April 9, 2024 • 28 mins
Greek-Canadian soprano Soula Parassidis joins us on The Opera Glasses podcast to talk about her organization, Living Opera, her Canadian debut in Montreal, and the international opera scene.
Soula, the driving force behind Living Opera, talks about how it all began—spoiler alert: the catalyst was her husband and Living Opera partner, Norman Reinhardt's journey overcoming performance anxiety. Living Opera offered a forum to share and invite performers to connect, feel heard, and learn from these experiences. The organization has grown into so much more since.
Soula's upcoming Canadian debut in Montreal on April 16 is a heartfelt convergence of her artistic journey and a testament to her resilience—overcoming cancer (years ago) and giving back through this performance—a fundraising event to raise funds for endometrial cancer. This episode paints a portrait of an artist not defined by her struggles, but empowered by them, using her voice to uplift others and channel art's healing power.
Join us for an episode that offers a glimpse behind the curtain and into the heart of an opera singer who believes in the transformative and accessible beauty of this timeless art form.
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
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Elizabeth Bowman (00:00):
Hi, I'm Elizabeth Bowman and this is the
Opera Glasses podcast.
Today, I have Greek-Canadiansoprano o Parassidis as my
guest.
She is a multifaceted artist,an entrepreneur, a producer and
the CEO of Living Opera.
The catalyst for startingLiving Opera was to talk about
(00:22):
mental health struggles and, inparticular, stage fright and
overcoming it.
They have grown into so muchmore.
You can check them out atlivingopera.
org.
Anyway, let's start theconversation with Soula.
Soula, welcome to the OperaGlasses podcast.
Thanks so much for being here.
Oh, thank you for having me.
It's an honor.
So I think that many Canadiansin our industry might not even
(00:47):
know that you are Canadian, so Iwant to talk a bit about your
background.
Soula Parassidis (00:51):
I put a Canadian flag in my Instagram
bio.
It's like right there, no, I'mfrom Canada.
I mean, you know, what's reallyfunny is I was born in
Vancouver.
I went to school in Vancouver.
My mom's from Alberta I meanher mom is actually from Ireland
, but I mean she grew up inCanada.
My dad is Greek, but that'swhere I grew up.
(01:15):
But over the years so I have anAmerican husband, I've spent a
lot of time abroad and my accentis all mixed up.
I was filming last week and Iwas hearing the playback and I
was like who's that?
What happened to your voice?
It's pretty embarrassing.
So what I think is really funnyis when people find out I'm
Canadian.
Then they say, ah, yes, I heara bit of an accent and I'm like,
no, you don't.
Right now, currently, I dividemy time between Nashville,
(01:36):
Tennessee, and Vienna, Austria,and then wherever there are gigs
, and so it's all confused.
But I grew up in the mostbeautiful it might be the most
beautiful city in the worldVancouver, which spoiled me for
life Because anywhere you goafter.
That is sort of like oh no,those are nice mountains.
Elizabeth Bowman (01:53):
Oh, look at that lake Zurich.
I'm just being honest.
I hear you.
I mean I've been to Vancouver.
It's so amazing the access tooutdoor activities is.
You can't get that kind ofmetropolis with outdoor
combination.
It's unbelievable.
I'm excited I'm going in June.
I'm going to Banff.
It's like the greatest place onearth.
Soula Parassidis (02:12):
Banff, you're stunning Just generally.
There's like a lot of beautifulplaces in Canada.
It's hard to beat.
Elizabeth Bowman (02:16):
I got to know more about living opera.
I want to know how it started,what it is.
Tell me, what happened, what itis, tell me what happened.
Soula Parassidis (02:24):
You know, I've been a singer.
That's all I've ever done.
I'm married to a singer, soit's like a very singer focused
lifestyle that we've beenleading for over 10 years.
But my husband started to gothrough some pretty intense
performance anxiety.
Before it was cool to talkabout mental health.
Now it's like, yeah, talk aboutmental health.
But like then it was like, ohmy gosh, like we have to hide
(02:47):
the fact that he's going throughthis.
This is horrible.
Like what do we do?
It just sort of was a factor oflike him kind of shooting up.
Overnight.
He started singing a lot ofproductions with Cecilia Bartoli
, who's amazing, but you knowthat really put the spotlight on
him in a way that had neverhappened before, and I was sort
of there trying to support himas his partner, but I was like,
oh my gosh, you know, his brainis getting broken.
(03:09):
Like I don't, I don't know whatto do, and we've spoken about
this a lot on our YouTubechannel and social media and
other things that we've done.
This was really like a taboothing, and so we were suffering
for a couple of years just byourselves, feeling very alone,
and it got to the point where Ijust said look, you know, I know
that we've dedicated everythingto this and we've left our
homes, our beautiful homes.
(03:31):
I'm beautiful, I'm in Canada.
You're like, okay, home inNorth Carolina, whatever, and
we're going to have to make achange, or I?
I'm sorry, but, like, I feellike we need to leave this
business because it's not like Ican just stay in it and then
you suffer over here and itdoesn't affect me either, like
when we're a unit.
So that was the beginning of usthinking about how can we talk
about this in a proactive andpositive way.
(03:52):
We ended up giving him therapyand again, we've really spoken
about this a lot, but that waslike the seed.
That was like, okay, we've gonethrough this experience, we've
come over the other side, gonethrough this experience, we've
come over the other side.
Now what?
Because people were noticing.
They noticed when he was likereally going through it and they
noticed that he'd gotten betterand they wanted to know, like
whoa, what happened.
So we just decided at the endof 2018 that we would start
(04:16):
leveraging social media in apositive way.
So it was like first week ofJanuary 2019, we were so formal,
we were so nervous, like youshould have seen our notes.
We were so funny, we thesenotes, and it's like if you
scroll enough in my, in myInstagram channel or YouTube
channel, you can see us like,very like, we are going to speak
on the topic of rejection.
It was like it progressed, theygot more relaxed, but we just
(04:38):
felt like nobody was going totalk about it.
So we should, and at leastthere's's two of us, so you know
, it's not just one person overhere going like I went through
this.
It's like no, no, we're, wewant to.
We want to create a way for thearts community to have these
conversations and then point toa solution, like not just to say
, oh man, you know, I really gotstressed out, being a singer
and business is horrible, andcomplaints Like no, no, no can
(05:01):
do to avoid falling in this holethat we fell into.
These are practical ways thatyou can make your life better,
both on stage but also off stage, because that's where you spend
most of your time.
And the interesting thing is westarted getting all these like
DMs from our peers saying like,oh, you guys, this is so great
that you're doing this.
You know, I went through this,I went through that and I
thought it was so funny becausewe were getting messages from
people who would even havebigger careers than us.
(05:22):
I'm like you should put itbefore I'm talking about it.
Like you know, we're over here,we're just these little small
fish over here, like, oh mygoodness, you know, say
something, but I guess maybe, Idon't know, in the grand scheme
of things, maybe that's likewhat we're supposed to do.
