January 31, 2024 • 28 mins
Canadian soprano Simone Osborne graces the Opera Glasses podcast - currently starring in Calgary Opera’s The Elixir of Love, Feb 3 - 9, 2024. We talk about how she expertly balances career and family life. Simone offers a rare glimpse into her craft and the supportive network that helps her excel both on stage and at home. After Calgary, she will be on the Canadian Opera Company stage as Norina in Don Pasquale, Apr 26 - May 18, 2024.
Simone and I share our experiences and extend a hand to the next generation of opera artists, imparting wisdom on the art of embracing the unexpected and trusting one's own voice in a post-pandemic era that demands both resilience and authenticity.
To wrap up this episode, we engage in a discussion about the power of genuine connection, both on the stage and off.
All episodes of The Opera Glasses podcast are hosted by the editor of Opera Canada, currently Michael Jones after Elizabeth Bowman hosted seasons 1 and 2. Follow Opera Canada on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Visit OperaCanada.ca for all of your Canadian Opera news and reviews.
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Episode Transcript
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Elizabeth Bowman (00:00):
Hi, I'm Elizabeth Bowman and welcome to
the Opera Glasses podcast.
Today I have Soprano SimoneOsborne here.
She is one of the youngestwinners ever of the Metropolitan
Opera Auditions back in 2008.
I have known her since 2009when I met her when she was in
(00:21):
the Ensemble studio at theCanadian Opera Company and I was
working there as Alexander Neef's executive assistant.
We have a long history.
She is currently in Calgarystarring as Adina in Donizetti's
the Elixir of Love, and in thespring she will be with the
Canadian Opera Company singingNorina in Don Pasquale.
(00:44):
So a lot of Donizetti ahead forSimone.
Anyway, we talk abouteverything on stage and off
stage, so let's get to it.
Welcome to the Opera Glassespodcast, simone.
It's so great to see you here.
Simone Osborne (01:00):
I know so good to see you too, Lizzie.
It's been too long.
Elizabeth Bowman (01:03):
We've known each other.
We were talking before westarted recording this.
We've known each other forpossibly over 15 years, so crazy
yeah a lot of life in betweenthat time.
So you are currently talking tous from Calgary and in
rehearsals for Elixir of Love.
So how's it going?
Simone Osborne (01:22):
Oh, it's great.
I love this piece so much.
It's so nice not to have to dieon stage.
No, it's a really lovely castand the company's great.
There's such a nice feel aboutthe company and they have the
young artists doing aperformance a matinee
performance during the run too,which is really nice because it
sort of feels like the wholecompany is really behind them
(01:43):
and really connected to theproject.
We've got a fantastic directorand a lovely conductor, and so
it's all great.
And it's not minus 50 anymorelike it was last week.
It's actually, I think, zerotoday.
Elizabeth Bowman (01:55):
Is it your first time in Calgary?
Simone Osborne (01:56):
It's my first long stint in Calgary.
My grandparents lived inManitoba when I was growing up
in BC, so we would often roadtrip in the summer to see them.
I distinctly remember Calgary.
It's going to be so cliche, butwe were driving through and I
was probably like nine orsomething, and it must have been
.
It would have been July, so itmust have been stampede time and
all the cars we were driving bypeople were wearing cowboy hats
(02:18):
in them, and so I alwaysremember Calgary for that reason
and thinking like I got to getback there and see what all
these cowboy hats are about.
So here I am.
Can you tell us a little bitabout the production?
Well, the nice thing about thisproduction is that they've
brought in anItalian-Argentinian director, so
he speaks fluent Italian.
He's, I mean, like anencyclopedia of all of these
time frames and the politicsgoing on at the time and the
(02:40):
societal constructs at the time.
It's wild.
He's also a total polyglot.
The other day I heard himspeaking perfect French and he's
speaking Italian in rehearsalsand then sometimes we switch to
German because our brains gosideways and then his English is
perfect, and he's just one ofthese.
Like he must read every minuteof every day when he's not with
us and he's a trained actor sohe knows all the comedia
(03:02):
dell'arte staff and it's justfantastic.
So he's taken a production thatis not actually his own and
kind of put his own spin on itand really made it quite unique
but also quite true to the time,to the 1830s.
But he's also not making it sospecific that we can't put some
little like Canadian jokes inthere and we can't sort of
(03:22):
switch up the costumes a littlebit.
So it's a really lovely,beautiful traditional production
but with an incredible energybehind it.
Just a really brilliant,brilliant direction.
Elizabeth Bowman (03:33):
So I'm excited .
I think it's really interestingthat you're starring in that
production and also your GordonBintner, is in the title role of
the Canadian Opera Company'sproduction at the same time.
So I must ask how do you twobalance your lives together?
Because I understand you alsohave a child yes, we do.
(03:54):
And the dog.
Simone Osborne (03:56):
Although he kind of counts as 0.5 because he's a
Yorkie-Malt ese mix, so he'ssort of more squirrel than dog.
If we're honest, he's the bestand he's 11 and he's been on
this road with me since he wasthree months old so he knows the
drill he goes to sleep on theairplane immediately.
I wish I could say the same forthe baby.
I mean, I think, first andforemost, it's important to say
because I don't think it'sacknowledged enough that we have
(04:16):
an amazing support system.
I have two amazing babysitters,local babysitters here.
I literally could not do my jobwithout them.
I mean, they're the only waythat I'm getting up there every
day.
I once heard someone say I heardit on Instagram because mom
life.
The last thing I read was twoyears ago because I have a two
and a half year old.
So anything I say is come fromeither TikTok or Instagram,
(04:37):
which is depressing, but true,sometimes there are pearls of
wisdom.
You know, people always tellwomen well, you need a village,
takes a village to raise a child, but they don't tell women of
our generation, who often livefar away from their, you know,
extended family and even an archhas close friends is that you
might have to pay for thatvillage.
So we have an amazing supportsystem and it is very expensive,
(04:59):
and renting apartments all overthe world that have two to
three bedrooms to accommodateour family is very expensive.
But so I feel very fortunatethat we can make that work.
It takes a lot of organization.
It takes a lot of like I havefive minutes to do this and then
I have 15 minutes to get thereand you just get more organized
(05:20):
and you have no time for thelike, chit, chat, extra politics
, drama, which is incrediblyfreeing in the work because
really there is no time or spacefor anything but her and the
work.
So, in a funny way, I've neverworked harder, but I don't think
I've ever worked smarter and Idon't think I've ever done
better work, which was, ofcourse, a fear, you know,
(05:41):
becoming a new mom and goingback to work and going back to
concerts and now opera.
This is my first opera contractback since having her because of
the pandemic, and then, afterhaving her, I kind of realized
that I wanted to raise her and Ididn't.
