{"id":91419,"date":"2023-01-06T10:30:36","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T15:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=91419"},"modified":"2023-01-06T10:30:36","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T15:30:36","slug":"interview-susan-platts-mezzo-soprano-dessert-chef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/01\/06\/interview-susan-platts-mezzo-soprano-dessert-chef\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Susan Platts: Mezzo-Soprano And Dessert Chef"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano Susan Platts sings a composition by Howard Shore with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and conductor Peter Oundjian at Roy Thomson Hall in 2018 (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Canadian mezzo-soprano Susan Platts, 49, will be giving her first post-pandemic performance in Toronto with the TSO in Mozart\u2019s beloved Requiem<\/em> (Jan. 11 to 15).\u00a0She is part of a very high-powered cast that includes Jane Archibald, soprano, Isaiah Bell, tenor and Kevin Deas, bass-baritone, under the helm of British conductor Michael Francis.<\/p>\n

You can, however, also find Platts on Amazon where her new cookbook, cleverly called Aria Ready For Dessert?<\/em> is on sale.<\/p>\n

So how does a mezzo-soprano with a 25-year distinguished career come to write a cookbook?<\/p>\n

For that answer, Platts and I connected by Zoom to talk about both her career and baking, and it turns out that both involve interesting stories. When we spoke, the singer was visiting family in Victoria, her home town. She currently lives in Evanston, Illinois, outside Chicago, with husband Neil Kimel, second horn with the Lyric Opera Orchestra.<\/p>\n

The Career<\/h3>\n

Do you come from a musical family?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My parents, who are from Manchester, loved English folk music, and they loved to sing. My father played the guitar, banjo and mandolin by ear, while my mother was also self-taught on guitar and piano.<\/p>\n

Yet you were never sent for music lessons.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s right. I always thought I\u2019d go into the visual arts. I was particularly interested in graphic arts. It was my Grade 11 choir teacher who first noticed that I had a nice voice. That\u2019s when I started to study singing privately.<\/p>\n

The usual route to a career for a classical singer is music at university followed by opera school, but that\u2019s not your story.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because I started late, I felt I didn\u2019t have enough of a music education to go to university, so my career was forged by private studies in voice, piano and music history. I spent two summers at Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and they were inspiring times. You could see concerts by Bryn Terfel and Teresa Berganza, who, by the way, wore sneakers under her gown!<\/p>\n

You had some high-powered mentors like Christa Ludwig and Jessye Norman. How did that come to be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the case of Christa, my mother helped. She\u2019s a librarian and researcher extraordinaire, and can find anything. She discovered who Christa\u2019s London agent was, so I sent tapes and a letter asking to study with her. Six months later, I got a fax that said she was willing to take me.<\/p>\n

And Jessye?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I got to Jessye through the Rolex Arts Initiative, which pairs young artists with a mentor. Four applicants were sent to Jesse and she chose me. I spent a year with her, and stayed close with her until her death. She\u2019d even come to my concerts. In fact, her support was incredible.<\/p>\n