So, anyway, that's how itstarted.
Elizabeth Bowman (05:34):
Do you have the top three things that you
would recommend to get overperformance anxiety?
Do you remember?
Soula Parassidis (05:44):
You know I don't remember in that first
talk what we said.
But I think you know, when wewere talking to somebody about
if they're experiencing anxietyof any kind, I feel like that is
usually rooted in a fear ofrejection of some kind, so
thinking like they're not goingto accept me, they're judging me
(06:05):
there.
And usually I will start askingquestions and say, well, do you
judge, do you reject people, doyou project this kind of
behavior into the world?
Because if you can sort of likecurb that on your own side,
you'll stop looking for it inother people.
Whether they're there, theymight do it, but as long as
you're not living that way, it'slike I feel like you're
(06:25):
inviting that lesson to yourlife.
So that's one thing.
And then the other thing is, ofcourse, honing your skills,
which I know we're all trying todo.
But I feel like a lot of stresscomes from when you just know
I've never really gotten thathigh note in rehearsal.
But now I'm also knowing like Imean, I realize this is what we
(06:47):
dedicated our lives to, butit's just opera, like you're
valuable outside of.
You know one day we're allgoing to.
You know exit stage left andthat's that.
And you have so much intrinsicvalue on that stage and when you
go out that stage left door andyou close the door forever and
you go into your other part ofyour life, like, oh my goodness,
you know we're all somultifaceted.
(07:09):
So that's what comes to metoday for this particular
audience, that maybe somebodyneeded to hear.
Elizabeth Bowman (07:14):
Ultimately, as opera singers or any kind of
singer, you're there tocommunicate something and if you
have no distractions in howyou're communicating that which
you're not feeling judged you'renot, you know, looking around
you, wondering what everyone isthinking constantly you'll be
(07:34):
more successful in getting thatmessage across.
it's like this across.
Soula Parassidis (07:39):
So totally, you know.
You know what else, elizabeth,it's like this they are judging
you and it doesn't matter.
Yeah, like it's happening,people decide within the first
30 seconds of when you walk outthere, whatever they think, but
you're there to do a job andultimately, I feel like you can,
as you said, communicate.
You can communicate that youare there in some form of
(08:00):
service and whatever theirreaction is, that's theirs, but
you've done your thing andyou've done your job.
Elizabeth Bowman (08:07):
So I feel like that can really bring rest when
people really grasp that I'vesaid this on the podcast before,
but my parents would alwaystell me control the variables
you can control and the rest Imean it is what it is.
So you put in the work, youhone the skills and you work on
your emotional health and mentalstate and that's really all you
(08:30):
can do.
Soula Parassidis (08:30):
And also haters going to hate.
It's just like, eventually youget to a level of visibility and
you're going to have hatersbecause you're visible.
That's okay too.
It's like okay, I don't knowwhat your problem is, but just
go over there Like you know.
I don't know how you have timefor it.
If you're really inside yourpurpose, I don't have time to
look at me or anybody else andbe like, well, I'm just going to
hate on that person today.
(08:59):
It's like.
Elizabeth Bowman (09:00):
What a waste of your time communicate via
this living opera brand Likewhat's your favorite.
Soula Parassidis (09:06):
Oh, you know it's.
It's so funny because there'sso many things to build.
When you're and I, first of all, I have to say this I did not
realize I was building a brandand I started to have some of my
um, like younger followers, say, oh my gosh, we're so excited
about your brand and you're like, what are they talking about?
Like I create content for funon the road because I find it
very calming.
Like I love to communicate withpeople in all these various
(09:27):
ways.
So you know, blog posts,instagram, whatever, and, of
course, on stage, but I realized, like trying to reach all the
different people we need toreach, because it's not just
emerging artists and it's notjust administrators and it's not
just our peers, and it's alsopeople who might finance
projects, and now it's likepolicymakers, and so I have
different persona on differentplatforms.
(09:50):
So I've got my LinkedInsituation going and then I have
my Instagram, which is really myfavorite because I love to.
I don't anybody who's notfollowing me, you don't have to,
but that's where I really Ifeel like I get to just really
be myself, because I alwayswanted to sing comedic roles,
but I always end up singing likethese tragic people and just
sad stuff, and I, in my heart ofhearts, you know I wanted to be
like Serbinetta or whatever.
(10:10):
So, or Rosina or I don't know.
So I get.
I get to have my little outletthere on my Instagram channel.
Basically, for me, though,whatever is creative, whether
it's singing or writing, or Imean even this is going to sound
silly, but like even puttingtogether stuff like grants, I
mean it's just.
It's just like how do we solvethat problem?
So it's even when I'm studyingin art.
It's like how do I solve theproblem of communicating this
(10:33):
emotion through sound, throughgesture, through the text.
I mean it's all just a bigpuzzle.
I just love all of it.
I mean it's it's.
It's just marvelous to hear,whatever facet, whatever I've
been trying to do, you know,even if it's a dry, drier
LinkedIn post, sometimes I getmessages saying, oh, that really
helped me, or that's a goodinsight, and that's the point,
like that's, that's for me,that's always like a big like
(11:02):
win.
Elizabeth Bowman (11:02):
You know big, a big thumbs up emoji like yes,
I did it today and I just, Ijust love that.
Not to change the subject toomuch, but you are coming to
Canada to sing.
Can you tell us a bit about theevent?
It's coming up very soon.
Soula Parassidis (11:08):
Yes, so this is a cancer fundraiser and this
sort of came about in an unusualway.
So last year was the 100 yearanniversary of the Maria Callas.
Well, maria Callas, the MariaCallas Sorry, see, we're nervous
.
And I sang one of her iconicroles of Iphigénie en Tauride
and through that I actually metthe former Canadian ambassador
to Greece and we becameacquaintances and he said you
(11:31):
know why haven't you reallyworked in Canada?
And I was like no, you know,it's just, I've always wanted to
sing at home.
I mean, that was my debut inGreece and I'm also half Greek.
And I said you know, it's just,every market, you have to build
up every market separately,which is another topic.
But I said, you know, let'sthink about how I can come there
and do something, and of coursethere's all the wonderful opera
companies and recitals and allof that.
(11:52):
But when he learned more aboutmy story he said oh, you're a
cancer survivor.
Well, how would you feel aboutcoming to Canada to help us
raise money?
So McGill University has amarvelous project that is
basically a gala fashion show.
I'm going to get to walk in acouture gown which is like oh,
boohoo, and I'm going to singand raise money for endometrial
(12:15):
cancer, and this is my firsttime singing professionally in
Canada and I'm really lookingforward to it.
Elizabeth Bowman (12:21):
It's in Montreal.
Soula Parassidis (12:22):
Now it's really meaningful and
interesting for me because it'skind of like a full circle thing
.
This is a podcast for peoplewho want to learn about being an
opera singer, in one sense.
So I feel like it's fine to saythis here.