You know the opportunities thatwere coming in as much as I'm
very grateful for them wouldhave meant me being away from
(06:02):
her dad and contracts that hehad already agreed to and her
being either with him or with me, and that didn't feel right at
the time.
So we did a lot.
We have, for these two and ahalf years, done a lot of
traveling together and for usthat works For the most part
when he's working.
I try not to be on a longcontract, although that's
(06:23):
shifting now, because it's just.
You know, there are contractsthat come in that you want to do
and have to do, and so this isone of them.
Then I'll go to the COC in thespring for Don Pasquale, while
he's in Paris, but we'll go backand forth between.
So, you know, you just make itwork and it works differently
(06:43):
for every family and dependingon you know who.
You've got A lot of singers Iknow have like a mom that will
come with them, or a sister oraunt.
We don't do that right now, butwe found a way that works and
it's so funny.
I was terrified, you know, assoon as I met Gord I thought,
uh-oh, I'm probably gonna haveto have kids with him because
(07:04):
he's just such a good egg, and Iwas sort of terrified that it
would change everything and itdefinitely has in the most
incredible ways and I wouldn'tchange a second of it.
I now realize why my friendsthat have kids before me never
tried to explain it to me,because you can't, you can't
describe it so to be able tohave her with me here while I'm
(07:26):
working and doing what I love,and for her to see her mom do
that.
She's seen her dad do that alot in the last two years.
I'm not sure how much sheremembers it that first year and
a half, but it's reallyimportant to me and it means a
lot to me that, especially hereat home in Canada, companies
would hire me and be sosupportive of me having my
(07:47):
daughter with me.
It's been really, reallyspecial and a really really
special return to the operastage and I gotta say Calgary's
made it very, very easy.
Elizabeth Bowman (07:56):
Does the company help with the child care
connections or how do youarrange a babysitter?
Simone Osborne (08:03):
We're so lucky in Canada Everyone's sort of
like a two degrees of separationmaybe in our world.
So I went to university with afabulous soprano who works and
teaches in Calgary and she has agreat student who is a musical
theater singer.
She's in her 20s, she'sfantastically talented and just
so happens to be off of workright now between contracts.
(08:23):
So she's wonderful.
And immediately when I wrote mygirlfriend and said, do you
know of anyone?
She had this person in mind andwe chatted and I just knew it
was going to be a good fit andshe's exceeded any kind of
expectations.
I'm going to be really sad toleave her.
And then we have a.
I have a fabulous young artistwho I actually taught a lesson
to at UBC a couple of years ago.
(08:44):
She was in the studio of myfriend Rhoslyn Jones at the time
, so I taught her a lesson andshe's a gorgeous meds of soprano
in the program here and she'staking the night shift, so she
finishes coachings and things atfive o'clock.
She's not on the show and thenshe comes over here and hangs
out and sits on the couch whileBertie sleeps or, more recently,
puts her down to sleep, whichis not an easy task, and she's
(09:06):
succeeding.
So I got really lucky.
And in Toronto, of course, youknow, there's so many wonderful
young singers and singers makegreat babysitters because we've
got great facial expressions andenergy.
Elizabeth Bowman (09:16):
I've heard that a lot, that a lot of young
artists will take on child careroles and that kind of thing I
mean.
Obviously, from an incomestandpoint, it also is helpful
to have an additional incomewhen you're just starting out
and in that kind of thing yeahwell to be around it.
Simone Osborne (09:33):
You know, I mean now that COVID rules have kind
of relaxed a little bit, she cancome to rehearsal sometimes and
you know my sitters can bethere with her, and for a young
singer that's really interesting.
I know Tracy Dahl used to takesome of her students, some who
have gone on to hugeinternational careers.
Just sort of being on the roadwith her and experiencing all
that is pretty special.
(09:53):
So I would love to do that andwe might end up doing that in
the spring when we're back andforth to Europe quite a bit.
But airfare is no joke thesedays, so we're already paying
three and paying four, or mightjust make my head explode.
So we'll see how we make itwork.
But that's the motto, ma mottoyou just make it work.
Elizabeth Bowman (10:13):
Yeah, exactly those airfares are getting very
expensive for the Europe trips.
I was just looking ahead atthis summer travel.
Simone Osborne (10:22):
I know.
It's got to be gas or somethingit's got to be.
Elizabeth Bowman (10:26):
Yeah, so this production runs February three
to nine, and then I assumeyou'll go to Toronto for
Gordon's final, I guess, threeshows, or you'll be there, yeah,
and where is home for you nowthat?
Simone Osborne (10:40):
is a challenging question For all intents and
purposes.
I mean, to be honest, it'sbasically our suitcases, because
the amount that we're on theroad when he's not working he's
with me, when I'm not workingI'm with him.
So we're on the road a lot.
But Toronto, we were in Germanyfor six years and then just
post pandemic, kind of shiftedin or now based in Toronto in
(11:03):
terms of like our apartment andwe're there enough of the year
that we're Canadian residentsand all of that.
But, if I'm honest, it feelslike we live out of suitcases,
which we do.
We have a storage container inEurope, we have a storage
container here and you know,until she has to go to school.
It feels like I don't know.
To us it just felt like themost natural thing that we would
try and get together.
(11:23):
So that's what we're doing andit's wild.
You go to the storage containerin Germany and take out tiny
baby clothes and exchange themfor slightly less tiny baby
clothes and switch out some toysand switch out the books and
grab a gallon or two and a tuxor tails, whatever he needs for
the next gig, and then stopthrough on the way to the next
(11:44):
place.
I'll probably look back in 10years and think what were we
thinking?
But works for us for now.
Elizabeth Bowman (11:50):
Yeah, Ben and I went through a period where we
weren't living anywhere.
We had a storage container inToronto.
It was really far out ofToronto too.
It was sort of when I don't.
I don't know where it was.
Simone Osborne (12:03):
Yeah, See, I would have done that.
And Gord was like, let's justsplurge and do the downtown.
You know, same in Frankfurt.
It's very close to the airportand it's like, oh yeah, that's
the right choice.
Elizabeth Bowman (12:13):
Luxurious, luxurious Storage.
Simone Osborne (12:16):
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Elizabeth Bowman (12:19):
So Toronto is home.
You spent a lot of time therebefore, obviously being an
alumni of the Canadian OperaCompany program, and you're
going back to perform on theirstage.
I guess the Canadian OperaCompany has somewhat transformed
in the past little while,because now Alexander has gone
to Paris and Perryn Leech hastaken over.
(12:40):
Have you met him, do you?
I?
Simone Osborne (12:43):
have met him and I mean it's tricky.
The last contract that I did atCSC was literally the month
before COVID.
