"We Sing For The Public": A Little Chat With Juliette Galstian (An Interview)
May 05 '08 (Updated Jul 13 '08)
The Bottom Line There are many good lyric mezzo-soprani around, but Juliette Galstian is still one of Europe's best-kept secrets. Here's a glimpse at the candid artist.
A Little Chat With Juliette Galstian
Who is Juliette Galstian, you ask? It's a shame that many American opera-fans still don't know much about this dark-voiced Armenian mezzo who began her opera singing career 13 years ago as a soprano. Galstian is one of those wonderful singing actresses who don't just sing the notes while going through the choreographed motions on the stage, but are so dramatically involved that they make it absurdly easy for the audience to suspend any disbelief in what nonsensical things is happening on the stage. Just the very thing a good theater-going experience should do for you!
Born and raised in socialist Armenia, the soprano-turn-mezzo now lives in Switzerland. I don't know how she managed, but with the help of her husband, Mme. Galstian found time off from her busy schedule to very candidly answer a few of my curious questions via email (which was really more than I deserved!):
1. Is opera very popular in Armenia? Was it a big cultural shock when you moved to Switzerland?
Armenians love opera and we used to have a very good opera house in Yerevan with a large repertoire including Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Mozart and many Russian and Armenian operas. My great-grandmother (one of Armenia's greatest opera singers) and my grandmother both sang in the opera house in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. My father was a well-known ballet dancer and choreographer and worked there, too, for many years.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1988 the situation in Armenia became very difficult and culture, especially, suffered a lot. The Opera theatre and many concert halls had to close or could work only in summer, as there was no fuel to heat such big buildings and no money to pay the salaries. Many artists left the country at that time, and opera in Armenia has still not recovered from those difficult years.
I left in 1995, after winning the 1st prize at Viotti International Competition in Italy. I was offered Mimi (La Bohème) and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) in Torino, and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) in Venice and, although I had just finished my studies that year, I realized that there was no chance for me to start a fulfilling career in Armenia.
I never really felt a "cultural shock", probably because I was busy working and was surrounded by wonderful colleagues in Italy. I quickly learned Italian and soon felt at home there. The only cultural shock came when 30% tax was deducted from my first earnings. In Armenia, I never heard of paying taxes, so that was a surprise. For the rest, I quickly adopted the European life style.
2. You studied piano and then voice. Did you always mean to be a singer and just waited for the voice to mature enough to start training it? Or did you really want to be a pianist but changed your mind later?
I studied piano during 17 years, first at Tchaikovsky Music School, and after that at Yerevan State Conservatoire. I studied very seriously and even played with the State Symphonic Orchestra several times. I was considered one of the best piano students of my year.
But I literally grew up in the theatre and always wanted to be on the stage, acting and wearing costumes. That is why I started singing as my second study. My grandmother was my first teacher and very soon I realized that after getting my conservatoire diploma as a pianist I would continue as a singer.
3. Do you still think like a pianist when you sight-read new music?
Yes. Being a pianist helps a lot, especially if you need to replace a colleague at short notice and learn a role in a few days. I often play the piano part first to get a better picture of the phrasing I will do when singing, especially when I work on a recital program.
In general, one can always see if a singer has another musical background (pianist, violinist, etc). We probably have some sort of "instrumental thinking".
But it has also disadvantages. I can be very impatient when I study something, wanting to go too fast; but with the voice, one needs to take the necessary time to find its way in a new piece. I am also easily disturbed if the person who accompanies me at the piano does not play well. That's why singing auditions in the theatres, where you often do not even have time to rehearse with the pianist, can be very frustrating.
4. As a performer, what do you look for in a performance? Does it bother you if you think you have given a very good performance but it isn't well received by the audience or critics?
In a performance many things must work well together: singing, acting, orchestra, choir, staging, costumes. When it is all there, a performance can be unforgettable, and remain so for many years. Unfortunately, the staging these days is often disappointing and unflattering, even disturbing for the singers.
Of course, it is always nicer to read something positive about oneself in the press, but I have seen such bad critics about wonderful singers (and the opposite), that I have learned to react calmly at both favorable and critical opinions. And also, I am so critical about myself that not many critics can criticize me more than I do.
