Interview Sydney Mancasola (soprano)

Photos: Sydney Mancasola,  Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte;  La Traviata. St Louis Opera;  Semele Komische Oper Berlin,  Manon Des Moines Opera; Pamina Washington National Opera.

RJ

Sydney Mancasola is an American operatic soprano singer. Sydney began her musical training as a classical violinist in her home state of California and went on to study voice at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. In her 21-22 season Sydney makes her house and role debut at the Opéra National de Paris, singing Adina in L’Elisir d’amore at the Opera Bastille, and at the Opéra de Lille as Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a role which she will then go on to sing with Des Moines Metro Opera. This winter Sydney also returns to the Komische Oper Berlin to sing Antonia/Guilietta/Stella Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers. Future engagements include debuts with Staatsoper Hamburg, Los Angeles Opera, and a return to the Metropolitan Oper

Have you always known you wanted to be a singer or did the passion develop over time?

I began my vocal studies at around 14, but my relationship with classical music began with my violin studies at the age of 2. I have always been moved by classical music, and for me there was no question about whether it would be my life’s work. Once I began singing, I knew very quickly that I had found my true passion.

If you could perform one aria for someone who has never listened to your voice, what would it be?

Funnily enough, I think it would be an aria I have never performed before. Michaela’s aria from Carmen. This aria has always felt like it allowed me to really let my voice soar. I love the inner struggle for courage that Michaela is seeking in the aria and though I have never performed the role, I have always sung it for my own enjoyment.

How would you describe your voice and what is the most suitable repertoire for your voice today? What roles are you singing the most?

Someone else recently described my voice to me as bright in color but complex in timbre. Something about that sounded right to me. My voice is best suited to the lyric coloratura repertoire, particularly in the French repertoire when it requires slightly more body and variation of timbre than the bel-canto coloratura roles. That being said, I like to diversify my repertoire with the occasional Handel or contemporary opera to keep my artistry flexible and dynamic.

With the natural development of the voice, where do you think, or would you like your career to go? What roles would you like to be able to sing in the future?

I have been so lucky to already have sung so many of my dream roles. I would be quite happy to continue singing the repertoire I am singing now for many years. I look forward to adding Gounod’s Juliette to my repertoire in future seasons, and I would love to sing Violetta and Leila again soon. Michaela is on my wish list, as well as Norina and Blanche in Carmelites.

Did you find when you were studying that the technique, or the drama came easier to you?

I think the mistake I made early on in my studies is that I was very focused on the technique and almost separated it from the drama. The theatrical aspect of opera is what drew me to it, but I wanted to master my technique and somehow forgot that the two must go hand in hand. In my graduate studies, I was encouraged to always first sing with intention. Of course the technique must be lined up, but without the meaning behind the music, you can’t truly touch your audience.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?

Take things one step at a time. I am someone who likes to prepare for all eventualities which can cause me to project into the future, but in this time especially I have learned the virtue of patience and of staying in the moment. Every day is an opportunity to create something beautiful, but we can’t do that if we aren’t fully present. This is the most true in performance. Each moment is an opportunity for magic, but if you’re thinking or preparing for the next moment, you will miss it.

How do you explain the phenomenon that there are so many great American opera singers around the world? And why are they so well received and sought after by theaters?

Unfortunately, I think this is probably due to the “work harder” model for success in the US. There is a kind of pressure that is put on us to push hard and work hard at all costs. While this can create very technically sound musicians, it isn’t always the most organic way to foster an artist’s relationship with their own creativity. Of course there are some advantages to the strong technique based model in the training programs in the US, but personally, I would like to see a shift towards nurturing young artist’s unique voices.

You’ve sung several times at Komische Oper in Berlin, and you have worked closely with the director of that theater, and renowned stage director Barrie Kosky. What can you tell us about that experience and what has it meant for your career?

The Komische Oper has really been the place for me to experiment and grow up as an artist. I was given so many immense challenges there right at the beginning of my career, such as the Heroines in Hoffmann, Semele, and Cleopatra. Each of these productions, particularly Kosky’s, required full bodied, physically demanding but incredibly creative performing, as is the style of that opera house. I think this commitment to the theater as an equal partner to the music, and never anything less, really shaped how I approach creating a character. The problem is that if I get assigned an old production with little room for imagination now, I get easily bored and frustrated. I will always be grateful to the Komische Oper for continuing to give me these incredible challenges.

You recently made your debut at the Opera National de Paris as Adina, and before that you had made it at the Metropolitan with Pamina. How would you compare the experience of having sung on these important stages and the responsibility, satisfaction and pressure that it implied for you as a singer?

Honestly those experiences felt like a dream. I never imagined I would perform with such highly esteemed companies, surrounded by some of the best musicians in the world. It is truly a dream come true to stand on those stages. Often, the biggest challenge can be convincing myself that I am deserving of the opportunity! However, each time I stand next to one of the great singers of this time it builds my confidence. I always realize that they are also human and I am always surprised by how down to earth even the most starry opera singer tends to be. Something about what we do is humbling at a very deep level, no matter what success one may achieve.

Throughout your career you have sung various roles from the French repertoire such as Manon, Comtesse Adèle in Le Comte Ory, Marie in La Fille du regiment, Leïla in Les Pêcheurs de perles and Olympia/Antonia/Giulietta/Stella in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and next year you will debut Mellisande's at Pelleas and Melisande in Los Angeles. How did your interests and affinity for singing this repertoire arise and what are the challenges you have faced interpreting it?

I get asked this question a lot! It seems to me that certain languages feel more intuitive for some than others. I think this is also true of musical styles and genres. For me both the french language, and the compositional style of the french composers always felt intuitive. The challenge and beauty of French repertoire is that it presents so much opportunity for expression. When compared to Mozart or bel canto which requires purity and simplicity, the French repertoire feels like it affords the opportunity for so many different shades and impulses. Just the markings in a Massenet score for example are so extensive, one could spend as long learning them as they take to learn the notes and rhythms. When a composer asks for a different texture or dynamic in the vocal line, it is our challenge to interpret and find a way to create each of those magic little textures.

What challenges that did not exist before have you encountered in order to do your job? (travel restrictions, vaccinations, testing, capacity limits in theaters) How much has it affected the artists and from your vision how much has it affected the public?

It is true, our lifestyle has definitely become more complicated since the pandemic began. For example, last spring I was juggling two contracts at once, and in order to travel multiple times per week between countries, I was spending nearly all of my down time getting a test or researching what the ever changing requirements were from week to week. There is now almost no security in any performance, because in order to rehearse we are always risking infection. It is completely out of our hands, so it has definitely added stress and uncertainty. The largest issue in my opinion is the sometimes necessary, but dangerous use of masks in rehearsals. It is impossible to sing through a mask without altering your technique, and we are not trained to sing through a mask. Often we only get to sing without masks in the final rehearsals, and we have to make very quick adjustments to our breath and technique in the final rehearsals. I think we are learning to cope with these new challenges, but there is definitely a learning curve.

What is the moment that you treasure the most, that you have lived on stage or that has happened to you in a theater?

It is impossible to choose. The feeling at the end of every performance is the same. Huge gratitude to be given the opportunity to make music and share that music with the public. Huge gratitude to my colleagues for the trust and vulnerability it takes to create collaboratively. Huge gratitude to have connected with this art form that makes time feel like it stands still when I am creating. No matter where it takes place, this familiar gratitude always hits me after a performance. It is often quite overwhelming, but it is also why I continue to sing.