Hoffmann's Girls

Left to right: Sarah Coburn (Olympia); Nathalie Paulin (Antonia); Milena Kitic (Giulietta). Photo by Phil Groshong/Cincinnati Opera; cute dresses courtesy of Federated Dept. Stores, Macy's at Kenwood.

I thought you'd like to see parts of interviews I did with the three singers who will perform in Cincinnati Opera's "The Tales of Hoffmann" next week. (I apologize for interrupting the birthday party of Milena's 5-year-old son!) Be sure to read the Enquirer charticle in A&E on Sunday.

Sarah Coburn, who is singing the high-flying role of Olympia the doll, is an Oklahoma girl.

"My formal training was mostly in graduate school," Coburn says. "I went to college for a music education degree to teach music. I loved singing, but I thought it wasn’t something I could do professionally. I was always getting in trouble for being too loud (laughs).

"I was working on arias and art songs, but I didn’t take myself so seriously as a singer. For grad school, ended up at Oklahoma City University. That was great, because I did a lot of roles that I don’t think I would have in a huge conservatory, and I had a great teacher.

"I was in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2001, and that opened doors for me. I was pretty clueless. But it really got me motivated to improve my technique and really learn the craft. With that kind of affirmation, with an organization as prestigious as the Met telling you, "We think you have something special here," that told me that I had the potential. I always needed someone telling me, "yes you can do this."

"I made my professional debut in 2002 in Miami with Sandy Bernhard directing, as Norina in Don Pasquale.

"Then I went to Seattle Opera Young Artist program, and I was at Glimmerglass, and then I pretty much dove right in. My manager said, why don’t you move to New York and give it shot and see what happens? Knock on wood, things have been pretty great. I feel very fortunate to have been working since then.

"The highest note that actually comes out of me is an F. But the big high note in the aria is an E-flat. So it’s touched upon, but not sat upon. (Laughs.) It’s a crazy aria; it’s a little stressful. But it’s a lot of fun when it goes well. Which I’m hoping for! Now I’m doing all the body movements and mechanical gyrating while singing it, and adding a lot of different layers.

"Being in the moment is fun. This role takes a lot of concentration for me in order to get all the layers correct and multi-task. Multi-task – that’s what we do all the time.

(Speaking of multi-tasking, she's also singing Oscar the King's page in "Un Ballo in Maschera" this week!)

"Most recently, I was in Chicago, doing Blondchen (Blondie) in "Abduction from the Seraglio." One of my favorite memories (this season) was at Washington Concert Opera in Washington DC, Anthony Walker's company, of Rossini's opera Tancredi, with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe. It was such a fun night of singing, it was priceless, which doesn’t happen often that you feel great about every aspect of the evening."

(In the audience that night: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a big opera fan.)

Cincinnati impressions: I have shopped, I went to a Reds game (see her photo below!) Kings Island, and not much else. I went to the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall; that was fun. I’ve just been touring around in my little rental car. This is my first trip to Cincinnati, and I think it’s beautiful. It makes me sad that the downtown area is so deserted around here, but I love the architecture and the rolling hills."

How does such a petite girl have such a big voice? "Well, I do have a large head (laughs). I think I have a lot of resonance in my head. The size of your body doesn’t really matter. I have a good teacher (Rita Shane) who teaches me to sing with a bright technique and try to cut through the orchestra and keep things natural and healthy."

Will she ever sing Queen of the Night? "No, I have no desire to sing the Queen of the Night. There’s so much repertoire available for my voice type. That’s one of those stressful roles that the whole audience comes to just hear your top F.
And then it’s over. Yeah, and that's not the kind of singing I like to do!"

Milena Kitic is singing Giulietta, the courtesan. The Yugoslavian mezzo says, "I've
lived in Germany, Amsterdam, Italy, now finally I live in California for the last five years. I live in Newport Beach and Pasadena, both places.

