Opera Chic

Bayreuth? Beirut? Same Thing: La Repubblica delle Donne Needs GPS

What a thrill @ perusing our June 28th weekly supplement of La Repubblica delle Donne to find an article on American mezzo-soprano, Nicole Piccolomini. La Piccolomini was kind enough to share a few words with Opera Chic about her opera-ballet, Padmâvatî, which opened the 51st Spoleto Festival this past weekend to rave reviews...even from Corriere della Sera's toughest music critic.

But we are srsly loooooling @ the La Repubblica writer and editors, who mistook "Bayreuth" for "Beirut" when Nicole shared her thoughts on tackling the next Wagner milestone (having already successfully passed two season with Deutsche Oper Berlin and continuing for a third this Fall). See below:

...canta Wanger meglio di una teutone, essendo in forza stabile alla Deutsche Oper di Berlinio per la seconda stagione di fila. Palcoscenico wagneriano per eccellenza. "Dopo Beirut, naturalmente." Un altro festival a gestione familiare.

....She sings Wagner better than a Teuton, and has been a steady force at Deutsche Oper Berlin for two seasons in a row. Wagnerian stage par excellence. "After Beirut, obviously"? Another festival with a similar administration.

Anyway, here's a nice translation of Nicole's interview:

The headline reads, "La Piccolomini, the young voice from New York, and the star of Padmavati, the premiere of an opera that begins a new deal."

Here's the rest.

Prepare yourselves to get familiar with Nicole Piccolomini, Italian American form New York: it's the appeal, fatally and vocally, of Padmavati, the opera that opens the 51st Spoleto Festival (June 27 - July 13).

Nicole, whose family originates from Bari, knows that she shares her last name with popes and humanists. To be at Spoleto, for her, "Is a dream. I'm a girl from the United States, I don't come from a family of musicians. Since I was a little girl I loved the musical and wanted to dance. Opera fell into my life a bit later." Nicole, who loves The Sopranos [the show] ("I don't get it why the Italian community protests it. If it's something you don't like, don't watch it!").

Her maternal grandfather loved Lanza and Caruso: like this, she describes: "For me, my mother put on opera records under my pillows when I was a baby: Scotto, Tebaldi, Callas, Te Kanawa."  When she was a good teenager, she totally listened to Mariah Carey and Sade. It's useless to expect that she would turn up her nose at crossover. She says, "I believe that classical music in stadiums is a good thing, it opens up music to a new audience."

Padmavati, an opera by Albert Roussel with libretto by Louis Laloy, directed by the wizard of Bollywood, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, at Spoleto for its Italian premiere, is an example of the perception that the bourgeois Europeans of the 1800s had of the exotic India. "Mine is the classic female opera figure, a princess that stops everything for love, a stupendous musical part, perfect for me. Also I can't wait to play one of those rebellious heroines that kills her own man: like Dalila.

Nicole, we've got our eyes on you! O_o

Exclusive: American Mezzo-Soprano Nicole Piccolomini Speaks to Opera Chic about Singing in Tonight’s Spoleto la Prima of Padmâvatî: “I Feel So Lucky To Be a Part of It.”

The 51st season of Festival dei Due Mondi (Spoleto) launches today, Friday, June 27, 2008 to the thrills of loyal summer festival enthusiasts. The inaugural performance will be the Italian premiere of Albert Roussel's opera-ballet, Padmâvatî. It has returned to Italy after almost 40 years of absence (heard only prior the 1970s in Italy via Andre Cluytens and Georges Prêtre). The production was seen last March in Paris's Théâtre du Châtelet, where it exited to successful reviews.

Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the highly awarded Indian film director, Padmâvatî is produced by a majority of Indian talent, from the choreography to the sets to the costumes, which we were made exclusively by hand in India. Tonight, conductor Emmanuel Villaume will lead the Czech National Symphony Orchestra of Prague.

(Above: Mezzo soprano Nicole Piccolomini. Credit: Cory Weaver)

Entrusted to star in the leading role of Padmâvatî is American mezzo soprano Nicole Piccolomini, who has already successfully appeared in the last two seasons at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. A graduate from The Juilliard School, Nicole has sung Fenena in Nabucco, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Federica in Luisa Miller, Flosshilde in Götterdämmerung and Das Rheingold, and Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte. Nicole tells us that the production boasts an elephant, a horse, and an adult tiger. Get ur beast on!

Nicole graciously agreed to take a few moments from her hectic, last-minute rehearsals to share a few insights on working with Spoleto and preparing herself for the opera with the readers of Opera Chic.

What were the key elements in preparing yourself for the lead role of Padmâvatî?

"Being that I was not familiar with Padmâvatî at all I got a recording right away. I found out I'd be singing the role two months before rehearsals began.  Now that we can find almost anything on the Internet I went straight to Wikipedia for information on the Hindu gods. I must say I didn't find as much information as I had hoped for on the character of Padmâvatî but as soon as rehearsals began I was completely surrounded by people who were much more familiar with Indian culture: the dancers from Calcutta, one of the assistant directors Raaghav Dar, & the choreographer Tanusree Shankar. They helped me bring Padmâvatî to life by a lot of trial & error, so to speak."

"The director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali arrived only a few days ago so I have had very limited time to work with him. I was a sponge every time he spoke to me about Padmâvatî, he's truly a genius in his own right. He's so specific, straight to the point & not to mention intense! Even from the limited rehearsals we had together I have been able to take the role to a completely new level. There are many rituals I knew nothing about that are so fascinating, for instance offering milk to the Siva before praying, breaking the bangles around her wrists after her husband is dead, and burning herself alive on her husbands funeral pyre. Many of them don't necessarily happen anymore, of course. The role of Padmâvatî is not very long, maybe about 35 minutes, but it's very intense, emotionally & physically."

Does leading in an opera-ballet open you up to more artistic liberties than you find in traditional opera?

"I always love working in productions with a lot of dancing. Unfortunately, I don't get to dance at all (I was a dancer for 12 years). I had the pleasure of working the wonderful & beautiful choreographer from India, Tanusree Shankar. She worked with me on specific details like how to lift the veil from my face, how to hold the milk for Siva, how to walk, turn & fall naturally. I definitely find it more liberating to be apart of an opera where I interact with dancers. I feel myself moving more gracefully and being more fluid with my actions. I always try to incorporate my dance background to every role I sing no matter the size."

What is it like working with Spoleto? How do you like Italy?

"This is my first experience singing in Italy and it's been really wonderful. (I've been to Italy a few times before but that was years ago). I actually feel really spoiled singing with The Spoleto Festival. Everyone has been so helpful, supportive & very friendly. I absolutely LOVE Italy!! I hate the fact that I haven't been able to visit some of the nearby cities due to the schedule but I have a feeling I'll be back here soon!"

What are your plans for the future?

"I'll be taking a few weeks off at 'home' in Long Island, NY with my family before returning to Berlin in August, where I'll be starting my 3rd season at The Deutsche Oper Berlin."