It was February of 2020.
I did Hansel and Gretel andthen the world shut down.
I have been back the last twoseasons with Gord when he was
doing shows.
So I've met Perryn like afterperson, things like that, but we
(13:04):
haven't had much time toconnect.
He's got a lot of people to seeat those parties.
You know how those parties canbe.
Yeah, it's interesting becausewhen I came to the COC it was
the same year as Alexander'sfirst season, so I started at
the company, sort of at theopening of a new chapter, and
then this is such a new chapterfor the COC post, I mean for
(13:27):
everybody it feels like newchapter, post pandemic, but a
lot of the old guard is stillthere, which is really nice.
You know, you go back and yousee Rob Mauro and Karen and Marg
and everyone from the office.
I mean our scheduling manageris the same person that I, you
know, grew up with and had todeal with my hijinks.
It's a 20 year old not beingable to be on time for anything.
(13:47):
Yeah, Kat, she's still there,she deserves a medal for
surviving my young artist years.
But yeah, it's nice.
A lot of the crew that we knewback in the day is still there,
but there's definitely adifferent energy to the place
and there are a lot of youngpeople in positions, in really
kind of high positions there,which is so neat.
(14:09):
Like there are people that Ithat were kind of interns or
just starting at the company, inthe press office or in donor
relations and things, and nowthey're like running those
departments, which seems so wildto me because they seem like
the kids that they were when wewere kids there in our 20s.
And yet I realized, oh, I'm nota kid in my 20s anymore, so of
(14:29):
course they would be, you know,running that floor.
I've.
You know, I've done 10 years or15 years worth of singing since
then too.
So it's nice to see the companyelevate people like that and it
feels like a lot of people havea lot of history within that
place and then there's lots ofdefinitely some new faces and
some new energy.
So I'm excited to get back andI mean they just continue to put
(14:50):
on such a high level of musicmaking and artistry on their
stage and it's always an honorto sing at the COC as a Canadian
, it's just, I got really goodadvice when I was young and had
done the competition circuit andthere were a lot of sort of
there was interest in andconversations happening with a
lot of the American programs,and Matthew Epstein actually was
the one who said to me you know, simone, you're young Canadian,
(15:12):
I think you should train inCanada, stay in Canada and see
what that does and then if youwant to go and do an American
program after that, it'llprobably be open to you.
But it might be interesting if,as a Canadian artist, you you
train there and you really, youknow, learn the fundamentals
there.
And I'm kind of deeply proudthat I did that, you know, and
that that I didn't need to doone of those big American
(15:34):
programs.
After the fact they sent me offand I was kind of ready to go
and yeah.
So it's a lot of history inthose walls.
Elizabeth Bowman (15:42):
Obviously, when we met, I was Alexander
Neef's executive assistant, soyeah, it's been a career journey
for me too.
Speaking of which, you're nowmore established yourself as a
singer.
What advice would you have foryoung artists just starting out
now?
Do you have sort of threethings you would advise?
Simone Osborne (16:04):
It's so interesting, definitely kind of
at the top of my mind right nowthese days, because the young
artists are in all of therehearsals with us and it just
is such a reminder of exactlythe kind of format that I grew
up in musically, you know, beingin those rehearsals watching
Isabel Bayrakdarian, watchingJane Archibald and learning from
(16:24):
them and stealing all theirtricks and using them.
I would say that for mostpeople the young artists years
are really challenging, whetheryou're in a young artist program
and you're fortunate enough tohave been chosen as one of those
young singers, or if you didn'treceive an invitation right
after a master's program and youkind of feel like you're in a
(16:47):
little bit of no where land, youdon't have anywhere that a
direct path, or you're not, youknow, monday to Friday, a young
artist at this company.
It's challenging and I thinkthe landscape right now is
extremely challenging for youngartists coming out of COVID
Probably better now than it wasobviously a year or two ago.
A lot of things are still influx.
It feels like a lot of budgets,proper companies and plans are
(17:11):
happening a lot shorter termthan they used to.
It's really hard to do, but thefundamental thing that I think
a young artist needs to do is beopen to suggestions, advice,
technical ideas, all of it.
Be open to it, but don't justtake all of it as gospel and
(17:32):
don't just assume that someoneelse has to say will work for
you.
You have to be open but youalso have to kind of filter what
works for you, what doesn'twork for you, and you can't be
so open and so not so open butyou can't be so eager for all of
the opinions and all of thethoughts that you get kind of
(17:54):
lost in the stuff that happensoutside the practice room or
outside the rehearsal space.
There's a lot of politics anddrama and challenges that come
with this work and I see a lotof young singers worrying about
what people think of them.
You know they're up there andthey're trying to do the staging
and they're worried about whatthe head of the program thinks
or the head coach thinks, or theconductor or the director or
(18:17):
the.
Then the intendant walks in orthe general director walks in.
Here in North America you gotto quiet all of that.
You kind of can't see all ofthat.
You have to be in it.
You have to be thinking aboutyourself and your vocalism and
your performance and your craftand not worry about what anybody
else is thinking in the moment.
(18:38):
That, at least for me, paralyzedme as a young singer, and I
think it was maybe made worse bythe fact that I had done a lot
of competitions before and hadbeen successful in them, and so
I felt maybe that there was anexpectation that I was or wasn't
living up to, and that was hard.
But I think it's really hard toknow your own worth as a young
(19:01):
singer.
Like everything in singing,it's a balance, right.
It's knowing your own worth,being open to advice and
criticism and changes, but notgetting lost in that and
forgetting who you are,forgetting what you have to say,
forgetting what makes youspecial or different or what
feels good.
Even that would be a very longwinded way of saying don't lose
(19:23):
the forest through the trees.
Remember who you are, be open,but be judicious in where you
send your energy.
Does that make any sense?
Elizabeth Bowman (19:35):
Yep, I was just listening to a Rich Roll
podcast.
You know Rich Roll, yeah, andthe guest was Dr Michael Gervais
, and it's funnily enough on howto stop worrying about what
other people think.
Simone Osborne (19:55):
Oh, my God can you?
Send me that link immediately.
It's a great episode.
Elizabeth Bowman (20:01):
It's all about this fear of what other people
think of what you're doing, andit's not to not worry at all
about what other people think,but it's about executing exactly
, singing and being the artistthat you are, without the fear
(20:22):
of what other people think, andthen to process what other
people think after you'veactually executed the fate.
It can be paralyzing to anyoneat any stage, but particularly
for, yes, younger people who areless grounded in who they are.
Simone Osborne (20:40):
Yeah, yeah, and it's interesting.
Sometimes you come across ayoung artist who just seems
totally grounded and confidentin who they are.