I didn't say this in myconversation with him as a
formal conversation, but when Ifinished my degree at UBC the
(12:43):
week after I got that degree,that's when I was diagnosed with
cancer and frankly, if I amhonest, I feel like I carried
that baggage around for a verylong time and I did not talk
about it publicly for a verylong time because it was just
sort of like it's weird, but Iassociated home with that, with
that traumatic experience, andthat was actually a more honest
(13:05):
answer.
I just felt like, oh yeah, Idon't know, I haven't developed
that mark at all, but it wasreally hard for me to sort of
every time I'd go back I wouldfeel that thing tugging on my
heart and it was just hard.
So for me it's somewhat poeticto go there.
I mean, it's funny becausethere were times where, you know
, an opportunity came up to goand sing more formally in an
opera company or whatever, andthen I was busy doing something
else, or it just didn't work orthe time or whatever it was.
So I think for me it's kind offull circle and poetic that I'm
(13:28):
coming to do this and I feelfully healed of that experience.
Now I feel fine, but it took along time Because for me I
didn't have endometrial cancer,I had thyroid cancer, so it was
in my throat.
I lost my voice, I wasn't ableto sing, my body changed, I had
to change repertoire, likeovernight.
So you know that's when you'rea singer, that's a ton of
baggage.
Elizabeth Bowman (13:48):
I can't imagine ow many years have you
been in remission.
Soula Parassidis (13:51):
Oh no, I'm fine, like a long, long time,
like no, no, no, cause I meanwhen they got it out, they got
it out completely.
So I'm on medication for therest of my life.
But I'm so fortunate, like Imean you guys for real, like
that I'm so grateful becausebecause it could have been so
much worse it was just more.
At that point it was less abouteven my overall health and more
(14:12):
about like I had I had beenstudying for so many years for
this one thing and with onesurgery it's like everything was
flipped on its head.
I had to completely pivot in mywhole life and I did not have
the life skills for that.
I mean, I think that's partlywhy I analyzed that so much and
I didn't realize that would bethe foundation for what we do in
living opera, because livingopera is partly education for
(14:34):
emerging artists, and so thatwas actually, you know, as sucky
as it was, that was thefoundation of the training for
what we do now.
I didn't realize I was going tobe, you know, gathering it up
in real time, which is like, butyou're going through it, you're
like this is terrible.
But then when you get to pourit out for other people, you're
like wow, like that really hadpurpose in my life.
It wasn't just suffering for,for, for no reason, so I'm very
(14:54):
grateful for that.
Elizabeth Bowman (14:55):
Yeah, I can only imagine when you go through
something so challenging.
I mean, there's the saying whatdoesn't kill you makes you
stronger really is true, andbringing that fuel to your
performances and to living opera.
I mean that's a gift toeveryone.
Soula Parassidis (15:17):
No, no, it is, it is.
And I mean how can you?
I mean I'm not saying everyperson has to go through that.
I mean, good grief, I pray thatnobody does.
I know for me that it shaped somany things that I've done and
it is a well that I can draw inin a desperate time in a
performance.
You know when a character isreally going through something,
because I've been on the edge ofsomething like that myself.
(15:39):
I can draw from a differentplace.
That's not just imagination andI and I think that that's been
valuable for me.
But you know, there's othertimes, other operas.
It's like you know, I justdon't really want to ever have
to.
You know, in singing Zalamehave to get near a real severed
head, like that's fine, we'rejust going to use our
imagination for that one, that'sall good.
(16:01):
It's like, yeah, thanks.
Elizabeth Bowman (16:01):
That's fine.
Good to not relate to that.
Soula Parassidis (16:05):
Yeah.
Elizabeth Bowman (16:06):
The former Canadian ambassador to Greece.
Are you talking about RobertPeck?
Yeah, I met him.
Yeah, I used to helpadministrate a chamber music
festival in Greece Cool For afew summers and it's still going
the Saronic Chamber MusicFestival.
Really really fantastic players.
Soula Parassidis (16:27):
I think they're still going.
Elizabeth Bowman (16:28):
My husband played.
My husband has been mentionedon this podcast too much Ben
Bowman he's concertmaster of theMetropolitan Opera, so he's
played there.
And then a bunch of players whoplay in the London symphony
orchestra and, um, you know alot of a lot of Londoners.
Soula Parassidis (16:47):
Uh, in it it's cool, I'm in London right now
so there you go another fullschool thing that's.
That's so cool.
I had no idea you had thatconnection to Greece.
Elizabeth Bowman (16:54):
That's amazing yeah, I haven't been back in a
long time, but I would like to,to, to go back.
Yeah, everyone listening to thepodcast yeah yeah, yeah we'll,
we'll, we'll, we'll figure itout, we'll, we'll use
connections, Greek connectionsthat festival was based in
galata mainland and then theywould go out to the different
(17:17):
islands Poros and Hydra it's.
Soula Parassidis (17:21):
You know that's amazing, you know it's
funny like, because when I sangin Greece last year, that was
the first time I just felt sucha conviction.
And it's the same way I feelabout Canada and I was like it's
time for me to spend more timeat home, you know, but home is
multifaceted for me because itis Greece and it is Canada and,
frankly, my mom is Irish.
I did a debut in Ireland andthat also felt meaningful.
(17:43):
I was quite funny.
Actually, side note, they ranlike a piece about me and they
said, with a name like Sula, weknew she must be Irish.
That's horrible Irish accent.
Sorry, guys, but I had to laugh.
I was like y'all, you're sofunny, but I really, through
Living Opera, we have such a bigcommunity and we have people in
Greece and we have a lot ofpeople in Canada and the United
States, and I'm really activelythinking about how can we create
(18:05):
more projects that aren't just,you know, fun for us to do, but
really beneficial and givepeople a leg up.
And this is something that I'mactively thinking about, you
know, having been in thoseplaces and just wanting to make
a difference.
You know it is different.
I mean, things have improved alot, um, since, since I did my
degree and and came up in Canada.
(18:26):
But there's just so much talent.
I spend most of my time if I'mnot, you know, doing regular
life stuff or music.
I'm over here going like howcan we mobilize all these
talented people?
And you know, I let that jog inmy brain for like eight hours a
day and then I go to sleep.
I'm still trying to come upwith the solutions, but right
now I'm just I'm trying to builda project where I can really
(18:49):
just tour around.
You know, when I was younger, mydream, you know, speaking of
like I'm like, oh my God, likethe Met, all the regular places,
and of course I still dreamabout that.
But I have new dreams andseriously that going around,
even to smaller places andconnecting with the people who
(19:09):
have perhaps been helped by thecontent or need the content, and
they don't know who I am, Idon't even care about that it's
just like going and actuallyactively being with people, even
if it's just like 50 people or100 people, that's really
getting me going these days.
So I'm trying to put togetheran idea and see like how can I,
how can I do this and how can Igo and connect and help, also
(19:31):
help artists.
This might sound funny, but Ifeel like artists are only shown
one pathway to be impactfulthrough their art and I would
love to show multiple pathways.
