'I
feel strongly about American works.'
Patricia
Racette, creator of Tobias Picker's 'Emmeline', finds a more womanly character
to express in Love Simpson
By Robert
Wilder Blue
When I phoned Patricia Racette
to talk about her career thus far and, more specifically, about creating the
role of Love Simpson in the world premiere Carlisle
Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree, I asked how she had become interested
in opera. "It is remarkable, really. The things you try to plan and the
things that end up happening can so often differ. I don't even know if I could
retrace the steps that led to singing opera, it just happened. I went to North
Texas State University and my plan was to sing jazz. Basically, I fell into
opera. I had to take voice lessons and, at first, I was mostly annoyed by
having to go through those steps to get to what I really wanted to do. But,
the classical training starting taking hold early on and I moved right into
the operatic repertoire and loved it! It ended up suiting my voice better
than anything else and it piqued my interest in a way nothing else had before."
After graduating from NTSU, she was invited to participate in San
Francisco Opera's Merola program and, eventually, became an Adler Fellow
with the company. She made her debut with the company in 1989 as Nanetta in
Falstaff. Since then, she has gone on to appear in the leading opera
houses of the world in such roles as Violetta in La Traviata, Blanche
in Dialogues des Carmelites, Mathilde in Guillaume Tell, both
Mimi and Musetta in La Bohème and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes.
The 1998 winner of the Richard Tucker Foundation
award, Ms. Racette has come to be regarded as one of the leading sopranos
on the international stage and one of today's most exciting singers. She has
won raves from critics and admiration from fans for both her exquisite voice
and her extraordinary acting skills. In September, she opened San
Francisco Opera's 2000-01 season with a thrilling performance of the title
role in Luisa Miller and then went on to Chicago,
where she assumed the title role in Jenufa, earning standing ovations from
the audiences and praise from the critics.
 |
Patricia
Racette (Love Simpson), Judith Christin (Effie Belle Tate) and Kerri
Marcinko (Lula) in Cold Sassy Tree.
Courtesy of Houston Grand Opera, copyright
George Hixson 2000 |
Ms. Racette is perhaps most well-known
to American opera lovers for creating the title role in Tobias Picker's Emmeline,
which was given its world premiere by Santa
Fe Opera in 1996 and was televised throughout the United States and subsequently
performed at New York City Opera. "Emmeline
was very important. It was remarkable to participate in the making of a piece
like that. It was a very collaborative effort from the start. Emmeline
is a fantastic character and her circumstances certainly warrant interest.
It is very close to me because I was born and raised in New England. I felt
that I had so many layers to offer - that I did not have to go searching for
ideas.
"I feel strongly about doing American works. It is rare that we American
operatic artists have a chance to tell our own stories in our own art form.
I always find that when I sing American opera, it pushes my artistic limits
in terms of digging deeper in connecting with the stories and characters.
Perhaps it is the language that is most important, for obvious reasons: it
is our own language. And because of that we can identify with the characters
and the stories easily and immediately. Take, for example,
Die Fledermaus.
There is some humor in it that would take research for us as (Americans) to
understand, whereas for the Viennese it would not. I do not mean to be nationalistic,
but there are certain things that just do not translate. I spent the summer
in Italy making my La Scala debut in Peter Grimes with a mostly British
cast. We were joking constantly because it was really hard to believe we spoke
the same language!"
Why do you think it has taken so long for Americans to develop an appreciation
of our own operas? "I think perhaps there is a fascination in this country
with the exotic, especially in the arts. Is it because we are a melting pot
and all have roots somewhere else? I am not sure. I think we are undervaluing
ourselves, though, in the process. You don't see that so much in other countries.
Certainly, opera houses outside of the United States aren't saying 'Wow, if
we could just do more American opera and get more American singers."
It is sort of a double standard. There are so many American singers at the
top now and, frankly, I think that will prevail. That does help, but it seems
our battle is greater, for reasons I do not think are really warranted."
After her resounding success in Emmeline, Ms. Racette was invited to
participate in another new opera, Carlisle Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree,
which received its world premiere in Houston
in April 2000. "I was involved almost from the beginning, in early 1997.
David Gockley (General Director of Houston Grand Opera) approached me about
it. Cold Sassy Tree is a wonderful piece. First of all, Carlisle is
so incredibly skilled; he writes very singable music and that is a big part
of the task. At one point before rehearsals began, I had some concerns about
a couple of moments and I spoke to Carlisle about them. He was very accommodating,
but he also said, 'let's wait and see how this will work out in the end.'
One passage in particular concerned me because of how low it was. But actually,
in retrospect, it was necessary because it was the exact color of the emotion
we ended up finding for that moment. In the rehearsal process, Carlisle is
the first one to hear something and say, 'you know what, that does not sound
quite right or that is not the way I want it, that is not the color I want
for that moment.' He is a composer one can really trust to make decisions
that are going to bring the piece and the singer across in the best way. It
was a fairly worry-free situation.
"The production was beautiful, it engaged you constantly. There was something
for the eye and for the ear at every moment. I'm going to sound like an 'after-the-movie
interview,' but, it did make you laugh and it did make you cry. It really
was remarkable in that way. The response from the audience was unbelievable
every night. We knew it was not just because we had a great night one time
and not the other. The audiences loved the piece, there was no question about
it."
The role of Love Simpson is one that many sopranos would find attractive.
She is an independent woman who has an unusual past. She makes choices that
are unconventional by the morals of the day but which are always true to her
beliefs. In the end, the audience realizes that she is, in fact, the backbone
of the story. "One obvious draw for me was our common Northeastern background
- although my own New Hampshire upbringing is slightly further northeast than
Baltimore! One quickly realizes, however, that the South is very protective
of its character, and playing 'the outsider' came easily to me.