There are a couple that I havemet and, funny enough, they
always go on to either majorsuccess in opera or they
completely switch and dosomething totally different and
have major success in that.
That fear will paralyze you andthe like, the paralysis by
(21:04):
analysis of what anybody else isthinking.
I know so many good artists whoare overthinkers, overanalyzers
, perfectionists.
The striving for perfection toa point will get you only so far
and then it's a cliff becauseit's never going to be perfect.
The beauty of what we do is thefact that it we're human and
(21:25):
it's not going to sound the sameevery night.
It shouldn't.
It's not going to look the sameevery night, it shouldn't.
It's a living, breathing artand we're a part of it.
And so to try andcompartmentalize and analyze
everything you do or every soundyou make, first of all it'll
just physically shut you downand second of all it's totally
(21:45):
boring and uninteresting.
I mean, there are recordingsthat I've heard of myself 10
years ago that I think why doesthat all sound the same?
Having an even instrument isgreat and obviously you strive
for that, but you strive forthat so that you can do anything
you want and express with that,so that you don't have
technical issues that preventyou from singing this phrase.
(22:07):
15 different ways.
What I struggled with was tryingto please everybody, including
myself, and then kind ofbecoming tofu, because you can't
please everybody and if you'repleasing everybody you're
probably pretty uninteresting.
So I've had to get really goodwith the fact that and it helps
in audition.
So much these.
(22:29):
I would prefer for someone toeither love me or hate me, not
like oh yeah, she's a goodsinger, she's a fine singer,
she's a good technician, butthat, to me, has.
I'm not interested in thatanymore.
I could not care less.
There is no one right way tosing.
Sure, there are fundamentalbuilding blocks that have to be
there and, yes, you have tosupport and you have to resonate
and edit.
(22:50):
There are these things that areso simple in theory and so
difficult to execute, but partlyand mostly for me, because we
get in our own way, and so ithas taken me you know from the I
mean, I started when I was 21.
So that's 15 years ago.
It's taken me almost that long,plus a pandemic and having a
(23:10):
child, to realize that actually,if you just do the work, if you
the only things that you cancontrol yourself, so if you do
the work, you know what you'retalking about, you understand
what you have to say, as anartist, you understand how
you're going to say ittechnically.
And then you've got to be inthe moment and you've got to
(23:33):
just listen in scenes and reallybe there, not be there with an
eye looking to make sure thatyou know whoever's the
director's happy or theconductor's happy or whatever.
It's being inside yourself alot more than it is being
outside yourself, and I think alot of us are good at being
outside ourselves, becausethat's how you become a good
(23:54):
singer.
You got to, you have to sort offeel it and listen and and
judge it all the time.
But then you've got to turnthat analytical side off and
just be a performer in themoment and, like you say,
analyze after the fact.
And, funny enough, being a mom,I have the time that, like
leaving the rehearsal door untilI get home to analyze, and then
it's bedtime or it's nap timeor it's nap time.
(24:16):
So I don't have I don't havethe luxury which is like golden
handcuffs of overanalyzing.
It's like, oh yeah, that thathigh note didn't work, why,
maybe I should try this nexttime.
Okay, great.
And oh, cheerios.
Okay great, do you want milk ornot?
And that has been a lifesaverfor me because I I don't have
time to think about the thingsthat don't matter, I don't have
(24:37):
time to worry about what anybodymight be thinking of me, and
that is so incredibly freeing.
So incredibly freeing andgenuinely, I don't think I've
ever done better work.
You know, I get less sleep.
I have way less time to sitdown and just look at a score
and take it in.
I make time for practicebecause that's a non negotiable,
but somehow the work is, Ithink, better than it's ever
(25:01):
been and feels better than it'sever been.
Feels freer Because also, atthe end of the day like if a
conductor doesn't like me or adirector doesn't like me as long
as I come home and my daughteris happy and she's okay and you
know well, fed and read to andplayed with and she goes to bed
happy, my cup is full.
But it takes time and ends Allthose young artists out there.
(25:22):
Yeah, like, keep growing, butremember who you are.
Elizabeth Bowman (25:26):
Yeah, I think it's difficult, in the classical
music realm in particular,because the music is written
down on a page.
There it is, those are thenotes that you will sing, and
then there are these epicrecordings that that, oh,
unfortunately, we compareourselves to, or it's like it
(25:47):
has to be this way, and I seethese notes and I got to do it
this way, but it's it's.
I mean, it's just not that itis, it's about taking that off
the page and making it yours.
But, yes, very psychologicallydifficult to get your head
wrapped around.
Simone Osborne (26:05):
Oh, totally.
And as a young artist, I mean,you know, I remember when I used
to study with Marilyn Horne,she would tell me don't listen
to anything.
She said you can listen to thegreat recordings of that, when
you knew in this instance I wassinging Rigoletto for the first
time.
She said you can listen to allthose great women do it one time
.
But she said you're a mimic, soif you hear, if you hear the
(26:25):
same recording too many times,it will be in your head and you
won't be able to get it out.
And she said that she knew thatabout me because she's the same
way.
And you know that can be sort ofoppressive.
As a young singer you fall inlove with the way that Anariah's
sung and of course you listento it a million times because
you're obsessive andperfectionist and, like we all,
most of the good singers were intheir early twenties.
(26:46):
And then you go up and try andsing the Prédu jour and your
throat is completely closed upBecause all you can hear is like
Lientine Price, like I'm nevergoing to be Leontyne Price.
You know what I mean and Ishouldn't want to be, because we
also have to remember that alot of those recordings and
things were done in the bestpossible circumstances in a
studio with a conductor who wasalso one of the best in the
(27:09):
world.
They're not, you know, tryingto cartwheel on stage and and
bring in an audience and putthat piece of the puzzle
together too, which is so muchmore active and involved now
that it was back in the day.
I mean those amazing Rossinioperas that Marilyn sang.
She could sit stand down stageand sing the bejesus out of them
and frankly, I don't need orwant to see her do any, you know
(27:30):
, hand gestures while she'sdoing that.
I just want to hear thatbecause that's mind blowing.
But the paradigm has shiftedand the world has shifted and
putting on a show is important,not to the detriment of the
music, but to go hand in hand.
But that takes a lot of workand perfecting.
You know the amount ofscampering around I'm doing on
(27:52):
this show while trying to, youknow, pump out high notes and
low notes is a lot and it's notthe same as standing right in
front of a microphone, feet onthe ground, probably in flats.
So, yeah, you know the Scottoversion of this piece, not to
take anything away from them orthose recordings, but these
young artists can't expect thatof themselves when they're doing
(28:14):
cartwheels up there.
Elizabeth Bowman (28:16):
Definitely Well listen.