What if somebody is meant tostay in Winnipeg and just be a
leader there and createsomething incredible there, but
(19:53):
they're told well, if youhaven't gone to sing at the Met
by this age, whatever I mean,you're not successful.
It's like I want to changeperception.
Elizabeth Bowman (20:02):
Everyone has their own path and of course you
can be successful in yourhometown and not go away.
But yes, there has been.
I guess, for our generation ofadministrators and singers and
that kind of thing, thatnarrative has really been quite
strong and I'm feeling like itis changing along with it.
Soula Parassidis (20:25):
I do too.
Yeah, yeah, I do too.
I do too.
I just want to see.
I remember my teacher in Canada, if I'm not mistaken.
I mean, wasn't there likedidn't the COC go on tour?
Wasn't that a thing?
Like they go all around thecountry?
Is that a thing again?
Elizabeth Bowman (20:43):
I'm so out of, I'm so out of touch, like I
don't know if they went allaround the country, but they
definitely went to Ottawa, whereI grew up.
Soula Parassidis (20:48):
Um, I feel like he told me stories that,
like as a young singer, that hewas going and singing like
Rigoletto and doing all thisstuff, and I was like man,
that's how you cut your teethright.
Elizabeth Bowman (20:59):
I mean, I was fast for three years in Germany,
so that's where I cut my teethby the time I was doing
freelance stuff.
Soula Parassidis (21:05):
You know that's.
I already wanted to feelcomfortable on stage, but I
really just dream of, you know,systems and strategies where
people can go out and reallyfail like, really do a bad
performance.
I think we need that.
I'm serious, like I did somestuff when I was at Oprah
Leipzig, like I always tried togive it my all but sometimes I
(21:27):
was like man, was that even?
Was that okay, like, but it wassafe.
It was safe for me to, you know, botch a high note and you know
I didn't have to get worriedthat I'm going to get written up
bad in the press or whatever.
You know, and I feel like again, it's another bit of a tangent,
but I just I want us to studyhow did people learn?
How did?
(21:47):
How are people trained in thepast?
How did this work?
I would love to just sit withmy teacher for the next six
months and just be like, like inhis act, like going and now
what do I do?
Elizabeth Bowman (21:57):
And I just love the process and I feel like
everything's so rushed Circlingback to, because I was just
thinking about the time that Ihad in Greece, all these amazing
musicians gathering together ina beautiful place, but a lot of
the communities they went tothey didn't have access to
classical music and didn't evenknow who Schubert was.
(22:19):
It was just not known and theywould play these concerts for
very low ticket price for thecommunities and everyone was
having a good time.
There was no worries.
I mean, maybe there wereworries, but I wasn't privy to
them.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Soula Parassidis (22:35):
It was two hours.
It was like we had a worry-freedome, but then, yeah, no, no,
no.
Then, yeah, no, no, no.
Yeah, I mean, the thing is okay.
I love to just talk tostrangers.
I don't know if you can tell Iwas sitting on the subway here
coming into london two days ago.
Yeah, it was two days ago.
I'm like the days are justblurring together.
I was trying to get to thislast performance at eno that my
husband was doing and I wassitting next to some folks from
(22:57):
south africa they, you, I don'tknow.
I guess it was taking a longtime, like so what do you do?
And I said, oh, you know, I'man artist.
Like no, but like you know, ohyeah, what do you do?
Do you paintings?
Like okay, I'm an opera singer.
Like I always know the minute Isay that it's all going to be
like so eventually I got, I gotthe boat turned.
You know interesting stuff thatthey do, but they really wanted
to know more about the life ofopera and opera singers.
And so, well, you know, youcould just go to a show.
(23:24):
I'm like, oh well, you know,it's like really expensive.
And I was just like man, weneed new PR.
Like what's going on here.
It is so much more expensive togo to so many different other
activities than it is to go tothe opera.
At this point, like we, we canto make this accessible.
But now I think it's just likea narrative thing.
So I said I just pulledsomething out of the air.
I said, well, don't you thinktickets to Taylor Swift are much
more expensive?
(23:45):
And when they thought about itthey were like huh, never
thought about it that way.
And I said, do you feel likemaybe you just sort of like
accepted that idea, because thisis what I honestly said.
I said, look, think about it.
We're asking you to come, sitstill in a theater and not make
noise.
Listen to something for, like,let's say, three hours in a
language that you probably don'tspeak.
Elizabeth Bowman (24:05):
That's probably uncomfortable because,
then what if you?
Soula Parassidis (24:06):
don't like it, or if you don't like the sounds
or what, if you don'tunderstand, and then it makes
you feel dumb.
You know, I mean seriously andI said so first of all.
We're there to make you feelsomething, whatever that feeling
is, and just go read the plotahead of time.
Just, you know, just read theplot and find, find a ticket for
50 bucks or 20, I don't know 20bucks, wherever, wherever you
are, you know, and just just tryit once, and if you don't like
(24:27):
it, you don't ever have to goagain.
But I said, you know, we methere and we're having this
conversation.
There are always ways to go forless.
Elizabeth Bowman (24:32):
When I moved to New York.
I used to go to the opera allthe time and obviously I wasn't
paying full price for ticketsbecause they would have student
rush tickets or standing roomtickets.
(24:55):
I went standing room a lot.
I loved standing room.
It's a cool crew.
In the standing room departmentI realized that everyone's like
why would you stand for threehours?
I'm like, well, you can dosquats, it's good, it's a.
Soula Parassidis (25:11):
You know why?
It's because you remember it,one of my most memorable nights
at the opera was standing roomat the Vienna State Opera and
Aditya Gubarova was doing one ofher last performances and we
wept the whole night.
It was cathartic, it wasbeautiful.
I felt like I was, you know, inthe presence of something you
know transcendent, divine.
(25:31):
I was just like, okay, wow, youknow, I got to be part of that
and that's the potential here.
So I mean, it's like, and whenyou walk, oh my God, like you
walk into a theater like the Met, and it is just like you need a
second to catch your breath.
There is nothing like that.
There is nothing like it, I'msorry, like, fight me guys.
(25:54):
There's nothing like that.
You walk in and you just golike and it takes your breath
away.
And I, and I think, in a worldwhere everything's immediate,
you know, and it's just likethere's just so much noise, I
think it's worth it to invest inexperiences that take your
breath away, and that'scertainly one of them, because
(26:18):
you feel in a place like that,or a place like Salzburg
festival or, you know, scala, Imean you walk in and at least
for me and maybe it's differentbecause obviously I'm part of it
.
But I just feel the weight ofthose places and the grandeur
and the history and I just thinkI got to walk in here tonight.
(26:41):
I can't believe this Right, andit is such.
It's life changing and I thinkthat's what we're trying to
articulate sometimes to people,but it's hard to find the words.
Elizabeth Bowman (26:57):
That's definitely the beauty of live
theater performances is that youare there and you are
witnessing it and feeling it andall the things and not
everything can be done throughvideo, but being there is very,
very special, all the energybeing transferred between you
and the stage and you and thefellow audience members there's
(27:22):
really nothing like it Anyway.
