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Ahead of their Sydney Opera House Debut, we are pleased to be joined by two renowned international opera singers, Alexander Vinogradov and Leah Crocetto, who are the leads in the upcoming productions of Atilla and Aida. We talk to Alexander and Leah about their backgrounds, varied careers, and their upcoming performances.
No one can stand before Attila and his hordes, until a warrior woman turns his head. As he opens his heart to his prisoner Odabella, the barbarian king reveals his weakness.
So the scene is set for one of the great revenge operas of the 19th century: an early Verdi in the vein of Aida.
Director Davide Livermore fuses video projections with colossal set pieces to create an awe-inspiring world for Attila.
This co-production with La Scala was a tremendous success at its Milan premiere, and had critics raving at its brief Sydney season in 2020. It’s a “blockbuster spectacle” (Financial Times), with four vivid characters, two horses and plenty of crowd scenes.
In the prelude, a mournful cello draws you down into the gravity and turmoil of war. Verdi’s score is full of darkness, rhythm and life, displaying the composer’s gift for creating emotion. Alexander Vinogradov is Attila, opposite Natalie Aroyan singing her critically acclaimed Odabella. Marco Vratogna performs as the Roman General, Ezio. Diego Torre is magnificent as Odabella’s lover Foresto.
Alexander Vinogradov made his debut at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow as Oroveso in Norma at the age of 21. Since then he has established a remarkable career and he is a regular guest at the leading opera houses in the world, including Royal Opera House Covent Garden London, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Théâtre du Châtelet de Paris, Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Palau de les Arts de Valencia, Teatro Real de Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Bayerische Staatsoper, Dresden Semperoper, Staatsoper Hamburg, New National Theatre Tokyo, Teatro Colòn de Buenos Aires, Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Arena di Verona.
He worked with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Valerij Gergeev, Mariss Jansons, Philippe Jordan, Vladimir Jurowski, Lorin Maazel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Antonio Pappano, VasilyPetrenko, Helmuth Rilling, Yuri Temirkanov, Zubin Mehta.
I feel very grateful and privileged to be able to appear on stage in the current time when many of my colleagues are not able to work. This is also my first time in Australia, and I’m thrilled to make my debut in Sydney with Attila! We are in the midst of rehearsals now, and I tend to fall in love with the piece I’m working on at the moment, so for me this time is true bliss.
Oh yes, this is wonderful to be able to take part in 3 beautiful productions of 3 Verdi operas. It is allowing me to spend time with this genius composer and study and approach his art in different operas in different periods of his personal and artistic journey. And also to show myself to Australian audiences from different perspectives.
As for Australia as a country, there is so much to do and to see here, and I am also a huge fan of the “no worries” approach to life which is perfected here. It is also a wonderful surprise for me to discover an opera company with such high artistic standards so far from the rest of the world!
Well, my mother was a musician and music theory teacher, which explains me growing up with music as an integral part of my life from early years. I sang in choirs, played piano and clarinet, and later with some friends we had a hard rock band… I remember my mother taking me to the Bolshoi theatre to see Tchaikovsky’s Iolanthe, and there was a singer in a smaller role that had such an attractive voice that I was just waiting for the others to let him sing more.
So, I guess what brought me to opera, is love for the beauty of human voice and its expressions.
It is difficult to name just a few pieces of music: as a child there were songs we were singing in a choir, later came The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and after that there were CDs with symphonic music that formed me a lot, like Rostrapovich playing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, or Richter playing Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto. And so on, through the music that played when my older son was born (and it was Marcelo Alvarez singing Gardel), to the opera, I was singing when my mother passed away. And a Brahms Lullaby my younger son loved to be sung to him before bed.
You know, there are so many fantastic memories, that it is very difficult to pick the highlights! I would say my Metropolitan opera debut in Luisa Miller was very special, I very much enjoyed my recent role debut as 4 villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Barcelona. Then there was Verdi’s Requiem with La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra on tour at the Vienna State opera conducted by Barenboim, and again Verdi’s Requiem at the opening of Verdi’s Festival in Parma conducted by Lorin Maazel.