Thanks so much for all theseinsights and really great to
connect with you after so longand so long.
Yeah, really can't wait to hearyou perform soon.
Simone Osborne (28:30):
Oh, thanks.
Well, I'm so nice to see you,Lizzie, and I'm sure we'll see
each other in Toronto.
It's congratulations oneverything with the magazine.
It's just so exciting whatyou're doing.
It's so.
It was so nice when we wereaway you know, living in Europe
all those years to just have alittle piece of home.
Now that so much is online, itmakes a huge difference.
So thanks for all you do forthe next gen.
Hi, I'm Elizabeth Bowman and welcome to
the Opera Glasses podcast.
Today I have Soprano SimoneOsborne here.
She is one of the youngestwinners ever of the Metropolitan
Opera Auditions back in 2008.
I have known her since 2009when I met her when she was in
(00:21):
the Ensemble studio at theCanadian Opera Company and I was
working there as Alexander Neef's executive assistant.
We have a long history.
She is currently in Calgarystarring as Adina in Donizetti's
the Elixir of Love, and in thespring she will be with the
Canadian Opera Company singingNorina in Don Pasquale.
(00:44):
So a lot of Donizetti ahead forSimone.
Anyway, we talk abouteverything on stage and off
stage, so let's get to it.
Welcome to the Opera Glassespodcast, simone.
It's so great to see you here.
Simone Osborne (01:00):
I know so good to see you too, Lizzie.
It's been too long.
Elizabeth Bowman (01:03):
We've known each other.
We were talking before westarted recording this.
We've known each other forpossibly over 15 years, so crazy
yeah a lot of life in betweenthat time.
So you are currently talking tous from Calgary and in
rehearsals for Elixir of Love.
So how's it going?
Simone Osborne (01:22):
Oh, it's great.
I love this piece so much.
It's so nice not to have to dieon stage.
No, it's a really lovely castand the company's great.
There's such a nice feel aboutthe company and they have the
young artists doing aperformance a matinee
performance during the run too,which is really nice because it
sort of feels like the wholecompany is really behind them
(01:43):
and really connected to theproject.
We've got a fantastic directorand a lovely conductor, and so
it's all great.
And it's not minus 50 anymorelike it was last week.
It's actually, I think, zerotoday.
Elizabeth Bowman (01:55):
Is it your first time in Calgary?
Simone Osborne (01:56):
It's my first long stint in Calgary.
My grandparents lived inManitoba when I was growing up
in BC, so we would often roadtrip in the summer to see them.
I distinctly remember Calgary.
It's going to be so cliche, butwe were driving through and I
was probably like nine orsomething, and it must have been
.
It would have been July, so itmust have been stampede time and
all the cars we were driving bypeople were wearing cowboy hats
(02:18):
in them, and so I alwaysremember Calgary for that reason
and thinking like I got to getback there and see what all
these cowboy hats are about.
So here I am.
Can you tell us a little bitabout the production?
Well, the nice thing about thisproduction is that they've
brought in anItalian-Argentinian director, so
he speaks fluent Italian.
He's, I mean, like anencyclopedia of all of these
time frames and the politicsgoing on at the time and the
(02:40):
societal constructs at the time.
It's wild.
He's also a total polyglot.
The other day I heard himspeaking perfect French and he's
speaking Italian in rehearsalsand then sometimes we switch to
German because our brains gosideways and then his English is
perfect, and he's just one ofthese.
Like he must read every minuteof every day when he's not with
us and he's a trained actor sohe knows all the comedia
(03:02):
dell'arte staff and it's justfantastic.
So he's taken a production thatis not actually his own and
kind of put his own spin on itand really made it quite unique
but also quite true to the time,to the 1830s.
But he's also not making it sospecific that we can't put some
little like Canadian jokes inthere and we can't sort of
(03:22):
switch up the costumes a littlebit.
So it's a really lovely,beautiful traditional production
but with an incredible energybehind it.
Just a really brilliant,brilliant direction.
Elizabeth Bowman (03:33):
So I'm excited .
I think it's really interestingthat you're starring in that
production and also your GordonBintner, is in the title role of
the Canadian Opera Company'sproduction at the same time.
So I must ask how do you twobalance your lives together?
Because I understand you alsohave a child yes, we do.
(03:54):
And the dog.
Simone Osborne (03:56):
Although he kind of counts as 0.5 because he's a
Yorkie-Malt ese mix, so he'ssort of more squirrel than dog.
If we're honest, he's the bestand he's 11 and he's been on
this road with me since he wasthree months old so he knows the
drill he goes to sleep on theairplane immediately.
I wish I could say the same forthe baby.
I mean, I think, first andforemost, it's important to say
because I don't think it'sacknowledged enough that we have
(04:16):
an amazing support system.
I have two amazing babysitters,local babysitters here.
I literally could not do my jobwithout them.
I mean, they're the only waythat I'm getting up there every
day.
I once heard someone say I heardit on Instagram because mom
life.
The last thing I read was twoyears ago because I have a two
and a half year old.
So anything I say is come fromeither TikTok or Instagram,
(04:37):
which is depressing, but true,sometimes there are pearls of
wisdom.
You know, people always tellwomen well, you need a village,
takes a village to raise a child, but they don't tell women of
our generation, who often livefar away from their, you know,
extended family and even an archhas close friends is that you
might have to pay for thatvillage.
So we have an amazing supportsystem and it is very expensive,
(04:59):
and renting apartments all overthe world that have two to
three bedrooms to accommodateour family is very expensive.
But so I feel very fortunatethat we can make that work.
It takes a lot of organization.
It takes a lot of like I havefive minutes to do this and then
I have 15 minutes to get thereand you just get more organized
(05:20):
and you have no time for thelike, chit, chat, extra politics
, drama, which is incrediblyfreeing in the work because
really there is no time or spacefor anything but her and the
work.
So, in a funny way, I've neverworked harder, but I don't think
I've ever worked smarter and Idon't think I've ever done
better work, which was, ofcourse, a fear, you know,
(05:41):
becoming a new mom and goingback to work and going back to
concerts and now opera.
This is my first opera contractback since having her because of
the pandemic, and then, afterhaving her, I kind of realized
that I wanted to raise her and Ididn't.
You know the opportunities thatwere coming in as much as I'm
very grateful for them wouldhave meant me being away from
(06:02):
her dad and contracts that hehad already agreed to and her
being either with him or with me, and that didn't feel right at
the time.
So we did a lot.
We have, for these two and ahalf years, done a lot of
traveling together and for usthat works For the most part
when he's working.
I try not to be on a longcontract, although that's
(06:23):
shifting now, because it's just.
You know, there are contractsthat come in that you want to do
and have to do, and so this isone of them.