I want to thank you very muchfor being here and chatting with
me and I wish you well in yourCanadian premiere.
I guess professional Thank you.
Soula Parassidis (27:35):
Thank you, yeah, it's very special and very
full circle, like I said, and Ilook forward to also coming and
singing operas and all of thattoo.
But I think this was the rightthing for my first time in
Canada and thanks for theopportunity just to share a
little bit about me and livingopera with this wonderful
(27:58):
community of artists.
Hi, I'm Elizabeth Bowman and this is the
Opera Glasses podcast.
Today, I have Greek-Canadiansoprano o Parassidis as my
guest.
She is a multifaceted artist,an entrepreneur, a producer and
the CEO of Living Opera.
The catalyst for startingLiving Opera was to talk about
(00:22):
mental health struggles and, inparticular, stage fright and
overcoming it.
They have grown into so muchmore.
You can check them out atlivingopera.
org.
Anyway, let's start theconversation with Soula.
Soula, welcome to the OperaGlasses podcast.
Thanks so much for being here.
Oh, thank you for having me.
It's an honor.
So I think that many Canadiansin our industry might not even
(00:47):
know that you are Canadian, so Iwant to talk a bit about your
background.
Soula Parassidis (00:51):
I put a Canadian flag in my Instagram
bio.
It's like right there, no, I'mfrom Canada.
I mean, you know, what's reallyfunny is I was born in
Vancouver.
I went to school in Vancouver.
My mom's from Alberta I meanher mom is actually from Ireland
, but I mean she grew up inCanada.
My dad is Greek, but that'swhere I grew up.
(01:15):
But over the years so I have anAmerican husband, I've spent a
lot of time abroad and my accentis all mixed up.
I was filming last week and Iwas hearing the playback and I
was like who's that?
What happened to your voice?
It's pretty embarrassing.
So what I think is really funnyis when people find out I'm
Canadian.
Then they say, ah, yes, I heara bit of an accent and I'm like,
no, you don't.
Right now, currently, I dividemy time between Nashville,
(01:36):
Tennessee, and Vienna, Austria,and then wherever there are gigs
, and so it's all confused.
But I grew up in the mostbeautiful it might be the most
beautiful city in the worldVancouver, which spoiled me for
life Because anywhere you goafter.
That is sort of like oh no,those are nice mountains.
Elizabeth Bowman (01:53):
Oh, look at that lake Zurich.
I'm just being honest.
I hear you.
I mean I've been to Vancouver.
It's so amazing the access tooutdoor activities is.
You can't get that kind ofmetropolis with outdoor
combination.
It's unbelievable.
I'm excited I'm going in June.
I'm going to Banff.
It's like the greatest place onearth.
Soula Parassidis (02:12):
Banff, you're stunning Just generally.
There's like a lot of beautifulplaces in Canada.
It's hard to beat.
Elizabeth Bowman (02:16):
I got to know more about living opera.
I want to know how it started,what it is.
Tell me, what happened, what itis, tell me what happened.
Soula Parassidis (02:24):
You know, I've been a singer.
That's all I've ever done.
I'm married to a singer, soit's like a very singer focused
lifestyle that we've beenleading for over 10 years.
But my husband started to gothrough some pretty intense
performance anxiety.
Before it was cool to talkabout mental health.
Now it's like, yeah, talk aboutmental health.
But like then it was like, ohmy gosh, like we have to hide
(02:47):
the fact that he's going throughthis.
This is horrible.
Like what do we do?
It just sort of was a factor oflike him kind of shooting up.
Overnight.
He started singing a lot ofproductions with Cecilia Bartoli
, who's amazing, but you knowthat really put the spotlight on
him in a way that had neverhappened before, and I was sort
of there trying to support himas his partner, but I was like,
oh my gosh, you know, his brainis getting broken.
(03:09):
Like I don't, I don't know whatto do, and we've spoken about
this a lot on our YouTubechannel and social media and
other things that we've done.
This was really like a taboothing, and so we were suffering
for a couple of years just byourselves, feeling very alone,
and it got to the point where Ijust said look, you know, I know
that we've dedicated everythingto this and we've left our
homes, our beautiful homes.
(03:31):
I'm beautiful, I'm in Canada.
You're like, okay, home inNorth Carolina, whatever, and
we're going to have to make achange, or I?
I'm sorry, but, like, I feellike we need to leave this
business because it's not like Ican just stay in it and then
you suffer over here and itdoesn't affect me either, like
when we're a unit.
So that was the beginning of usthinking about how can we talk
about this in a proactive andpositive way.
(03:52):
We ended up giving him therapyand again, we've really spoken
about this a lot, but that waslike the seed.
That was like, okay, we've gonethrough this experience, we've
come over the other side, gonethrough this experience, we've
come over the other side.
Now what?
Because people were noticing.
They noticed when he was likereally going through it and they
noticed that he'd gotten betterand they wanted to know, like
whoa, what happened.
So we just decided at the endof 2018 that we would start
(04:16):
leveraging social media in apositive way.
So it was like first week ofJanuary 2019, we were so formal,
we were so nervous, like youshould have seen our notes.
We were so funny, we thesenotes, and it's like if you
scroll enough in my, in myInstagram channel or YouTube
channel, you can see us like,very like, we are going to speak
on the topic of rejection.
It was like it progressed, theygot more relaxed, but we just
(04:38):
felt like nobody was going totalk about it.
So we should, and at leastthere's's two of us, so you know
, it's not just one person overhere going like I went through
this.
It's like no, no, we're, wewant to.
We want to create a way for thearts community to have these
conversations and then point toa solution, like not just to say
, oh man, you know, I really gotstressed out, being a singer
and business is horrible, andcomplaints Like no, no, no can
(05:01):
do to avoid falling in this holethat we fell into.
These are practical ways thatyou can make your life better,
both on stage but also off stage, because that's where you spend
most of your time.
And the interesting thing is westarted getting all these like
DMs from our peers saying like,oh, you guys, this is so great
that you're doing this.
You know, I went through this,I went through that and I
thought it was so funny becausewe were getting messages from
people who would even havebigger careers than us.
(05:22):
I'm like you should put itbefore I'm talking about it.
Like you know, we're over here,we're just these little small
fish over here, like, oh mygoodness, you know, say
something, but I guess maybe, Idon't know, in the grand scheme
of things, maybe that's likewhat we're supposed to do.
So, anyway, that's how itstarted.
Elizabeth Bowman (05:34):
Do you have the top three things that you
would recommend to get overperformance anxiety?
Do you remember?
Soula Parassidis (05:44):
You know I don't remember in that first
talk what we said.
But I think you know, when wewere talking to somebody about
if they're experiencing anxietyof any kind, I feel like that is
usually rooted in a fear ofrejection of some kind, so
thinking like they're not goingto accept me, they're judging me
(06:05):
there.
And usually I will start askingquestions and say, well, do you
judge, do you reject people, doyou project this kind of
behavior into the world?