The reaction of the audience is a totally different thing. We sing for the public and when we get a good reaction from the audience, it can not be compared to anything else! When you give 100% of yourself on the stage and feel the warmth coming back from the hall, it is like oxygen!
5. Do you sometimes go to opera or recitals as an audience? If you do, do you find it easy to just enjoy the show or do you find yourself critiquing the performance?
I do not often go to the opera, but I love recitals and not only of singers, but of pianists, violinists, etc. I will not easily forget the concerts of Dame Felicity Lott, Maxim Vengerov or Evgeni Kissin. These are really exceptional memories.
6. Opera singing on the international circuit involves an awful lot of traveling these days. Do you find that stressful? Do you actually get to go out and see the city you're singing in or do you have to limit your visit to the hotel and the opera theater to avoid getting sick?
I like traveling in general and I always try to get out of the hotel or the apartment as soon as possible and go for a walk in the old town, or in the park if the weather is good. And if it is cold or windy (like most singers I am afraid to catch something), there are always nice museums to visit in every country and the shopping centers too!
7. Do you have a 'dream role' that you would love to sing one day? Or is there a role outside of your voice type that you sometimes dream of singing?
Carmen!!! It was always my dream role. As a soprano I was so sad not to be able to sing Carmen, and now that I have changed to a mezzo, this dream may become reality. I actually auditioned for Carmen in France and immediately got the role, but a week later I had a call from Zürich Opera with the offer for Rinaldo for the same period as Carmen! I could not refuse Zürich and it was a very difficult decision to let my first Carmen go.
I know that I will be a very good Carmen and I never had such a confident feeling about a role before. So, I hope to get another opportunity soon.
8. You have migrated from singing soprano leading roles to the mezzo soprano leading roles. Was the transition difficult? Did you have to make many technical adjustments?
I am still at the stage of "migration". I made the decision to change just a year ago. However, it is not so difficult, as my voice is naturally dark and I do not need to change my way of singing. Changing to a mezzo for me was something very natural; I just followed the development of my voice.
But such transition is more difficult for others. People need time, not only to realize the change, but also to accept it. People who hear me now can not understand how on earth I managed to sing soprano roles before with such a voice. For the opera directors who remember me singing Nedda (I Pagliacci), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin) or Mimi (La Bohème), and who were even offering me Gilda in Rigoletto(!) and Butterfly, it may be more difficult to change their opinion about me and to start offering me mezzo roles.
So, I guess I must be patient (which, I admit, is not at all my strongest point).
9. How are you enjoying the mezzo-soprano repertoire? You are even singing leading trouser roles like Handel's Rinaldo now. Is it difficult to portray a man on the stage? ('trouser roles' are male roles portrayed by a female singer)
I really enjoy singing as a mezzo as now I feel more at home! I am discovering colors in my voice that I did not know I had, and now I can finally let my natural voice come out without making it sound lighter.
The role of Rinaldo (my first "trouser role") is particularly difficult in terms of acting. Even if acting is something I can generally be sure of doing well, it is not at all obvious for me to act as a man. I hope that the staging, costumes and the guidance by the very good stage director, Claus Guth, with whom I already worked in Iphigénie en Tauride, will help me to be a credible Rinaldo.
10. Is there any special project/role that you're looking forward to doing in the near future? Any future plan to sing in the USA?
I am working now on some new mezzo-soprano roles and also on recital programs. And I hope to sing Carmen soon in Europe and, why not, in USA?
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Why not in the USA indeed! I hope Mr. Gelb and other American impressarios are jamming her phone line with role offers on this side of the pond. We American audience have missed out on her for long enough!
Catch a glimpse of her at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q763V3gJ7lw singing Carmen's Habanera in a concert in 2007.
Aside from catching her in live performances (performance schedule available at www.juliettegalstian.com, there are video clips in the 'Recordings' section), you can experience Juliette Galstian on DVD in the title role of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, as Susanna in Paisiello's Nina, or on CD as Irene in Händel's Theodora (conducted by William Christie).
6 May 2008: Edited to fix some typos
13 July 2008: Edited to add link to Nina.
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