Then I'll go to the COC in thespring for Don Pasquale, while
he's in Paris, but we'll go backand forth between.
So, you know, you just make itwork and it works differently
(06:43):
for every family and dependingon you know who.
You've got A lot of singers Iknow have like a mom that will
come with them, or a sister oraunt.
We don't do that right now, butwe found a way that works and
it's so funny.
I was terrified, you know, assoon as I met Gord I thought,
uh-oh, I'm probably gonna haveto have kids with him because
(07:04):
he's just such a good egg, and Iwas sort of terrified that it
would change everything and itdefinitely has in the most
incredible ways and I wouldn'tchange a second of it.
I now realize why my friendsthat have kids before me never
tried to explain it to me,because you can't, you can't
describe it so to be able tohave her with me here while I'm
(07:26):
working and doing what I love,and for her to see her mom do
that.
She's seen her dad do that alot in the last two years.
I'm not sure how much sheremembers it that first year and
a half, but it's reallyimportant to me and it means a
lot to me that, especially hereat home in Canada, companies
would hire me and be sosupportive of me having my
(07:47):
daughter with me.
It's been really, reallyspecial and a really really
special return to the operastage and I gotta say Calgary's
made it very, very easy.
Elizabeth Bowman (07:56):
Does the company help with the child care
connections or how do youarrange a babysitter?
Simone Osborne (08:03):
We're so lucky in Canada Everyone's sort of
like a two degrees of separationmaybe in our world.
So I went to university with afabulous soprano who works and
teaches in Calgary and she has agreat student who is a musical
theater singer.
She's in her 20s, she'sfantastically talented and just
so happens to be off of workright now between contracts.
(08:23):
So she's wonderful.
And immediately when I wrote mygirlfriend and said, do you
know of anyone?
She had this person in mind andwe chatted and I just knew it
was going to be a good fit andshe's exceeded any kind of
expectations.
I'm going to be really sad toleave her.
And then we have a.
I have a fabulous young artistwho I actually taught a lesson
to at UBC a couple of years ago.
(08:44):
She was in the studio of myfriend Rhoslyn Jones at the time
, so I taught her a lesson andshe's a gorgeous meds of soprano
in the program here and she'staking the night shift, so she
finishes coachings and things atfive o'clock.
She's not on the show and thenshe comes over here and hangs
out and sits on the couch whileBertie sleeps or, more recently,
puts her down to sleep, whichis not an easy task, and she's
(09:06):
succeeding.
So I got really lucky.
And in Toronto, of course, youknow, there's so many wonderful
young singers and singers makegreat babysitters because we've
got great facial expressions andenergy.
Elizabeth Bowman (09:16):
I've heard that a lot, that a lot of young
artists will take on child careroles and that kind of thing I
mean.
Obviously, from an incomestandpoint, it also is helpful
to have an additional incomewhen you're just starting out
and in that kind of thing yeahwell to be around it.
Simone Osborne (09:33):
You know, I mean now that COVID rules have kind
of relaxed a little bit, she cancome to rehearsal sometimes and
you know my sitters can bethere with her, and for a young
singer that's really interesting.
I know Tracy Dahl used to takesome of her students, some who
have gone on to hugeinternational careers.
Just sort of being on the roadwith her and experiencing all
that is pretty special.
(09:53):
So I would love to do that andwe might end up doing that in
the spring when we're back andforth to Europe quite a bit.
But airfare is no joke thesedays, so we're already paying
three and paying four, or mightjust make my head explode.
So we'll see how we make itwork.
But that's the motto, ma mottoyou just make it work.
Elizabeth Bowman (10:13):
Yeah, exactly those airfares are getting very
expensive for the Europe trips.
I was just looking ahead atthis summer travel.
Simone Osborne (10:22):
I know.
It's got to be gas or somethingit's got to be.
Elizabeth Bowman (10:26):
Yeah, so this production runs February three
to nine, and then I assumeyou'll go to Toronto for
Gordon's final, I guess, threeshows, or you'll be there, yeah,
and where is home for you nowthat?
Simone Osborne (10:40):
is a challenging question For all intents and
purposes.
I mean, to be honest, it'sbasically our suitcases, because
the amount that we're on theroad when he's not working he's
with me, when I'm not workingI'm with him.
So we're on the road a lot.
But Toronto, we were in Germanyfor six years and then just
post pandemic, kind of shiftedin or now based in Toronto in
(11:03):
terms of like our apartment andwe're there enough of the year
that we're Canadian residentsand all of that.
But, if I'm honest, it feelslike we live out of suitcases,
which we do.
We have a storage container inEurope, we have a storage
container here and you know,until she has to go to school.
It feels like I don't know.
To us it just felt like themost natural thing that we would
try and get together.
(11:23):
So that's what we're doing andit's wild.
You go to the storage containerin Germany and take out tiny
baby clothes and exchange themfor slightly less tiny baby
clothes and switch out some toysand switch out the books and
grab a gallon or two and a tuxor tails, whatever he needs for
the next gig, and then stopthrough on the way to the next
(11:44):
place.
I'll probably look back in 10years and think what were we
thinking?
But works for us for now.
Elizabeth Bowman (11:50):
Yeah, Ben and I went through a period where we
weren't living anywhere.
We had a storage container inToronto.
It was really far out ofToronto too.
It was sort of when I don't.
I don't know where it was.
Simone Osborne (12:03):
Yeah, See, I would have done that.
And Gord was like, let's justsplurge and do the downtown.
You know, same in Frankfurt.
It's very close to the airportand it's like, oh yeah, that's
the right choice.
Elizabeth Bowman (12:13):
Luxurious, luxurious Storage.
Simone Osborne (12:16):
Yeah, exactly exactly.
Elizabeth Bowman (12:19):
So Toronto is home.
You spent a lot of time therebefore, obviously being an
alumni of the Canadian OperaCompany program, and you're
going back to perform on theirstage.
I guess the Canadian OperaCompany has somewhat transformed
in the past little while,because now Alexander has gone
to Paris and Perryn Leech hastaken over.
(12:40):
Have you met him, do you?
I?
Simone Osborne (12:43):
have met him and I mean it's tricky.
The last contract that I did atCSC was literally the month
before COVID.
It was February of 2020.
I did Hansel and Gretel andthen the world shut down.
I have been back the last twoseasons with Gord when he was
doing shows.
So I've met Perryn like afterperson, things like that, but we
(13:04):
haven't had much time toconnect.
He's got a lot of people to seeat those parties.
You know how those parties canbe.
Yeah, it's interesting becausewhen I came to the COC it was
the same year as Alexander'sfirst season, so I started at
the company, sort of at theopening of a new chapter, and
then this is such a new chapterfor the COC post, I mean for
(13:27):
everybody it feels like newchapter, post pandemic, but a
lot of the old guard is stillthere, which is really nice.
