Mezzo-soprano Carin Gilfry and soprano Kiri Dyan Deonarine quickly discovered last summer that they shared more in common than their acceptance to Santa Fe’s prestigious Young Artist Program. In addition, these two aspiring singers both have internationally famous baritone fathers.
As you most likely have already guessed, Carin’s father is none other than Rod Gilfry. Since Kiri goes by her married name, her father isn’t quite as easily guessed, and she likes it that way. But her striking resemblance to Kim Josephson, who is also listed as her teacher on her résumé, is a dead giveaway.
Both Josephson and Gilfry have paved the way for their daughters in more ways than one, including both appearing many times at Santa Fe Opera. CS caught up with their daughters to discuss just how helpful or hindering it actually is to have a famous parent in the business.
Did you know of each other before you met in Santa Fe?
Kiri Dyan Deonarine: The first time I had ever met the daughter of a singer who wanted to be a singer happened when David Holloway, the director of the Apprentice Singers 2009 Program at Santa Fe Opera, said, “This summer we have two singers whose fathers sang here.” We were both amazed when we met each other. It was fabulous to meet someone who has had similar experiences. I have often traveled with my dad, but had seldom met any other singers’ children.
Did you begin to study music very early?
Carin Gilfry: I was singing before I could talk but did not begin voice lessons until I was 14. I tried piano much earlier but disliked it and cried when I had to take lessons. However, I now have six years of serious piano. Playing is not easy for me, but I can sight sing really well. For some reason, my brain just doesn’t transfer the music to my right and left hands when I am reading the two clefs at the same time. It just isn’t intuitive for me. Starting this fall, I will be studying voice full time with my dad. He is now teaching at the University of Southern California, but they want him to keep on performing, so he is not there all the time.
KDD: When I was small, I did the normal “kid stuff,” but my parents thought it was very important for us to learn to read music and play an instrument. I think I wanted to be a singer before I could talk, but the first instrument I played was the piano. Then I started violin lessons in grade three and I hated them. It’s hard to get past the sounds you make when you first start to play. Anyway, I stuck with it for a year and then picked up the flute, which I played right through college.
I saw my first opera when I was four years old, but my very first memory is of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West, which I saw a few years later at the Met. I was tremendously touched by it and, even though my mom kept telling me that it was not real, I cried a great deal.
Where did you go to school?
CG: When I was two years old, we moved to a town between Wiesbaden and Frankfurt, Germany, for two years. After that, we lived in a suburb of Zurich, Switzerland, where I attended a local public school. Instruction was in German. Eventually, we came home to California and I did my undergraduate work at the
University of Southern California. In May of 2009, I received my master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music.
KDD: I was born in Austin, Texas. My dad was trying to make it at the Met in New York when I was still quite small, so we moved to a town in New Jersey that was within commuting distance. There, I attended elementary and junior high school.
Later, my dad wanted us to have the kind of experiences he had growing up, so he bought a ranch in Oklahoma where we had horses, chickens, and all sorts of animals. Going to high school in Oklahoma was a completely different experience from anything we knew in New Jersey. I learned a great deal from that culture and was eventually crowned Miss Teen Rodeo Oklahoma.
I received my bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and studied at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the Technische Universität of Dresden, Germany, before going on to Indiana University for graduate work.
When did you decide that you wanted to be an opera singer?
CG: When I was 14, there was a contest in school that had three categories: pop, Broadway, and classical. When I saw that no one had signed up for classical, I learned the aria “O del mio dolce ardor” from Gluck’s Paride ed Elena, which was in my book of Italian arias. I won a hundred dollars with that! I was so excited that I entered the contest again the next year, and I won again. By my junior year in high school, I realized that I really loved classical music. It had become so much a part of me that I could not imagine doing anything else with my life. It combines all the things that I love. You get to act just as you would in a Broadway show and you get to sing amazing music.
KDD: I think I have always wanted to be an opera singer. For me, as a child, opera was a magical world. My dad, who would tell me about the operas, was a wonderful storyteller who explained the whole show beforehand. We would watch it and then go back stage. I loved every minute of the performance, even before they had titles on the seat backs.
Are you involved in any projects to advance opera education?
CG: My mother, who is a Kindergarten teacher with a musical background, is working with me on a book called Take Your Kids to the Opera. Right now it is still in sketch form, but it is basically about bringing your children to different cultural events and involving even the youngest of them in music. I feel that children don’t get nearly enough music in school. Classical music, in particular, seems to be missing. It is up to us to see that this art form does not die, because the older generation will not be around forever.
KDD: Music needs to be a part of everyone’s early education because it helps us learn to process information. A number of studies have shown that learning and understanding music helps students learn other subjects.
I just performed Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Houston Grand Opera for all the student performances. The audiences seemed to love it. Then, after the show we went to talk with many of the students and sign autographs. It was amazing to see how many people had never seen an opera before. They were full of questions and opinions and ready to come back for another show. I think it is just a matter of exposure. If people just give opera a chance, I think they will be surprised by what they find.
Is it easier or harder to maintain your own career when everyone knows your father?
