Soprano Maria Alu was born and raised in Mercer County, N.J. Critics have praised her “lyrical grace” and “sparkling stage presence” in such diverse roles as Musetta (La bohème) at Longwood Opera, Laetitia (The Old Maid & The Thief) at both NYU and The Princeton Festival, Calisto (La Calisto), Pamina (The Magic Flute), and the Fairy Godmother (Cendrillon), all with the New England Conservatory of Music.
Maria spent the 2005-06 season as an apprentice artist with Utah Symphony & Opera, where she appeared in more than 200 outreach performances, several concerts, and two mainstage operas. Utah Opera invited her back in the fall of 2006 to sing the role of Annina in La traviata and again in the summer of 2007 to sing Fiametta in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers.
Maria has also appeared with the Bronx Opera, The New England Conservatory Contemporary Ensemble, The Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sullivan Society, and as a frequent soloist with the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, and the Pennsylvania Chamber Arts Guild. She received her bachelor of music degree from NYU and her master of music degree from the New England Conservatory, and recently garnered third place in the 2007 Classical Singer AudComps, Emerging Professional Division.
What is your favorite part about being an opera singer?
I love getting to travel and see different parts of the country, and to work with people from all over the world. The operatic world is so tightly knit. It’s like that play Six Degrees of Separation, except that in opera, I find it’s usually more like 2 degrees of separation.
I love the fact that being an opera singer means I’ve been able to study languages, cultures, and historical eras and apply those studies to a performance that can inspire and enthrall people from a multitude of backgrounds.
Who are some of your role models, mentors, or influential people in your life?
I have to say my former piano teacher, Gabriela Imreh Spalding, was one of the most influential people in my life growing up. She is the most accomplished, intelligent woman I’ve ever known. I also had the pleasure recently to work with a tremendously talented soprano, Celena Shafer, who in addition to having one of the most spectacular voices I’ve ever heard, is also incredibly caring, and supportive, and down to earth . . . [her] insights (both technical and personal) have been immensely valuable to me as a person and an artist.
If you could sing any one role, what would it be?
Sophie from Der Rosenkavalier is one role I’d love to sing. Also, Zdenka in Arabella. She’s a fascinating personality, and that duet with Arabella is just spectacularly beautiful.
How do you handle rejection?
I hit the practice room and then the gym, or vice versa. The gym lets me work out my frustration and practicing reminds me that I’m improving all the time, and that the next time I audition, I’ll be harder to reject.
Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “bright presence both vocally and theatrically” as well as her “formidable show of vocal technique and stage presence,” soprano Suzanne Ramo has made a brilliant start to her career. Her roles include Violetta, Gilda, Baby Doe, and Fiordiligi, among others. She has sung with such companies as Austin Lyric Opera, Utah Opera, and the San Francisco Opera, where she was an Adler Fellow.
Recent performances include La traviata with Amarillo Opera, for which the Amarillo Globe News said, “Through Ramo, the audience experienced the greatness of Verdi’s achievement, with her voice transporting and enthralling.”
The upcoming season includes Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus with Austin Lyric Opera, and Micaëla in Carmen with Amarillo Opera. On the concert stage, Ramo has performed in such works as the Brahms Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Handel’s Messiah, and Poulenc’s Gloria.
A native of Washington state, Ramo resides in Texas with her husband, a pianist and university music professor.
What were some influential experiences in your youth that led you to a career in music?
When I was an undergrad, my advisor told me I would never be an opera singer, that my voice was too small. Unlike other voice majors who got this speech from him, I was not even pushed toward music education—he really was insisting that I not be in music at all! He also voiced his “concerns” to my voice teacher, who was one of the few people at the school who believed in me and my talent.
I spent most of that year depressed about it until a colleague at work pointed out that every time I sang in the local arts competition, I won gold medals. She asked me who I was going to believe. The bad experience I had ended up being a great motivation for me to keep pursuing my goals.
What are your goals for the next 5 years? The next 10 years?
Sing, sing, sing! I would eventually (15 or 20 years or so down the line) like to move into management or arts administration.
What is your favorite part about being an opera singer?
I love being paid to spend my days listening to the world’s most beautiful music performed—live—by some of the world’s most talented singers and orchestras.
Who are some of your role models, mentors, or influential people in your life?
My high school and college theater directors. Both believed very strongly in my talent, and always encouraged me. My college mentor also made it a point to tell a person if she had heard something good about them, and that is something I try to do with my students and colleagues to this day.
If you could sing any one role, what would it be?
Claggart in Billy Budd. Unfortunately, that will never happen, seeing as I am not, nor will I ever be, a bass.
How do you handle rejection?
Very badly! Ha! No, really, I suppose I handle it as well as any singer. You mourn a little, then get on with life. You have to. Sometimes it’s easier than other times. Sometimes we react badly; sometimes we are gracious.
We have chosen a career that will be full of rejection, so if you can’t handle it in a way that is ultimately healthy for you emotionally (and healthy for your career), you may as well find something else to do! There will always be people who like your product, there will always be people who don’t. I might be rejected for my vocal color, my hair color, my weight, the dress I wore, or because I started with the “wrong” aria. Unless you get direct feedback, it’s hard to know why you were rejected. Not liking your product does not mean they didn’t like you.
It’s OK if someone doesn’t like your product occasionally, as long as ultimately you have a healthy and realistic view of your product, and have the self-awareness to continue trying to make your product better so that more people will like it. After all, if no one’s buying, there’s probably a reason.
How do you balance career and family?
I am rather lucky in that my husband wants me to sing. It is a bit difficult at times to be on the road, but when I am (or when he is) we make sure to stay in daily contact. I think it’s loss of daily contact that can erode a relationship, if you are not careful. So one must make a daily effort to show the people in your life that they are important, whether you are working or not.
