I caught up with Maria during a five-week run at the Met. We had a much longer conversation than just the interview–being with her is like chatting in your kitchen over a cup of coffee with your sister. Maria does a great deal of giving, both on and off the stage. I was delighted to find out that this expressive communicator has begun to do some teaching and, in fact, has opened her own private studio. She is also actively involved with the growth and development of the Ocean State Lyric Opera in her home state of Rhode Island. I have personally had the pleasure of working with her on the operatic stage and thoroughly enjoyed hearing her viewpoints about the industry.
What are the most important qualities a singer should have in today’s music world, in order of importance?
You must have a wonderful instrument, a gift from God. You must have the intelligence to be able to know what to do with that instrument, to study and to absorb everything tyou need to know about this art form. You need discipline, love, and desire–and wonderful communicative skills because to be a singer is one thing, but to be an artist is another.
To be an artist is to be like a painter. Painters don’t just take paint and slop it on canvas–they take their time and make something unique. As a singer, you paint with the colors you have in your voice, which change as you get older, too. You’re not the same when you’re 25 as when you’re 40 or 50. The voice is changing–it’s alive. You’re constantly learning. I’m still learning–and I probably will continue to learn until the day I die. That’s what is so exciting about this wonderful art form.
How do you balance work and family while pursuing or maintaining a career? Is it possible to have both?
I remember being told not to even say that I had a child because people would not take me seriously. I was very, very young when I had my daughter Kristen. I had just graduated from college, married my college sweetheart–and about a year and a half later I was pregnant with Kristen. I remember feeling excitement beyond belief and yet very conflicted about it at the same time.
I didn’t travel or do much singing until Kristen was in school full-time. I had a woman across the street from Kristen’s school keep her for a few hours every day until her father could pick her up. My husband actually played a very big role in raising Kristen–he often says that he wished back then that there were men to talk to about raising families. He was one of the first Mr. Moms!
I never took Kristen to a rehearsal or a job because I was afraid people would see that I had a family life. I couldn’t afford to take a nanny with me, and I didn’t want to leave her with strangers. So I left her home with my husband. After the music program in his school was eliminated, he had lost his job as a music teacher, so for a couple of years he was the one staying at home while I was out pursuing a career.
I made a lot of sacrifices. I didn’t have any more children because I was afraid that I would take myself out of the mainstream. I could have done more with my career, or I could have had more children. Something was always sacrificed. I feared my child hating me because I wasn’t there, or my marriage breaking up because I wasn’t paying attention to my husband. I can’t say that I don’t have a few regrets, but I’m proud that I have a marriage of 28 years and a happily married daughter. I still have a career, and I’m thrilled at what I’ve accomplished.
In your opinion, what is the best next step for singers once they complete their formal education?
I received a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, married two months later, and came to New York City after my honeymoon thinking I would set the city on fire. In retrospect, I advise people to wait a bit before they come to a big place like New York. I’m not sure everyone is ready to come to such a competitive place.
Young singers should probably try an apprentice program outside of NYC, perhaps with an opera company. First and foremost, young singers must continue with their technical work, and with diction and coachings. After the birth of my daughter, I was at the Juilliard American Opera Center for a couple of seasons, and later at the Manhattan School of Music. New York worked for me, but I was fortunate.
How does one choose repertoire? How do you know when it’s a good time to move into new material? What about finding the right career track?
Those are very good questions, and tough to answer. I think you have to be honest with yourself. I had a wonderful teacher at the Conservatory–the late Gladys Miller. She had me approach everything very slowly. Technique was very important, and I never sang anything that was beyond me. I knew that I was a lyric soprano–nothing more, nothing less. I had wonderful coaches, and they all seemed to agree that I was on the right path.
Once a singer has received a degree, he or she should try to sing for important people. Perhaps sing for opera companies throughout the U.S., like Chicago or San Francisco– make an appointment to audition for the artistic staff, just to see what their comments might be.
I have always been very careful with the repertoire I sing. My voice has taken on new colors, but only with age and with the proper roles that I have sung. I haven’t overdone it. I don’t yell. And I’ve gotten good feedback from people that I trust.
It’s very important for all of us to make sure that there are several people throughout our career whom we can trust to say, “You’re on the wrong track, I don’t think that role is for you, it’s too much for you, and you shouldn’t sing this at the Met,” and the like. I have good sense, and I’m honest with myself. I know what I can do and what I can’t do.
Being honest with yourself is hard–but being able to find the right person to listen to is often harder. There are so many people out there who really don’t know what to advise. Throughout a singer’s career, it will always be a difficult question.
If you were a singer with talents to offer but were still solving problems (technique, language, stage skills, repertoire, etc.), would you continue pursuing a career or stop to fix the problems first? Where should one go to perfect the craft and still work in the business? Should one work at all?
The answer to that depends on how far along you are. Singers have to be able to present an above-average rendition of three or four arias–until they reach that point, they must work, just as an athlete works at building skill and stamina. A voice must work in the same way–and maybe even more so because the muscle memory is there, and it can be very difficult to undo that. When you buy a nice pair of leather shoes, they’re soft and wonderful–but they take on the impression of your foot and quickly get out of shape. You can do that to your voice–and you may not be able to undo it. Choose arias that you, your teacher, and your coach say you’re ready to go out there and perform. Then you have to try. That’s it.
The music world is often crazy and unfair. What do you do to survive the insanity when it starts to get you down?
We all know where we’re supposed to go and keep grabbing at it, but it doesn’t work that way. When you just sit back and take yourself out of it–and relax–you’re able to accomplish a great deal more. It’s not that you don’t work hard–you can’t literally just sit back. You have a lot to do! But it’s a detached kind of thing, and it is empowering. I see it in my singing now. I’m more open to a lot of things, and I’m very grateful for that.
I also believe one of the most helpful things for me is my family. I have another life besides being a singer. My career is not the most important thing to me. And I think that has helped me to be a better artist.
What habits do you have to help keep you in good vocal and/or physical shape?
I’m constantly watching my weight. Maybe singers love to eat because they are emotional people–and thus emotional eaters, especially when they’re on the road and all by themselves. Staying in good physical shape is hard on the road. I do go to the gym at home. When I’m away, I walk a lot, but in the wintertime it’s a bit more difficult.
As for my emotional self, I do a lot of reading. I talk to my husband two or three times a day on the phone. I get angry about things for a short while and then just let them go. Having a positive attitude has helped a great deal.
Vocally, I stay in shape by working my voice every day. It has to be a daily commitment.
If there were one piece of advice that you wish someone had given you in the very beginning of your musical life, what would it have been?
Never lose a sense of who you are. Don’t try to be like anyone else. I should have been less fearful and less, “I’ve gotta have that, I’ve gotta have this; I’ve gotta sing here and I’ve gotta sing there; why aren’t I singing there and what am I doing wrong?”
Don’t be so uptight about things. Life is short, and we just have to take each day as it comes. I was–and probably still am–one to worry about the future. What will I be doing in five years? In 10? Will I still have a voice in 20 years? You can’t worry about such things. You just have to do your daily work. Don’t worry about the past. It’s over, and you can’t change it. Today is the day with which you concern yourself. It helps to think about those comforting things–that we’re not alone, and this career is not “the be-all and end-all”. I can imagine how anxious singers are. They want it to happen, but it usually doesn’t when you’re 25 or 30 years old. It’s too soon.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t sing. You should sing, but with care and only with roles you can really excel in and not hurt yourself. And then every day you grow.