Because if you can sort of likecurb that on your own side,
you'll stop looking for it inother people.
Whether they're there, theymight do it, but as long as
you're not living that way, it'slike I feel like you're
(06:25):
inviting that lesson to yourlife.
So that's one thing.
And then the other thing is, ofcourse, honing your skills,
which I know we're all trying todo.
But I feel like a lot of stresscomes from when you just know
I've never really gotten thathigh note in rehearsal.
But now I'm also knowing like Imean, I realize this is what we
(06:47):
dedicated our lives to, butit's just opera, like you're
valuable outside of.
You know one day we're allgoing to.
You know exit stage left andthat's that.
And you have so much intrinsicvalue on that stage and when you
go out that stage left door andyou close the door forever and
you go into your other part ofyour life, like, oh my goodness,
you know we're all somultifaceted.
(07:09):
So that's what comes to metoday for this particular
audience, that maybe somebodyneeded to hear.
Elizabeth Bowman (07:14):
Ultimately, as opera singers or any kind of
singer, you're there tocommunicate something and if you
have no distractions in howyou're communicating that which
you're not feeling judged you'renot, you know, looking around
you, wondering what everyone isthinking constantly you'll be
(07:34):
more successful in getting thatmessage across.
it's like this across.
Soula Parassidis (07:39):
So totally, you know.
You know what else, elizabeth,it's like this they are judging
you and it doesn't matter.
Yeah, like it's happening,people decide within the first
30 seconds of when you walk outthere, whatever they think, but
you're there to do a job andultimately, I feel like you can,
as you said, communicate.
You can communicate that youare there in some form of
(08:00):
service and whatever theirreaction is, that's theirs, but
you've done your thing andyou've done your job.
Elizabeth Bowman (08:07):
So I feel like that can really bring rest when
people really grasp that I'vesaid this on the podcast before,
but my parents would alwaystell me control the variables
you can control and the rest Imean it is what it is.
So you put in the work, youhone the skills and you work on
your emotional health and mentalstate and that's really all you
(08:30):
can do.
Soula Parassidis (08:30):
And also haters going to hate.
It's just like, eventually youget to a level of visibility and
you're going to have hatersbecause you're visible.
That's okay too.
It's like okay, I don't knowwhat your problem is, but just
go over there Like you know.
I don't know how you have timefor it.
If you're really inside yourpurpose, I don't have time to
look at me or anybody else andbe like, well, I'm just going to
hate on that person today.
(08:59):
It's like.
Elizabeth Bowman (09:00):
What a waste of your time communicate via
this living opera brand Likewhat's your favorite.
Soula Parassidis (09:06):
Oh, you know it's.
It's so funny because there'sso many things to build.
When you're and I, first of all, I have to say this I did not
realize I was building a brandand I started to have some of my
um, like younger followers, say, oh my gosh, we're so excited
about your brand and you're like, what are they talking about?
Like I create content for funon the road because I find it
very calming.
Like I love to communicate withpeople in all these various
(09:27):
ways.
So you know, blog posts,instagram, whatever, and, of
course, on stage, but I realized, like trying to reach all the
different people we need toreach, because it's not just
emerging artists and it's notjust administrators and it's not
just our peers, and it's alsopeople who might finance
projects, and now it's likepolicymakers, and so I have
different persona on differentplatforms.
(09:50):
So I've got my LinkedInsituation going and then I have
my Instagram, which is really myfavorite because I love to.
I don't anybody who's notfollowing me, you don't have to,
but that's where I really Ifeel like I get to just really
be myself, because I alwayswanted to sing comedic roles,
but I always end up singing likethese tragic people and just
sad stuff, and I, in my heart ofhearts, you know I wanted to be
like Serbinetta or whatever.
(10:10):
So, or Rosina or I don't know.
So I get.
I get to have my little outletthere on my Instagram channel.
Basically, for me, though,whatever is creative, whether
it's singing or writing, or Imean even this is going to sound
silly, but like even puttingtogether stuff like grants, I
mean it's just.
It's just like how do we solvethat problem?
So it's even when I'm studyingin art.
It's like how do I solve theproblem of communicating this
(10:33):
emotion through sound, throughgesture, through the text.
I mean it's all just a bigpuzzle.
I just love all of it.
I mean it's it's.
It's just marvelous to hear,whatever facet, whatever I've
been trying to do, you know,even if it's a dry, drier
LinkedIn post, sometimes I getmessages saying, oh, that really
helped me, or that's a goodinsight, and that's the point,
like that's, that's for me,that's always like a big like
(11:02):
win.
Elizabeth Bowman (11:02):
You know big, a big thumbs up emoji like yes,
I did it today and I just, Ijust love that.
Not to change the subject toomuch, but you are coming to
Canada to sing.
Can you tell us a bit about theevent?
It's coming up very soon.
Soula Parassidis (11:08):
Yes, so this is a cancer fundraiser and this
sort of came about in an unusualway.
So last year was the 100 yearanniversary of the Maria Callas.
Well, maria Callas, the MariaCallas Sorry, see, we're nervous
.
And I sang one of her iconicroles of Iphigénie en Tauride
and through that I actually metthe former Canadian ambassador
to Greece and we becameacquaintances and he said you
(11:31):
know why haven't you reallyworked in Canada?
And I was like no, you know,it's just, I've always wanted to
sing at home.
I mean, that was my debut inGreece and I'm also half Greek.
And I said you know, it's just,every market, you have to build
up every market separately,which is another topic.
But I said, you know, let'sthink about how I can come there
and do something, and of coursethere's all the wonderful opera
companies and recitals and allof that.
(11:52):
But when he learned more aboutmy story he said oh, you're a
cancer survivor.
Well, how would you feel aboutcoming to Canada to help us
raise money?
So McGill University has amarvelous project that is
basically a gala fashion show.
I'm going to get to walk in acouture gown which is like oh,
boohoo, and I'm going to singand raise money for endometrial
(12:15):
cancer, and this is my firsttime singing professionally in
Canada and I'm really lookingforward to it.
Elizabeth Bowman (12:21):
It's in Montreal.
Soula Parassidis (12:22):
Now it's really meaningful and
interesting for me because it'skind of like a full circle thing
.
This is a podcast for peoplewho want to learn about being an
opera singer, in one sense.
So I feel like it's fine to saythis here.
I didn't say this in myconversation with him as a
formal conversation, but when Ifinished my degree at UBC the
(12:43):
week after I got that degree,that's when I was diagnosed with
cancer and frankly, if I amhonest, I feel like I carried
that baggage around for a verylong time and I did not talk
about it publicly for a verylong time because it was just
sort of like it's weird, but Iassociated home with that, with
that traumatic experience, andthat was actually a more honest
(13:05):
answer.
I just felt like, oh yeah, Idon't know, I haven't developed
that mark at all, but it wasreally hard for me to sort of
every time I'd go back I wouldfeel that thing tugging on my
heart and it was just hard.