I have very dear memories of concerts with Yuri Temirkhanov, where we did Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death, and of singing Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony with Barenboim. Singing in Arena di Verona on a warm summer night is always a magic, so was Mahler’s 8th Symphony with Dudamel in Caracas.
I would say the biggest obstacle is not being able to see and hear myself from outside. Having to trust my own instincts and instruction of other people to achieve the artistic result I imagine, but never being able to be on receiving end of it, to understand how it works on the audience. And did I mention the travel?
A previous season or two were also planned to be very exciting, so I am trying not to expect the plans to come true… But an upcoming season is planned with 3 productions of Verdi’s Nabucco in Hamburg, London and Madrid, Turandot in Munich, Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony with Kent Nagano in Hamburg Philharmonie, and Verdi’s Luisa Miller at the Hamburg Opera. And some role debuts in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots in Brussels and in Bellini’s La Sonnambula in Naples.
As a matter of fact, I would love to call attention to the situation with classical music in the world today. It represents one of the biggest achievements of human civilisation and rewards everyone getting in touch with it in so many ways.
Musical education has been dropped from school’s curriculum in many countries, and the pandemic situation has hit the industry especially hard. In this moment we are at risk of losing if not the art itself, but interest and access to it from and for the general public.
And I would like to call patrons and officials to support classical music venues and education, and make sure that this cultural treasure is kept alive for generations to come.
This is a story of a love so strong it defies enemy lines. This is a story of a kingdom in triumph and a nation in chains. This is a story of betrayal.
Verdi’s monumental music makes this historic epic an enduring favourite. Davide Livermore’s radiant production is a thrilling theatrical experience.
Ten towering digital screens create ever-changing floor-to-ceiling set pieces. Immersive digital video design ranges from rich symbolism to vivid landscapes.
Opulent costumes and props reflect the splendour of Egypt at the height of its power. Together with dramatic video, the massed grandeur of the famous Triumphal March is a visual and musical feast.
Lorenzo Passerini and Tahu Matheson conduct two magnificent casts. Sensational American soprano Leah Crocetto performs as the enslaved princess, Aida, before Elena Guseva takes over. Elena Gabouri reprises her critically acclaimed turn as Aida’s rival, Amneris, sharing the role with the stunning Agnieszka Rehlis.
Italian tenor Stefano La Colla performs as Radamès, the man they both love, sharing the role with Najmiddin Mavlyanov, making his Opera Australia debut.
Leah Crocetto has been described by the New York Times as possessing an “agile coloratura technique and a feeling for the Italianate style… with warmth, full penetrating sound and tenderness” American soprano Leah Crocetto continues to astonish audiences with her moving portrayals of opera’s greatest heroines.
Ms. Crocetto made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2015-2016 season as Liù in Turandot. She also made her role debut as the titular character in Rossini’s seldom performed Semiramide with Opera National de Bordeaux. Additional highlights of the season included Anna in Maometto II with the Canadian Opera Company, Luisa Miller in San Francisco, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Santa Fe Opera. She made her New York City recital debut at Pace University with pianist Martin Katz, and performed a solo recital under the auspices of Washington National Opera with pianist Mark Markham at the John F. Kennedy Center.
Hi! thank you so much for asking! I am doing wonderfully. The ability to finally get back to work, after a year of not being able to perform, is such a gift. It is impossible to have a bad day, when you lead with gratitude, and that is all I feel right now, IMMENSE gratitude. The team that has been assembled for this Aida is absolutely top notch and full of old dear friends and new ones too, so it has been an absolute dream rehearsing this amazing piece.
I have always known I would be an opera singer, from the time I was a little 11 year old girl, watching my first performance of Tosca. Even then, I knew opera was my calling. I do have acting training, from the wonderful Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan (my hometown), and have been able to use all of that training in my operatic performances. I think it is so important, as an opera singer, to be able to really dive deeply into the character I am portraying, and find out what makes her tick, why does she love so deeply, why does honor matter, what is everyone else in the story saying about her. All of those questions are deeply important to finding a whole character.
