Martina Arroyo could be described as the “un-diva,” one possessing all of the title’s positive connotations and none of the negative. Even with her impressive credentials on the international operatic stage and in the world of academia, she continues to be an open, lovely human being, full of life and a true down-to-earth charm. She understands the heart of the singers’ problems and has never lost touch with how hard it is to climb up the ladder of operatic success. We had our conversation over the phone, giggling and sharing as if we were having a pizza and beer together on a Friday night.
Although her manner was lighthearted, it was obvious that her concern for young singers and what they face in today’s world was serious and real. As our conversation evolved, I saw that she was addressing the heart of some very important problems facing young singers today. Ms. Arroyo’s operatic career spanned several decades and left a legacy of amazing recordings for young singers to hear–her teaching has inspired many to create their paths in a realistic manner with the joy of music in their hearts. Back in the days when “diva” was a positive term, she was It!
1. How do you balance work and family while pursuing or maintaining a career? Is it possible to have both?
I’d like to think that it is possible to have both, although it’s a hard balancing act. It’s easier if a person has had their family before a career, especially for women. With me it was very hard to stop and think in terms of building a family and keep my foot in the career door. Men, of course, have another problem. How do you keep in touch with your wife, your family, keep the connection with your children? Let’s face it, in this type of career the two biggest words are discipline and sacrifice. My choice was to not have someone else raise my child–I wanted to raise my own child and subsequently never did. And now, 40 years later, I feel the void just a little bit–I have colleagues that don’t feel that void at all. I am always happy to hear when someone else is having a child or that their children are grown and getting on with their lives.
It’s also harder for a woman because her body changes during pregnancy and birth–they have to work hard to get back in shape. I hear that Monserrat [Caballe] was singing up until her eighth month and Richard Tucker said the baby was kicking while they were doing Manon Lescaut in Buenos Aires! Other women have had to stop and lose several months of singing, as the body didn’t react as well. A lot has to do with what goes on mentally. You have to stay positive and have a sense of humor. The more you fight back the better chance you have of making a successful adjustment to birth, a family life and career.
Also, what kind of husband have you got? Does he have a successful career of his own? I think two people who really want to have their flesh and blood carry on and really want to be together can do it with a lot of hard work.
2. What is the best “next step” for young singers after they finish their formal education?
This is a big issue for any singer today. A lot depends on the talent of the person. Many talented singers will choose to go into an apprenticeship program because they are not ready for stage work. For me the issue is not where should the singers go but where should the universities go with the curriculum they are offering the students. I don’t think that the curriculum in the universities fully satisfies the needs of the young artists. There’s a lack of coaching and too little emphasis on languages.
You should find a performance venue at the school level–not only out in the professional world. I have some students that are little stage animals and are ready to get out there and do a role–I have others that are very talented but shy and need more time to find themselves.
Singers can go into apprenticeship programs if they are ready for that sort of thing. They do have to go to big cities eventually. They have to be heard by various people all around the world who are looking for people.
Think of the business angle. You can’t have your head in the clouds and only think artistically. Not everyone is going to make it, but you have to think that way. Some of your success has to do with how well you handle your career, with of course the help of your loved ones, your accountant, manager, teacher; your professional family. Be prepared to go out there and work with the system. The Business of the Business!
3. How does one choose repertoire and when do you know it is a good time to move into different things?
Teaching in a university I find that very often we start the undergraduate in the most elementary repertoire so that they can develop and open up their voice. When they get a little older you hear that voice growing and you can try little by little to change to more sophisticated and demanding pieces in the same Fach. Then you will see if the voice meets those demands before changing into more heavy and demanding material. There really is no one answer because a lot of it has to do with their mental growth. It’s very, very individual. Some people don’t move on for 15 years or even stay in the same Fach all their lives. No matter how much a student’s voice may indicate that it may become a heavy, or say, Wagnerian voice as an adult, I wouldn’t give them Wagner to sing at 20. There are too many other things to sing in opera and song literature that will allow that voice to stay healthy and grow. Treat the voice as it is now and not as it will be.
So what do you say to an auditioner who tells you you should be singing other repertoire?
The hardest thing in the world for a young artist to say is, “Thank you so much, I agree, and in the future I may be there, but right now I don’t want to push it and I hope that you will hear me a year from now and remember me.” From there go and find someone who wants to hear you in the rep you are singing!
Most of us didn’t do that, however. Most of us, at one time or another said “I’ll try” and went the other way. So many of us failed and paid for it.
When I went to Germany the first time they all wanted me to sing Aida. I had things like Pamina and had done a lot of oratorios and song recitals. I called my teacher, Marinka Gurewich, and she said, “No Aida, no Bess! Your voice is more lyric.” Even when I sang Aida eventually it was a more lyric and not a big honking one. To say no at that time broke my heart but I believed in Mrs. Gurewich. There were times when I was angry with her and thought that she didn’t want me to sing or didn’t like me as much as she should have. You have all of this going on in your mind. You just want to get out there and perform. Your teacher has to stay in there with you, showing you love, interest and care, but also trying not to hold you back. A teacher has to explain why that part is too heavy. You may be able to sing the aria but not the whole role. You may be able to vocalize it, but can you do it with the staging and the emotion it requires?
None of this should stop you from listening to all forms of music… except rap! It’s amazing what you can learn about phrasing and ensemble. It’s also a wonderful thing for the soul!
