Another Violetta Gone

I read Dame Sutherland’s obituary today in the NY Times (Tommasini). And, I am not going to even try to describe her amazing voice or her influence in this blog; but, one thing did stick from the article about her and it came from a critic! It was this:

In a glowing and perceptive review of her performance as Desdemona in Verdi’s “Otello” at Covent Garden in London in late 1957, the critic Andrew Porter, writing in The Financial Times, commended her for not “sacrificing purity to power.” This is “not her way,” Mr. Porter wrote, “and five years on we shall bless her for her not endeavoring now to be ‘exciting’ but, instead, lyrical and beautiful.

Instead of being an exciting talent, she was going to be a beautiful one.

I wish, more then anything on this planet, that I was taught this at 18 years old. I wish that I didn’t get nodules twice in trying to prove that I could be an exciting talent and that it didn’t take getting nodules twice for me to be blissfully content in trying to be a beautiful one. I don’t know why in today’s society we have to be fast, daring, or constantly on the edge, in order to prove that we are “artists”. What about depth? Discipline? Knowledge?

I worked on my first bit of Violetta yesterday with a dear friend and teacher. We later texted (and this is ironic considering our conversation) that learning a role for learning a role's sake is the best and only way to learn how to sing properly. Now I know I won’t only meet Violetta but I will also meet my voice! With time on my side, I can explore my various soundmaking noises to find the perfect mix to with which to greet Violetta. This old school way of doing things- learning over time, being strict with oneself and not doing what everyone else tells you to do “to make it”—this way is how Sutherland became “La Stupenda”.

I'm not saying this will happen to me. But, there is something very rewarding in knowing that a super star took the same steps (albeit sooner!) to find her way and that she discovered a beautiful Violetta while doing it.