Star singer

Deutsche Welle: Your career has led you to many important stages in the world but not to Germany. Why is that?

Joyce DiDonato: Well, when I started auditioning, my first jobs were in Paris, London, Milan and Amsterdam. After I would sing there, they invited me back immediately, and my schedule quickly filled up with repeat performances. Now, I have a really strong relationship with the public, especially in Paris and London.

I did do a very quick and inconsequential debut in Munich years ago, but I doubt anyone remembers it. But I plan to come back many times now. I'll be making my debut in Berlin this year, so I'm finally catching up with the rest of the world when it comes to Germany.

Germany's Echo Award jury named you Classical Singer of the Year in 2010 for your operatic work. Your focus has been on Italian operas - how did that come about?

I have the great fortune of having a voice that has some flexibility to it. Rossini was a very obvious and good match for me. He also led me to Handel and then to the bigger bel canto repertoire.

What I've learned as a musician and artist by singing these composers is tremendous. There's nothing worse than this kind of music just being sung as a vocalese with all of the notes in place but not really coming alive. So I've had to work very hard to find the ways of making this music important. My latest CD explored the dramatic side of Rossini, and I found a treasure trove of richness and complexity in his writing and characters.

Is Italian opera more demanding for you than singing parts from other operatic traditions?

It's all demanding. [laughs] I didn't pick an easy profession.

Rossini needs to sound like champagne and sound easy - like fireworks just coming out of your mouth - but it takes a lot of work to make that happen. On the other hand, I'm singing Octavian [in Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier"] this year in Madrid, and it's a tremendous amount of work for me in terms of the language and finding all of those little turns in the character. So, I find it all challenging but, as a result, rewarding.

Are these aspects of Rossini's work that you described also part of your personality?

I think they are in some ways. I have some complexity to me that is not only supported by Rossini - there's some Mahler in there too.

The only possibility to succeed is to be present in the moment. If I'm thinking about the final aria when I start the opera, there's no way I'll have a good performance. Really, the only way to create a real character is to be fully in the moment, and that's something I've tried to bring into my life.

This year at the Salzburg Festival you performed with one of classical music's icons, Edita Gruberova. What was it like to share the stage with her?

When I started getting interested in opera - which happened a bit late for me, in my early 20s - she was one of the big names. She stands at the very top of the legendary singers, and I'm also not one to bemoan the fact that the golden age of singing is behind us. We're living in an exciting age of singers; however, there is this legendary group of bel canto singers, and Gruberova is one of the last in this line of truly exceptional artists.

The artists interest me much more than the singers. I like a pretty sound as much as anyone. But I want someone who is bleeding on the stage and giving everything, and she does that. I was a bit intimidated when we started rehearsing, but from the first moment, she made me feel very much at home.

Interview: Gero Schliess (gsw)
Editor: Kate Bowen