CG: It is really both. Only once have I sung an audition where I was not asked if I was related to Rod Gilfry. The reason those people did not ask was that they already knew. Because people know who I am, I get my foot in the door. The hard part is keeping good relationships with other singers who may think I got a part because of my father. Actually, he has only once made a phone call for me. That was for The Sound of Music. He told me he was going to do the show in Paris and I jokingly asked him if he thought they might need a Liesl. He told the company about me and I sent my materials, including a CD I made that very weekend. They replied that they would be happy to have me do the role.
KDD: When I audition, management has already seen my résumé and they know I studied with Kim Josephson. They often remark on my resemblance to him, so I end up telling them that he is my father. There are some things that my father and I do in similar ways and people notice them.
Since I use my married name, however, some people do not immediately know that my father is a singer, and I think that makes things easier for me. As Kiri Josephson before my marriage, I found that many people thought I got roles because of my father, when it was not at all true.
The good part about having a parent in the business is that you have an accurate picture of an opera career before you are in the midst of it. I run into people all the time who have totally unrealistic ideas about being an opera singer. I think I have a better picture of life as a singer. I do get to meet important people and have opportunities to audition with them, but ultimately the singing is totally up to me. Having a singer in the family is an invaluable resource because he shows me how to learn roles thoroughly and do a good job on stage.
What qualities do you think are most important in a life partner?
KDD: I really was not looking for a life partner when I met Chris. He was just a good friend. He was such a wonderfully supportive and understanding friend that after a while I realized I had met my soul mate.
He is not a musician. He is a paramedic working toward his doctorate in osteopathic medicine. It is a wonder that our paths actually crossed at Baylor because my major was music and his was pre-med. For some reason, however, singers often seem to marry people in the medical field. My mother is a nurse, so she and my husband often talk medicine while my dad and I talk music. It may be that doctors and musicians have something in common because both fields are immensely demanding.
CG: I had a boyfriend for a long time and we were thinking about getting married. However, when he sat down with my parents and talked about the kind of life they lead, he realized that he could not be an opera singer’s husband. At the same time, I knew that one of the things he loved about me was my dream, and I doubted that he could love me in the same way if I gave it up.
It was a terribly difficult choice—but now, for the first time in ages, I do not have a serious boyfriend. It is really rather nice for a change. I can travel without worrying about the person I left behind. It could be that the next few years will be the only time in my life when I can do things just for myself and not have to worry about having a husband or family. Those are things I really do want, but right now I’m just going to wait and see what happens.
KDD: It takes a special kind of man to marry a singer. He has to be inordinately secure and you both have to be sure that your relationship stays in good shape. Being the supportive spouse of an artist is not at all an easy role.
What do you think about singers dating singers?
CG: I’ve dated only one singer and he was a great guy, but I really don’t know if that would work for me. I think it would be best to find a composer, a writer, or a manager who could move around with me. I dated a conductor for a while, and I think that can sometimes work.
How has having an opera singer for a parent influenced your taste in music?
KDD: I love passionate music, art, and performers with purpose. I think that probably has a lot to do with the kind of person and performer my dad is. Growing up, we listened to music that ranged from Neil Young to Madama Butterfly. From my dad, I learned that the important thing is not what you listen to but how you listen. There are so many beautiful intricacies in music that you won’t notice unless you are actively looking for them.
Do you currently have professional management?
CG: My dad’s manager is handling my Paris contract. I don’t have my own U.S. manager yet.
KDD: People tell me that I should probably look for management in my second year at the Houston Studio. That is the point at which my dad can really be of help.
Where do you think professional opera singers should live?
CG: My family is in Los Angeles, and since I have a huge base of friends and colleagues there, it is where I want to be at the moment. The problem is that the trip to Europe from there is a great deal longer than it is from New York City, but the competition for singing jobs is less in L.A.
KDD: Whether you have to live in New York or not may depend on how busy your career is. If you don’t have much work, you may need to stay in New York for auditions. Right now Chris and I are willing to live anywhere. We can stay in the States or move elsewhere. At this point, we just need to live near an international airport.
What are your forthcoming engagements?
CG: Currently, I am singing Liesl in The Sound of Music at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The French treat the American musical as an operetta. On March 27, 2010, I will sing the Mozart Requiem with the Santa Fe Symphony. There are some things I cannot talk about yet, but I will be doing Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Pasadena and Berio’s Circles in New York. I hope to return to Santa Fe this coming summer as well.
KDD: I will make my first professional appearance with my dad on January 22, 2010, when we perform the Fauré Requiem with the Milwaukee Symphony.
I am currently engaged by the Houston Grand Opera Studio, where I just sang the leading soprano role in L’elisir d’amore. Participation in the Studio can last for one to three years, depending on the needs of both the studio and the singer. Of course, that leaves me free in the summer so I, too, may return to Santa Fe.
What will you do if you need to fill in with some other employment between singing engagements?
CG: The year before I started at Juilliard, I had made all my money by singing. I had a good church job, I did some teaching, and I had a number of engagements on the side. I figure if I could do that at the age of 22, I can do a great deal better now that I have a master’s degree. I love kids and I was a nanny for three years while I was at Juilliard. I also taught second graders in the Juilliard CLIMB Program, which combines literacy instruction with musical beginnings.
KDD: My undergraduate degree is in music education with an emphasis on voice. In Texas, I’m certified to teach both elementary and high school. I have taught privately as well and I really love it. I do hope to get back to teaching some day.