So for me it's somewhat poeticto go there.
I mean, it's funny becausethere were times where, you know
, an opportunity came up to goand sing more formally in an
opera company or whatever, andthen I was busy doing something
else, or it just didn't work orthe time or whatever it was.
So I think for me it's kind offull circle and poetic that I'm
(13:28):
coming to do this and I feelfully healed of that experience.
Now I feel fine, but it took along time Because for me I
didn't have endometrial cancer,I had thyroid cancer, so it was
in my throat.
I lost my voice, I wasn't ableto sing, my body changed, I had
to change repertoire, likeovernight.
So you know that's when you'rea singer, that's a ton of
baggage.
Elizabeth Bowman (13:48):
I can't imagine ow many years have you
been in remission.
Soula Parassidis (13:51):
Oh no, I'm fine, like a long, long time,
like no, no, no, cause I meanwhen they got it out, they got
it out completely.
So I'm on medication for therest of my life.
But I'm so fortunate, like Imean you guys for real, like
that I'm so grateful becausebecause it could have been so
much worse it was just more.
At that point it was less abouteven my overall health and more
(14:12):
about like I had I had beenstudying for so many years for
this one thing and with onesurgery it's like everything was
flipped on its head.
I had to completely pivot in mywhole life and I did not have
the life skills for that.
I mean, I think that's partlywhy I analyzed that so much and
I didn't realize that would bethe foundation for what we do in
living opera, because livingopera is partly education for
(14:34):
emerging artists, and so thatwas actually, you know, as sucky
as it was, that was thefoundation of the training for
what we do now.
I didn't realize I was going tobe, you know, gathering it up
in real time, which is like, butyou're going through it, you're
like this is terrible.
But then when you get to pourit out for other people, you're
like wow, like that really hadpurpose in my life.
It wasn't just suffering for,for, for no reason, so I'm very
(14:54):
grateful for that.
Elizabeth Bowman (14:55):
Yeah, I can only imagine when you go through
something so challenging.
I mean, there's the saying whatdoesn't kill you makes you
stronger really is true, andbringing that fuel to your
performances and to living opera.
I mean that's a gift toeveryone.
Soula Parassidis (15:17):
No, no, it is, it is.
And I mean how can you?
I mean I'm not saying everyperson has to go through that.
I mean, good grief, I pray thatnobody does.
I know for me that it shaped somany things that I've done and
it is a well that I can draw inin a desperate time in a
performance.
You know when a character isreally going through something,
because I've been on the edge ofsomething like that myself.
(15:39):
I can draw from a differentplace.
That's not just imagination andI and I think that that's been
valuable for me.
But you know, there's othertimes, other operas.
It's like you know, I justdon't really want to ever have
to.
You know, in singing Zalamehave to get near a real severed
head, like that's fine, we'rejust going to use our
imagination for that one, that'sall good.
(16:01):
It's like, yeah, thanks.
Elizabeth Bowman (16:01):
That's fine.
Good to not relate to that.
Soula Parassidis (16:05):
Yeah.
Elizabeth Bowman (16:06):
The former Canadian ambassador to Greece.
Are you talking about RobertPeck?
Yeah, I met him.
Yeah, I used to helpadministrate a chamber music
festival in Greece Cool For afew summers and it's still going
the Saronic Chamber MusicFestival.
Really really fantastic players.
Soula Parassidis (16:27):
I think they're still going.
Elizabeth Bowman (16:28):
My husband played.
My husband has been mentionedon this podcast too much Ben
Bowman he's concertmaster of theMetropolitan Opera, so he's
played there.
And then a bunch of players whoplay in the London symphony
orchestra and, um, you know alot of a lot of Londoners.
Soula Parassidis (16:47):
Uh, in it it's cool, I'm in London right now
so there you go another fullschool thing that's.
That's so cool.
I had no idea you had thatconnection to Greece.
Elizabeth Bowman (16:54):
That's amazing yeah, I haven't been back in a
long time, but I would like to,to, to go back.
Yeah, everyone listening to thepodcast yeah yeah, yeah we'll,
we'll, we'll, we'll figure itout, we'll, we'll use
connections, Greek connectionsthat festival was based in
galata mainland and then theywould go out to the different
(17:17):
islands Poros and Hydra it's.
Soula Parassidis (17:21):
You know that's amazing, you know it's
funny like, because when I sangin Greece last year, that was
the first time I just felt sucha conviction.
And it's the same way I feelabout Canada and I was like it's
time for me to spend more timeat home, you know, but home is
multifaceted for me because itis Greece and it is Canada and,
frankly, my mom is Irish.
I did a debut in Ireland andthat also felt meaningful.
(17:43):
I was quite funny.
Actually, side note, they ranlike a piece about me and they
said, with a name like Sula, weknew she must be Irish.
That's horrible Irish accent.
Sorry, guys, but I had to laugh.
I was like y'all, you're sofunny, but I really, through
Living Opera, we have such a bigcommunity and we have people in
Greece and we have a lot ofpeople in Canada and the United
States, and I'm really activelythinking about how can we create
(18:05):
more projects that aren't just,you know, fun for us to do, but
really beneficial and givepeople a leg up.
And this is something that I'mactively thinking about, you
know, having been in thoseplaces and just wanting to make
a difference.
You know it is different.
I mean, things have improved alot, um, since, since I did my
degree and and came up in Canada.
(18:26):
But there's just so much talent.
I spend most of my time if I'mnot, you know, doing regular
life stuff or music.
I'm over here going like howcan we mobilize all these
talented people?
And you know, I let that jog inmy brain for like eight hours a
day and then I go to sleep.
I'm still trying to come upwith the solutions, but right
now I'm just I'm trying to builda project where I can really
(18:49):
just tour around.
You know, when I was younger, mydream, you know, speaking of
like I'm like, oh my God, likethe Met, all the regular places,
and of course I still dreamabout that.
But I have new dreams andseriously that going around,
even to smaller places andconnecting with the people who
(19:09):
have perhaps been helped by thecontent or need the content, and
they don't know who I am, Idon't even care about that it's
just like going and actuallyactively being with people, even
if it's just like 50 people or100 people, that's really
getting me going these days.
So I'm trying to put togetheran idea and see like how can I,
how can I do this and how can Igo and connect and help, also
(19:31):
help artists.
This might sound funny, but Ifeel like artists are only shown
one pathway to be impactfulthrough their art and I would
love to show multiple pathways.
What if somebody is meant tostay in Winnipeg and just be a
leader there and createsomething incredible there, but
(19:53):
they're told well, if youhaven't gone to sing at the Met
by this age, whatever I mean,you're not successful.
It's like I want to changeperception.
Elizabeth Bowman (20:02):
Everyone has their own path and of course you
can be successful in yourhometown and not go away.
But yes, there has been.
I guess, for our generation ofadministrators and singers and
that kind of thing, thatnarrative has really been quite
strong and I'm feeling like itis changing along with it.
Soula Parassidis (20:25):
I do too.