I first became interesting in singing when I met Biserka Czejic when I was in high school. She’s one of the most famous Yugoslav mezzo artists, spent seven years at the Met singing with Tebaldi and so on, and 11 years with the Vienna State Opera, so I was lucky to meet her. She developed my love for opera. I was studying ethnology at the University of Philosophy, and when I met her my life path changed.

For some reason, "The Tales of Hoffmann" was the beginning of my career. This is how I started singing as Nicklausse, when I was about 23. Then I sang Guilietta in Essen, Germany. I was Guilietta again at LA Opera in 2002. You can see it all on my Web site, milenakitic.com

"This role is written very high and sometimes it’s sung by a soprano, and I’m a mezzo-soprano, who has a big range and who also sings, besides this kind of role, Amneris, and other roles which use a low register. So for me, I just have to think lighter. I have to think as a soprano. Because it’s composed very high. (The highest note is ) a high B. It’s not only about that particular note, it’s about the whole tessitura, where the whole role lies, in fact. Because if it lies in the second octave, then it’s very high."

Is it mental or physical? "It’s more of a physical thing, because of the vocal cords. Those are the muscles, so we singers have to work physically have to work to produce sound, so it physically is very demanding.

"Every opera is memorable, and we always give our best whatever we sing. Or course, if you get to sing roles like Carmen, those are memorable moments, because you’re singing a title role. I have sung Carmen probably around 150 times, and including the Metropolitan last Sept. and Oct. It was Franco Zeffirelli production, a gorgeous produciton with live animals in it, and donkeys, horses, dogs, and snow falling on the stage -- and the musicians, not to mention the orchestra that doesn’t even look at the conductor, but looks up onstage and plays like heaven.

"It was also memorable when I was in Germany in '98. I was proclaimed by the German reviewers and audience and the opera magazine's young best mezzo at the time in the role of Carmen. I will never forget those moments."

(She received the German music critic's award as Performer of the Season after performances as Carmen with the Essen Opera."

Nathalie Paulin is singing Antonia for the first time (her role debut). She also appeared as Laoula in "L'Etoile."

"I think music came to get me," says Nathalie Paulin, a native of a small town in New Brunswick, Canada. "I’m from a non-musician family. My parents always sang; there was music in my household growing up, but never classical music. It was not something my parents would listen to. I come from a very humble family.

"I knew music would be part of my life, but I didn’t think I’d have what one needs to become a performer. To my great surprise, I entered a few competitions, and I just happened to win everything in Canada. One was with the Montreal Symphony, and other things brought me to Europe. I thought, maybe I’ll hold off with the doctorate, and I’ll just try a career and see what happens. And this is where I am. I’ll keep discovering. I can’t be happier. It’s a wonderful life, I have to say.

Winning contests "surprised me, it scared me, I had mixed emotions. I had no idea what I was getting into. I spoke no English. But then, I was part of a young opera program in Toronto right after my master’s degree. I lived in Toronto for eight years, and that was my immersion into English.

"I was extremely shy, and one would think if you’re shy you don’t belong in this business. You have to like people and love performing, but it’s even more than that. Everybody has some qualities that are different, that reaches people, attracts people to them, sometimes you can’t put your finger on it.

"Of course I’ve heard Beverly Sills sing the role, and she has a light voice, but traditionally in the last years, they’ve used heavier voices for this role. So it’s a challenge for me. (Antonia) is young, and I have to remind myself to keep it lighter.

"I have a light lyric voice, and I've done a lot of Baroque music, and Mozart. I sang Susanna in "Marriage of Figaro" (Cincinnati Opera) in 2002 with Jane Glover conducting.

"Mozart is my big favorite. I think it suits my voice very well. Also French repertoire. But this is all testing ground for me, as well, to see where I’m going. You do have to be a little flexible sometimes. There's not a lot of jobs in North America, compared to Europe, so it’s a good thing to be flexible in style. I love contemporary music as well. And I love French art song, my first love, especially Faure."