05-14T13:05:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-14T17:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=45214"},"modified":"2017-05-14T13:10:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-14T17:10:55","slug":"interview-natalya-gennadi-on-being-unexpectedly-cast-in-tapestry-operas-oksana-g","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/05\/14\/interview-natalya-gennadi-on-being-unexpectedly-cast-in-tapestry-operas-oksana-g\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Natalya Gennadi: “It’s Like Tosca And Traviata In One Opera”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Soprano
Soprano Natalya Gennadi (Photo: Melissa Leroux)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

W<\/span>hen Michael Mori, Tapestry Opera\u2019s artistic director, called Ukrainian-Canadian soprano Natalya Gennadi<\/a> in for an audition for the world premiere of Aaron Gervais & Colleen Murphy\u2019s opera Oksana G.<\/em> less than two months before the show\u2019s opening, Ms. Gennadi never dreamed she could be auditioning for the title role.<\/p>\n

Soprano Ambur Braid, an established rising star in Canadian opera, had previously been announced as the choice to portray Oksana, a victim of human trafficking. But when Ms. Braid had to withdraw from the commitment to pursue an opportunity overseas, Michael Mori started making calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was convinced my audition was to be an understudy,\u201d Ms. Gennadi told Musical Toronto over the phone. \u201cIt was quite a shock.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine a role more tailor-made for Natalya Gennadi, a lyric soprano who immigrated to Canada from Ukraine eleven years ago, than Oksana G. The opera is sung in various languages – Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Italian and English – realistically depicting Europe\u2019s multilingual make-up. Ms. Gennadi grew up speaking Russian, Ukrainian and English, and has witnessed first-hand the consequences of human trafficking in the 1990s, when the opera takes place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank god I never experienced anything like what happens in the piece,\u201d she explains, \u201cbut growing up I heard stories. You have to think of the economic situation [in Ukraine at that time]. We were coming from state-organized economics into free fall. People were lost; they were trained to survive. When somebody came by and offered you a legitimate job as a nanny or a maid in a hotel, you took it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Gennadi has experience portraying leading ladies, such as the title role in Suor Angelica<\/em>, Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana<\/em>), Amelia (Un ballo in maschera<\/em>), Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro<\/em>) and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni<\/em>). Yet, she admits that none of these women compare to portraying Oksana, calling her the most \u201crealistic\u201d character she\u2019s portrayed, which has been made even more challenging because of the limited time frame with which she has had to prepare her.<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally you have time to prepare and detach yourself emotionally [from a role],\u201d she explains. \u201cFor example, when I work on Suor Angelica<\/em>, I\u2019m a mother \u2014 it\u2019s very hard. You go through tears, but then you practice it. Here I had limited time and the piece is emotionally very draining. I am trying to be a professional where I can convey the message so my audience cries and I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as for vocally?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is extreme music,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”\u201cIt\u2019s like Tosca and Traviata in one opera.\u201d\u00a0Natalya Gennadi\/Oksana G” username=””]<\/p>\n

When asked what Toronto audiences can expect from Oksana G.<\/em>, Ms. Gennadi gets right to the point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a heavy piece,\u201d she admits. \u201cIt is graphic. It is realistic, like a movie. But, it has lots of love in it, and lots of real, human interaction and hope. There are humorous moments because it\u2019s life, not Greek drama. There is colour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Gennadi also believes this opera holds relevance to Toronto audiences in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem still exists,\u201d she states. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t only exist in struggling countries, but here as well. We still have human trafficking. People approach young women or girls in high schools and universities and they are being lured.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese women were regular women,\u201d she continues. \u201cSisters, mothers, daughters. Oksana is a loved child from a good solid family, preparing to go to university. We can\u2019t just think of our most vulnerable people. It can happen to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oksana G. <\/em>runs from May 24th-May 30th<\/a> at the Canadian Opera Company\u2019s Imperial Oil Theatre. It is directed by Tom Diamond and music directed by Jordan D\u2019Souza, and co-stars Kristina Szabo, Adam Fisher and Keith Klassen.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and reviews before anyone else finds out? Follow us on\u00a0<\/i>Facebook<\/i><\/u><\/a>\u00a0or <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/u><\/a> for all the latest.<\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Natalya Gennadi sheds any preconceptions on being unexpectedly cast in Tapestry Opera’s Oksana G.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":45217,"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":[4416,9559,6335,4699],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/05\/Natalya_Gennadi_Photo_Melissa-Leroux-.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-bLg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45214"}],"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\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45214"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45224,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45214\/revisions\/45224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45214"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=45214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}