Yeah, yeah, I do too.
I do too.
I just want to see.
I remember my teacher in Canada, if I'm not mistaken.
I mean, wasn't there likedidn't the COC go on tour?
Wasn't that a thing?
Like they go all around thecountry?
Is that a thing again?
Elizabeth Bowman (20:43):
I'm so out of, I'm so out of touch, like I
don't know if they went allaround the country, but they
definitely went to Ottawa, whereI grew up.
Soula Parassidis (20:48):
Um, I feel like he told me stories that,
like as a young singer, that hewas going and singing like
Rigoletto and doing all thisstuff, and I was like man,
that's how you cut your teethright.
Elizabeth Bowman (20:59):
I mean, I was fast for three years in Germany,
so that's where I cut my teethby the time I was doing
freelance stuff.
Soula Parassidis (21:05):
You know that's.
I already wanted to feelcomfortable on stage, but I
really just dream of, you know,systems and strategies where
people can go out and reallyfail like, really do a bad
performance.
I think we need that.
I'm serious, like I did somestuff when I was at Oprah
Leipzig, like I always tried togive it my all but sometimes I
(21:27):
was like man, was that even?
Was that okay, like, but it wassafe.
It was safe for me to, you know, botch a high note and you know
I didn't have to get worriedthat I'm going to get written up
bad in the press or whatever.
You know, and I feel like again, it's another bit of a tangent,
but I just I want us to studyhow did people learn?
How did?
(21:47):
How are people trained in thepast?
How did this work?
I would love to just sit withmy teacher for the next six
months and just be like, like inhis act, like going and now
what do I do?
Elizabeth Bowman (21:57):
And I just love the process and I feel like
everything's so rushed Circlingback to, because I was just
thinking about the time that Ihad in Greece, all these amazing
musicians gathering together ina beautiful place, but a lot of
the communities they went tothey didn't have access to
classical music and didn't evenknow who Schubert was.
(22:19):
It was just not known and theywould play these concerts for
very low ticket price for thecommunities and everyone was
having a good time.
There was no worries.
I mean, maybe there wereworries, but I wasn't privy to
them.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Soula Parassidis (22:35):
It was two hours.
It was like we had a worry-freedome, but then, yeah, no, no,
no.
Then, yeah, no, no, no.
Yeah, I mean, the thing is okay.
I love to just talk tostrangers.
I don't know if you can tell Iwas sitting on the subway here
coming into london two days ago.
Yeah, it was two days ago.
I'm like the days are justblurring together.
I was trying to get to thislast performance at eno that my
husband was doing and I wassitting next to some folks from
(22:57):
south africa they, you, I don'tknow.
I guess it was taking a longtime, like so what do you do?
And I said, oh, you know, I'man artist.
Like no, but like you know, ohyeah, what do you do?
Do you paintings?
Like okay, I'm an opera singer.
Like I always know the minute Isay that it's all going to be
like so eventually I got, I gotthe boat turned.
You know interesting stuff thatthey do, but they really wanted
to know more about the life ofopera and opera singers.
And so, well, you know, youcould just go to a show.
(23:24):
I'm like, oh well, you know,it's like really expensive.
And I was just like man, weneed new PR.
Like what's going on here.
It is so much more expensive togo to so many different other
activities than it is to go tothe opera.
At this point, like we, we canto make this accessible.
But now I think it's just likea narrative thing.
So I said I just pulledsomething out of the air.
I said, well, don't you thinktickets to Taylor Swift are much
more expensive?
(23:45):
And when they thought about itthey were like huh, never
thought about it that way.
And I said, do you feel likemaybe you just sort of like
accepted that idea, because thisis what I honestly said.
I said, look, think about it.
We're asking you to come, sitstill in a theater and not make
noise.
Listen to something for, like,let's say, three hours in a
language that you probably don'tspeak.
Elizabeth Bowman (24:05):
That's probably uncomfortable because,
then what if you?
Soula Parassidis (24:06):
don't like it, or if you don't like the sounds
or what, if you don'tunderstand, and then it makes
you feel dumb.
You know, I mean seriously andI said so first of all.
We're there to make you feelsomething, whatever that feeling
is, and just go read the plotahead of time.
Just, you know, just read theplot and find, find a ticket for
50 bucks or 20, I don't know 20bucks, wherever, wherever you
are, you know, and just just tryit once, and if you don't like
(24:27):
it, you don't ever have to goagain.
But I said, you know, we methere and we're having this
conversation.
There are always ways to go forless.
Elizabeth Bowman (24:32):
When I moved to New York.
I used to go to the opera allthe time and obviously I wasn't
paying full price for ticketsbecause they would have student
rush tickets or standing roomtickets.
(24:55):
I went standing room a lot.
I loved standing room.
It's a cool crew.
In the standing room departmentI realized that everyone's like
why would you stand for threehours?
I'm like, well, you can dosquats, it's good, it's a.
Soula Parassidis (25:11):
You know why?
It's because you remember it,one of my most memorable nights
at the opera was standing roomat the Vienna State Opera and
Aditya Gubarova was doing one ofher last performances and we
wept the whole night.
It was cathartic, it wasbeautiful.
I felt like I was, you know, inthe presence of something you
know transcendent, divine.
(25:31):
I was just like, okay, wow, youknow, I got to be part of that
and that's the potential here.
So I mean, it's like, and whenyou walk, oh my God, like you
walk into a theater like the Met, and it is just like you need a
second to catch your breath.
There is nothing like that.
There is nothing like it, I'msorry, like, fight me guys.
(25:54):
There's nothing like that.
You walk in and you just golike and it takes your breath
away.
And I, and I think, in a worldwhere everything's immediate,
you know, and it's just likethere's just so much noise, I
think it's worth it to invest inexperiences that take your
breath away, and that'scertainly one of them, because
(26:18):
you feel in a place like that,or a place like Salzburg
festival or, you know, scala, Imean you walk in and at least
for me and maybe it's differentbecause obviously I'm part of it
.
But I just feel the weight ofthose places and the grandeur
and the history and I just thinkI got to walk in here tonight.
(26:41):
I can't believe this Right, andit is such.
It's life changing and I thinkthat's what we're trying to
articulate sometimes to people,but it's hard to find the words.
Elizabeth Bowman (26:57):
That's definitely the beauty of live
theater performances is that youare there and you are
witnessing it and feeling it andall the things and not
everything can be done throughvideo, but being there is very,
very special, all the energybeing transferred between you
and the stage and you and thefellow audience members there's
(27:22):
really nothing like it Anyway.
I want to thank you very muchfor being here and chatting with
me and I wish you well in yourCanadian premiere.
I guess professional Thank you.
Soula Parassidis (27:35):
Thank you, yeah, it's very special and very
full circle, like I said, and Ilook forward to also coming and
singing operas and all of thattoo.
But I think this was the rightthing for my first time in
Canada and thanks for theopportunity just to share a
little bit about me and livingopera with this wonderful
(27:58):
community of artists.
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