"The number one attraction for me has to be the womanliness of Love Simpson.
Her womanhood is truly her essence. Whereas I have played a lot of girlish
roles in my career - Luisa Miller, Emmeline, Jenufa, Marguerite - embodying
Love gave me a chance to make my own natural progression as a woman singer
in some ways. Playing someone who is older allows one to portray a more complex
person - someone who definitely has a past full of both painful and joyful
experiences. This situation lends itself to a broader array of dramatic choices.
In my career thus far, the only comparable character that comes to mind is
Ellen Orford from Peter Grimes. The difficulties in the character-building
aspects of Ellen's life have already happened when the curtain goes up. Like
Love Simpson, she brings a very rich past, but we merely refer to it rather
than see it unfold. Ellen and Love share the attribute of patience - a necessary
skill in dealing with their respective male counterparts, Peter Grimes and
Rucker Lattimore!
"The joy of this role lies in the fact that there were no overwhelming
difficulties - not to oversimplify the character by any means! Vocally it
is demanding in range, color, and dramatic levels, but having Carlisle Floyd
so present clarified not only his intent but, in the end, mine as well.
"My character was not involved in too many of the comic moments. There
are several characters, such as Loma, who are very funny because of the situations
they are in and the things that happen to them. And with someone like Judy
[Judith] Christin, who sang the role of Effie Belle, there were some very
funny, very silly moments. But, then it turns immediately to a tragic moment
and it is just devastating."
One of the most poignant scenes in the opera takes place between Rucker Lattimore
(played by Dean Peterson in the world premiere)
and Love Simpson. They confess to each other secrets they have been carrying
since they were married. The scene ends with their realization of their love
for each other. "That is one of the most beautiful moments I have ever
played in opera. It was one of those scenes, and you rarely see this, that
we rehearsed very few times because the way in which Carlisle set it up was
so right you did not have to. If you played everything truthfully and honestly,
it took care of itself. At one point they asked me if I wanted to rehearse
it again and I said, 'No, let's not do it again.' It was a danger to rehearse
it too much."
One does not often hear opera singers making statements such as, 'playing
a scene truthfully.' "That is true and it is also unfortunate. The most
important components for me, I have to say, are the drama and the character,
and how those two elements play out vocally and in the story. The theatrical
aspect is at least of equal importance to me as the vocal aspect. I think
it is something that is changing in our field, and we will start to see more
and more singers pay greater attention to the dramatic elements. As a participant,
I do not mean to have any disrespect for the enormous discipline it takes
just to master a role and perform it vocally. Opera is a very demanding art
- it is incredibly difficult. But, I think we can always do more in terms
of interpreting the moments. It is becoming less and less acceptable to just
stand there and sing. We are also having this forced upon us by directors
which, frankly, I welcome because it makes it more interesting. Look at the
movies we have in front of us today. Next to them, opera seems like an antique.
We need to get out of the museum with it and make it alive and present and
living. I think Cold Sassy Tree succeeds completely in this way.
"Some of the characters I portray are not very believable to us today.
When I first read the story of Luisa Miller I thought it was very silly.
I thought, 'oh boy, what am I going to do with her.' So, sometimes you are
given less to work with. That is when working with an interesting director
can be very challenging and when you will end up finding more. Some people
are offended by that. They say, 'No, no, no! Luisa is like this. Or Gilda
is like that.'
"I think it is incumbent on the artist today to make our characters believable
while respecting the obvious parameters of the story and the character. It
is our job to bring the character to full, three-dimensional life. The biggest
criticism I have of opera has to do with the portrayal of women as these simple
characters, without any sort of complexity whatsoever. I have never met anyone
as simple or as uncomplicated as Mimi, for example, the way she is usually
played. My guess is that she was not. I think it is basically a sexist way
to portray the character. I will probably get in a lot of trouble for saying
that because people like to believe in innocence and the simplicity of things.
But, I think there is a way to respect what the librettist and composer have
given the opera and also to bring it to life - to real life. What touches
us the most is the truth.
Are there any American operas in Ms. Racette's future? The Crucible,
or perhaps Vanessa? "Other than the repeat of Cold Sassy Tree
in San Diego, nothing yet. I would certainly
welcome repeating Cold Sassy Tree and Emmeline. I would love
to continue my relationships with Tobias Picker and Carlisle Floyd. The first
opera I ever sang was Carlisle Floyd's Susannah. Although, at this
point, I do not have anything on the books as far as that role is concerned.
The word is that I am not really seen in that role, for whatever reason. I
do not agree, but it is not entirely up to me. I really like doing new American
pieces. At one point, I had an interest in Nixon in China, but I don't
really know the piece. Unless you happen to see these works, it isn't easy
to get access to most of them. Now you could ask me what Verdi I would like
to do and I could give you five or six roles I am interested in taking up,
both vocally and dramatically. Luisa Miller was very eye-opening for
me and I would love to repeat it. I will be doing my first Otello in
San Francisco in 2002 and repeating Traviata on several different occasions
and I may try a Trovatore. I am dying to do Puccini's
Suor Angelica.
"I am also looking more at song repertoire and would like to find poems
that interest me as far as having them set to music. And I have been looking
for another book like Emmeline. That was so remarkable. It would be
a joy to spend time going through literature looking for stories that would
make great operas. I have not really come across anything lately, though.
If you find something, let me know!"
Do you think about returning to jazz or pop music? "Absolutely! Very
much so. In fact, I just got a new guitar for my birthday and I am going to
start playing again. Jazz is something I still enjoy; but, there is very little
time for it now. I really miss it. I am a big Sarah Vaughan fan and I love
Ernestine Anderson and, of course, Ella Fitzgerald. The truth be known, though,
I do not listen to that much music. When one's life is music you learn to
treasure silence in a whole new way," she laughs.
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