While I did start out in the musical theatre world, I always knew opera was my calling. I guess you could take it even further and say music is my calling. I don’t want to be limited. I just know I love interpreting music and portraying characters!
I am an Italian opera girl, through and through. I do love singing in French, German and Russian, but there is nothing like the feeling of the beautiful Italian language slipping off of your tongue into a beautiful Verdian melody. Verdi holds the firmest place in my heart, followed by, at a close second, Puccini.
Verdi has an uncanny ability to let relationships play out in his operas. Specifically father/daughter relationships. I believe we can see deeply into Verdi’s psyche through these relationships. He has revealed his own complex relationships with his own father as well as his children. Because of this, there is an intimacy in Verdi’s music that I find missing in a lot of other composer’s operas. Not to mention the sheer beauty of the vocal line of his music. It is perfect. There is freedom to sing and interpret this music as well. I believe Verdi wrote with the singer in mind.
I am very lucky, in that I have had lots of career highlights during my time in this business. I have gotten to work with legendary conductors, in the best opera houses in the world, with the best colleagues who have often become like family. That being said, I cannot choose one. Each of these experiences have led to this moment. For me this moment is the most significant, as it comes at a time when the world needs the arts so desperately.
The world needs a renaissance. Humanity needs the arts. We need to feel the way live music makes us feel. We need to feel the magnificence of the unamplified voice. We artists need to create and interpret.
For all those reasons, returning to the stage after a year away, this feels the most significant. It is icing on the cake, that I get to experience this feeling with dear friends.
I would say my biggest obstacle that I have overcome, has definitely been realizing that my voice, as Leah Crocetto, is correct and enough and beautiful.
SO often people in the arts world, whether they be conductors, directors, or even critics, compare singers to the legends of the past.
They absolutely mean well, but this is very detrimental to singers, especially young singers who are trying to carve out a path for themselves in the all-too-difficult business of opera. I was compared to many different people when I was starting out, and then when it came time for me to come into my voice and make my own choices as an artist, I went through a proper meltdown. I kept hearing the voices of these people in my head, thinking, “oh I am not doing this like so and so…”.
This was tricky to navigate, especially when I started performing roles as iconic as Tosca and Aida. In fact, during my first Aida, at the San Francisco Opera, I was going through a massive vocal change. My voice was growing and I had no idea what to do with it. The comparisons began and I needed to work through it. My voice teacher, tenor Arnold Rawls, had to come to SF and work with me for a week, to get me back to what I knew I could do, eventually.
Those struggles led me to where I am now, feeling utterly confident and grateful that my voice doesn’t sound like anyone else and that I have worked incredibly hard to love this voice of mine.
Yes, I have many exciting things coming up! I am anxious and excited to revisit my beloved Anna in Maometto Secondo by Rossini, as well as tackle some Verdi heat hitters, Un Ballo in Maschera, and La Forza del Destino. Upon leaving Sydney, I have a concert with my friend Ronny Greenburg, as well as a concert in my hometown of Adrian, MI, to welcome people back to live music, in my beloved Croswell Opera House, where I grew up doing musical theatre and plays.
I am really looking forward to this one, as I will get to reunite with my band and sing some music theatre and Great American Songbook classics! This is bound to be an exciting year, as it is the first year back after being away for so long! I think the world is easy to embrace live music again! WE NEED IT!
Singing at the iconic Sydney Opera House has been a lifelong dream of mine. To be greeted by the beautiful sails extending to the sky, each evening as I enter the harbor is a gift I have been waiting for – for a long time! I am so happy to be here and hope this is the beginning of a long relationship with Opera Australia. I have fallen in love with the warmth and graciousness of the Australian people and the sheer beauty of this great country!
Links:
Accessibility At The Smith Center Series: Part One
James “Fitz” FitzSimmons Interview: The Boys In The Band On Netflix
Michelle is a musician and composer from the UK. She has performed across the UK and Europe and is passionate about arts education and opportunities for women and girls.
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