4. If you are a singer with things to offer the music, but are still solving problems (technique, language, stage skills, repertoire, etc.) would you continue pursuing a career in the world or stop to “fix” the problems first? Where should one go to perfect the craft and still work in the business, or should one work at all?
In an ideal world it would be lovely to have everything ready before you go, but I don’t know of anyone who does. I don’t know of anybody out there who sings perfectly or began singing perfectly. Throughout the profession one has to keep studying and keep the technique going. Conversely, if I were the teacher of a student who had blatant faults I wouldn’t want him or her to be heard yet. I would have the student hold off on the auditions until a certain thing is fixed. They should then find a performing venue in order to have the opportunity to perform in public before you start auditioning to see how your body reacts. But keep in mind that everyone has something they are still working on. You work on your weaknesses throughout the career and those weaknesses may change.
How long you wait before you go out there depends on your problems. If you wait too long and people don’t know you’re there, you’ll never make it. There are no definite answers that are clear. Personality, endurance, lifestyle, growth; these are all factors that have to be considered. How much can you deal with? The way you live your life has something to do with it. There is no such thing as the perfect singer.
5. What are the most important qualities a singer should have in today’s music world? Name them in order of importance?
First of all is the basic talent, even though some of the singers out there today may not have the basic talent but may have a record company behind them. I don’t think you can eliminate in today’s world the importance of a person’s personality. Can you deal with the career, public, record companies? Do you have charisma? What is unique about you? It could be your Fach, your quality [of voice]. Dame Joan [Sutherland] was an example of that. She had the career when she began to sing a certain repertoire. Before that she was not the unique singer she became.
Another important quality is the hunger a singer has for work. Someone has to have that hunger, that thing that says “I want this!,” the desire to be the top, sometimes at all costs. If some part of that isn’t there, you aren’t going to do what you’ve got to do in this profession, as it is very demanding. As I said in the beginning, discipline and sacrifice are two of the biggest words we have in our vocabulary!
Also, It’s very hard to make it in this career completely alone. You need a partner, whether it is your husband, your wife or a friend. Someone to say, “Hey, I believe in you, too!” That’s very important.
6. The music world is sometimes crazy and unfair. What do you do to survive the insanity when it starts to get you down?
Who says we’re sane! Do you say you’re sane? I don’t! When the pressure was really on I found great comfort and balance in my home. I had a relationship with my family that was unique. My mother and I were very, very close. My first and second husbands and my mother were very, very close! My mother was a wise old lady and used to take a lot of the pressure off me. I felt that when I got home I could relax. I’ve had some scary times in my life. One of the scariest was when my mother died. Which brings up another question: What do you do when your support system is not there? We are living through this life and all of us have a different story to tell. Some young artists drink or take drugs. People find their crutches. Again, that’s the individual, how strong they are, what satisfies them and allows them to go on.
What did you do after your mother passed away?
I went through a bad period and my husband had to really help me. I didn’t want to sing but had to two weeks later. I can’t say that I sang very well, not first class singing, anyway. But I had already had a period before that when I felt I wasn’t singing well. I had sung so much that I just didn’t feel like it. I would sleep all day and then get up and go to the theater. I think many artists reach that point and it’s sad, but it’s temporary, at least it was in my case. You can get saturated! The fun of getting out there that I felt in the beginning wasn’t there. I rebelled in my work because I didn’t have much of a private life. I hadn’t had a vacation for 16 years and at one point when I got sick the doctor said, “Who do you think you are, Wonder Woman?” I’m not trying to turn this into Martina Arroyo’s excuse. On the contrary, the audience doesn’t want your excuse, your baggage. You’ve got to learn how to work it so you get a minimum of baggage. Some part of it is being private. I don’t know why some artists have to let the whole world know every time they have a problem. They think it will get you sympathy. The public will lie about you even when nothing is going on. I heard stories about me not walking again, about having cancer, etc., and sometimes you say, “Where is this coming from?” You have enough to deal with already. You don’t need to get involved with the rumors. I say keep your private life as private as you can except with the people you love. They will respect it.
7. What habits do you have to help keep you in good vocal and/or physical shape?
The worst thing in the world I did to myself was get out of shape physically. Because I think that when you are in good physical shape you are also helping yourself vocally.
With my singing, I vocalize before doing anything, even for rehearsals. You should take that 10 or 15 minutes to warm the voice up properly and not just go out there and ‘let rip’. I can’t say that I did that 100 percent of the time but I bet it was 99 percent of the time. If I didn’t vocalize, it was because I didn’t intend to sing in that rehearsal. If they requested that I sing then I would go in a bathroom and try to get myself ready. I really think that vocalizing beforehand, eating properly, rest (which I didn’t do because I love to stay up late) is important for the voice. But I always loved eating and partying after performances with my friends!
8. If there was one piece of advice that you wish someone had given you in the very beginning of your musical life, what would it have been?
The word that really comes to mind is “love.” Whether it’s to keep the love for your profession or the love for yourself. Because a lot of the things you do will be based on how you love yourself. But I never mean it to go over the edge. I’m talking about loving yourself enough to do what you’ve got to do. Respect for your art, for your colleagues–to help them to give a good performance. The higher the level of the performance the better it is for everybody. But somehow I always find that the word love comes in there. Love is positive. It helps you with many situations. I don’t know if young people would be satisfied with that. It has to do with everything – the discipline, the respect. Remember to still live your life throughout your career. Love of life is very important… and I love to live!