You know, you go back and yousee Rob Mauro and Karen and Marg
and everyone from the office.
I mean our scheduling manageris the same person that I, you
know, grew up with and had todeal with my hijinks.
It's a 20 year old not beingable to be on time for anything.
(13:47):
Yeah, Kat, she's still there,she deserves a medal for
surviving my young artist years.
But yeah, it's nice.
A lot of the crew that we knewback in the day is still there,
but there's definitely adifferent energy to the place
and there are a lot of youngpeople in positions, in really
kind of high positions there,which is so neat.
(14:09):
Like there are people that Ithat were kind of interns or
just starting at the company, inthe press office or in donor
relations and things, and nowthey're like running those
departments, which seems so wildto me because they seem like
the kids that they were when wewere kids there in our 20s.
And yet I realized, oh, I'm nota kid in my 20s anymore, so of
(14:29):
course they would be, you know,running that floor.
I've.
You know, I've done 10 years or15 years worth of singing since
then too.
So it's nice to see the companyelevate people like that and it
feels like a lot of people havea lot of history within that
place and then there's lots ofdefinitely some new faces and
some new energy.
So I'm excited to get back andI mean they just continue to put
(14:50):
on such a high level of musicmaking and artistry on their
stage and it's always an honorto sing at the COC as a Canadian
, it's just, I got really goodadvice when I was young and had
done the competition circuit andthere were a lot of sort of
there was interest in andconversations happening with a
lot of the American programs,and Matthew Epstein actually was
the one who said to me you know, simone, you're young Canadian,
(15:12):
I think you should train inCanada, stay in Canada and see
what that does and then if youwant to go and do an American
program after that, it'llprobably be open to you.
But it might be interesting if,as a Canadian artist, you you
train there and you really, youknow, learn the fundamentals
there.
And I'm kind of deeply proudthat I did that, you know, and
that that I didn't need to doone of those big American
(15:34):
programs.
After the fact they sent me offand I was kind of ready to go
and yeah.
So it's a lot of history inthose walls.
Elizabeth Bowman (15:42):
Obviously, when we met, I was Alexander
Neef's executive assistant, soyeah, it's been a career journey
for me too.
Speaking of which, you're nowmore established yourself as a
singer.
What advice would you have foryoung artists just starting out
now?
Do you have sort of threethings you would advise?
Simone Osborne (16:04):
It's so interesting, definitely kind of
at the top of my mind right nowthese days, because the young
artists are in all of therehearsals with us and it just
is such a reminder of exactlythe kind of format that I grew
up in musically, you know, beingin those rehearsals watching
Isabel Bayrakdarian, watchingJane Archibald and learning from
(16:24):
them and stealing all theirtricks and using them.
I would say that for mostpeople the young artists years
are really challenging, whetheryou're in a young artist program
and you're fortunate enough tohave been chosen as one of those
young singers, or if you didn'treceive an invitation right
after a master's program and youkind of feel like you're in a
(16:47):
little bit of no where land, youdon't have anywhere that a
direct path, or you're not, youknow, monday to Friday, a young
artist at this company.
It's challenging and I thinkthe landscape right now is
extremely challenging for youngartists coming out of COVID
Probably better now than it wasobviously a year or two ago.
A lot of things are still influx.
It feels like a lot of budgets,proper companies and plans are
(17:11):
happening a lot shorter termthan they used to.
It's really hard to do, but thefundamental thing that I think
a young artist needs to do is beopen to suggestions, advice,
technical ideas, all of it.
Be open to it, but don't justtake all of it as gospel and
(17:32):
don't just assume that someoneelse has to say will work for
you.
You have to be open but youalso have to kind of filter what
works for you, what doesn'twork for you, and you can't be
so open and so not so open butyou can't be so eager for all of
the opinions and all of thethoughts that you get kind of
(17:54):
lost in the stuff that happensoutside the practice room or
outside the rehearsal space.
There's a lot of politics anddrama and challenges that come
with this work and I see a lotof young singers worrying about
what people think of them.
You know they're up there andthey're trying to do the staging
and they're worried about whatthe head of the program thinks
or the head coach thinks, or theconductor or the director or
(18:17):
the.
Then the intendant walks in orthe general director walks in.
Here in North America you gotto quiet all of that.
You kind of can't see all ofthat.
You have to be in it.
You have to be thinking aboutyourself and your vocalism and
your performance and your craftand not worry about what anybody
else is thinking in the moment.
(18:38):
That, at least for me, paralyzedme as a young singer, and I
think it was maybe made worse bythe fact that I had done a lot
of competitions before and hadbeen successful in them, and so
I felt maybe that there was anexpectation that I was or wasn't
living up to, and that was hard.
But I think it's really hard toknow your own worth as a young
(19:01):
singer.
Like everything in singing,it's a balance, right.
It's knowing your own worth,being open to advice and
criticism and changes, but notgetting lost in that and
forgetting who you are,forgetting what you have to say,
forgetting what makes youspecial or different or what
feels good.
Even that would be a very longwinded way of saying don't lose
(19:23):
the forest through the trees.
Remember who you are, be open,but be judicious in where you
send your energy.
Does that make any sense?
Elizabeth Bowman (19:35):
Yep, I was just listening to a Rich Roll
podcast.
You know Rich Roll, yeah, andthe guest was Dr Michael Gervais
, and it's funnily enough on howto stop worrying about what
other people think.
Simone Osborne (19:55):
Oh, my God can you?
Send me that link immediately.
It's a great episode.
Elizabeth Bowman (20:01):
It's all about this fear of what other people
think of what you're doing, andit's not to not worry at all
about what other people think,but it's about executing exactly
, singing and being the artistthat you are, without the fear
(20:22):
of what other people think, andthen to process what other
people think after you'veactually executed the fate.
It can be paralyzing to anyoneat any stage, but particularly
for, yes, younger people who areless grounded in who they are.
Simone Osborne (20:40):
Yeah, yeah, and it's interesting.
Sometimes you come across ayoung artist who just seems
totally grounded and confidentin who they are.
There are a couple that I havemet and, funny enough, they
always go on to either majorsuccess in opera or they
completely switch and dosomething totally different and
have major success in that.
That fear will paralyze you andthe like, the paralysis by
(21:04):
analysis of what anybody else isthinking.
I know so many good artists whoare overthinkers, overanalyzers
, perfectionists.
The striving for perfection toa point will get you only so far
and then it's a cliff becauseit's never going to be perfect.
The beauty of what we do is thefact that it we're human and
(21:25):
it's not going to sound the sameevery night.
It shouldn't.
