How do you take control of your life and your career? Is it possible? One artist who has done that from the beginning is Polish contralto Ewa Podles, featured in the April issue of Opera News in an article written by Brian Kellow. For any singer frustrated with ‘the business,’ Podles’ story may provide hope. Consider that Podle≠ has a thriving career, recordings and a loyal fan base, despite the fact that she doesn’t look like a svelte Broadway babe; burst onto the international opera scene later in life; is opinionated and definitely not politically correct; has a unique voice and is building a career outside the mainstream; and has some real diva-esque leanings.
Weight and age: Podles career is not about being rail-thin or young—her career is about singing! What a concept!
Political correctness: Early in her career, Podles showed a strong sense of self when given the opportunity to sing for two famous singers. She says, “They were angry because I should show them my voice and ask their opinions. But I didn’t want.” She learned the hard way that if the singer looks bad, the company, the public and the newspapers usually blame the singer, not the director. Not one to mince words, she added, “Now I can say to the director, ‘Shut up. I know what I have to do.’” When Christopher Hogwood “…wanted the whole company to sing in the same style—no cadenzas,” Podles told him, “This music needs something brilliant. The audience likes it, and we perform for people, don’t we? Conductors…I don’t know.” She has a strong sense of her worth and the respect due her. When record company execs at Decca threw a post performance dinner after Rinaldo in Paris—a perfect chance for her to say the right things to the right people—she wouldn’t attend. It was clear to her that even though she had sung the title role, the party was for Bartoli, not her.
Outside the mainstream: Podles has not gone the route of other singers, who call themselves mezzos to be more marketable. According to the article, “Podle≠ is proud of being a real contralto, a breed apart.” Defying the norm still further, her career did not come by way of an esteemed apprentice program or competition. In fact, despite winning many competitions, no one asked her to even audition. Podles’ career started—gasp—with concert work. Her first professional operatic job? The title role of Rinaldo…at the Met.
Unique voice: Many singers are being taught that “big voice” is all that matters. It’s no wonder many have lost their individuality. But Podles hasn’t played that game—she is what she is. “Hers is a voice that in some ways seems reminiscent of an earlier age of singing,” Kellow wrote. “She has a distinctive, instantly recognizable timbre, a tone that’s both beautiful and riveting, a thrilling coloratura facility that drives her fans wild.”
Is this diva power approach going to work? Kellow adds that “…neglect by major presenters and record labels is a mystery. Perhaps the time has passed when a voice was enough. Even at last fall’s Carnegie Hall triumph…many voice-lovers were heard carping about the quality of her gowns.”
Be that as it may, it doesn’t sound as if Podles cares. “I sing because it’s something I know how to do—and that’s all. I want to be happy. I know singers who cry in hotel room because they don’t know what husband is doing. I know a few singers make abortion because of very important concert. I was pregnant—I sang. I recorded at nine months. I was happy. My credo, you know, is I sing to live—not I live to sing.”
On behalf of the singers out there trying to fit into a rigid opera-star mold, I thank Ms. Podles for a very politically incorrect—and inspiring—interview.
—C.J. Williamson, Editor in Chief