It's not going to look the sameevery night, it shouldn't.
It's a living, breathing artand we're a part of it.
And so to try andcompartmentalize and analyze
everything you do or every soundyou make, first of all it'll
just physically shut you downand second of all it's totally
(21:45):
boring and uninteresting.
I mean, there are recordingsthat I've heard of myself 10
years ago that I think why doesthat all sound the same?
Having an even instrument isgreat and obviously you strive
for that, but you strive forthat so that you can do anything
you want and express with that,so that you don't have
technical issues that preventyou from singing this phrase.
(22:07):
15 different ways.
What I struggled with was tryingto please everybody, including
myself, and then kind ofbecoming tofu, because you can't
please everybody and if you'repleasing everybody you're
probably pretty uninteresting.
So I've had to get really goodwith the fact that and it helps
in audition.
So much these.
(22:29):
I would prefer for someone toeither love me or hate me, not
like oh yeah, she's a goodsinger, she's a fine singer,
she's a good technician, butthat, to me, has.
I'm not interested in thatanymore.
I could not care less.
There is no one right way tosing.
Sure, there are fundamentalbuilding blocks that have to be
there and, yes, you have tosupport and you have to resonate
and edit.
(22:50):
There are these things that areso simple in theory and so
difficult to execute, but partlyand mostly for me, because we
get in our own way, and so ithas taken me you know from the I
mean, I started when I was 21.
So that's 15 years ago.
It's taken me almost that long,plus a pandemic and having a
(23:10):
child, to realize that actually,if you just do the work, if you
the only things that you cancontrol yourself, so if you do
the work, you know what you'retalking about, you understand
what you have to say, as anartist, you understand how
you're going to say ittechnically.
And then you've got to be inthe moment and you've got to
(23:33):
just listen in scenes and reallybe there, not be there with an
eye looking to make sure thatyou know whoever's the
director's happy or theconductor's happy or whatever.
It's being inside yourself alot more than it is being
outside yourself, and I think alot of us are good at being
outside ourselves, becausethat's how you become a good
(23:54):
singer.
You got to, you have to sort offeel it and listen and and
judge it all the time.
But then you've got to turnthat analytical side off and
just be a performer in themoment and, like you say,
analyze after the fact.
And, funny enough, being a mom,I have the time that, like
leaving the rehearsal door untilI get home to analyze, and then
it's bedtime or it's nap timeor it's nap time.
(24:16):
So I don't have I don't havethe luxury which is like golden
handcuffs of overanalyzing.
It's like, oh yeah, that thathigh note didn't work, why,
maybe I should try this nexttime.
Okay, great.
And oh, cheerios.
Okay great, do you want milk ornot?
And that has been a lifesaverfor me because I I don't have
time to think about the thingsthat don't matter, I don't have
(24:37):
time to worry about what anybodymight be thinking of me, and
that is so incredibly freeing.
So incredibly freeing andgenuinely, I don't think I've
ever done better work.
You know, I get less sleep.
I have way less time to sitdown and just look at a score
and take it in.
I make time for practicebecause that's a non negotiable,
but somehow the work is, Ithink, better than it's ever
(25:01):
been and feels better than it'sever been.
Feels freer Because also, atthe end of the day like if a
conductor doesn't like me or adirector doesn't like me as long
as I come home and my daughteris happy and she's okay and you
know well, fed and read to andplayed with and she goes to bed
happy, my cup is full.
But it takes time and ends Allthose young artists out there.
(25:22):
Yeah, like, keep growing, butremember who you are.
Elizabeth Bowman (25:26):
Yeah, I think it's difficult, in the classical
music realm in particular,because the music is written
down on a page.
There it is, those are thenotes that you will sing, and
then there are these epicrecordings that that, oh,
unfortunately, we compareourselves to, or it's like it
(25:47):
has to be this way, and I seethese notes and I got to do it
this way, but it's it's.
I mean, it's just not that itis, it's about taking that off
the page and making it yours.
But, yes, very psychologicallydifficult to get your head
wrapped around.
Simone Osborne (26:05):
Oh, totally.
And as a young artist, I mean,you know, I remember when I used
to study with Marilyn Horne,she would tell me don't listen
to anything.
She said you can listen to thegreat recordings of that, when
you knew in this instance I wassinging Rigoletto for the first
time.
She said you can listen to allthose great women do it one time
.
But she said you're a mimic, soif you hear, if you hear the
(26:25):
same recording too many times,it will be in your head and you
won't be able to get it out.
And she said that she knew thatabout me because she's the same
way.
And you know that can be sort ofoppressive.
As a young singer you fall inlove with the way that Anariah's
sung and of course you listento it a million times because
you're obsessive andperfectionist and, like we all,
most of the good singers were intheir early twenties.
(26:46):
And then you go up and try andsing the Prédu jour and your
throat is completely closed upBecause all you can hear is like
Lientine Price, like I'm nevergoing to be Leontyne Price.
You know what I mean and Ishouldn't want to be, because we
also have to remember that alot of those recordings and
things were done in the bestpossible circumstances in a
studio with a conductor who wasalso one of the best in the
(27:09):
world.
They're not, you know, tryingto cartwheel on stage and and
bring in an audience and putthat piece of the puzzle
together too, which is so muchmore active and involved now
that it was back in the day.
I mean those amazing Rossinioperas that Marilyn sang.
She could sit stand down stageand sing the bejesus out of them
and frankly, I don't need orwant to see her do any, you know
(27:30):
, hand gestures while she'sdoing that.
I just want to hear thatbecause that's mind blowing.
But the paradigm has shiftedand the world has shifted and
putting on a show is important,not to the detriment of the
music, but to go hand in hand.
But that takes a lot of workand perfecting.
You know the amount ofscampering around I'm doing on
(27:52):
this show while trying to, youknow, pump out high notes and
low notes is a lot and it's notthe same as standing right in
front of a microphone, feet onthe ground, probably in flats.
So, yeah, you know the Scottoversion of this piece, not to
take anything away from them orthose recordings, but these
young artists can't expect thatof themselves when they're doing
(28:14):
cartwheels up there.
Elizabeth Bowman (28:16):
Definitely Well listen.
Thanks so much for all theseinsights and really great to
connect with you after so longand so long.
Yeah, really can't wait to hearyou perform soon.
Simone Osborne (28:30):
Oh, thanks.
Well, I'm so nice to see you,Lizzie, and I'm sure we'll see
each other in Toronto.
It's congratulations oneverything with the magazine.
It's just so exciting whatyou're doing.
It's so.
It was so nice when we wereaway you know, living in Europe
all those years to just have alittle piece of home.
Now that so much is online, itmakes a huge difference.
So thanks for all you do forthe next gen.
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