Meet Our Singers: Angel Blue, Clara

Seattle Opera opens its 2011/2012 season next week with Porgy and Bess, so it's time to get to know another of our wonderful singers for this production. This time we chat with soprano Angel Blue, who plays Clara and sings the haunting lullaby "Summertime." Blue makes her Seattle Opera debut in this role, which she has previously performed in San Francisco. Read on, as we ask this Southern California native what it's like to sing such legendary music, and discover more about her background.


You’re new to Seattle Opera. Welcome! Can you tell us a little about your background, like how you became involved in opera?
I’m from Apple Valley, CA, which is about two hours outside of Los Angeles and two hours south of Las Vegas. I started singing when I was about 5, and my father was an opera singer, so I grew up listening to all the great singers, like Leontyne Price and Plácido Domingo. My father would walk around the house singing all the great arias, so I just fell in love with it that way. When I was 9, I started doing something called PAW (Performing Arts Workshop). It was more a summer thing, but it took the entire summer and you prepared for it the whole year. It was mainly musicals, so we did shows such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Les Misérables. And then when I was 14, my parents enrolled me in LACSA (the Los Angeles County School for the Arts) and I studied piano, opera, musical theater, and acting. For college, I went to the University of Redlands and got my Bachelors of Music there, and then a Masters of Music from UCLA.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?
One thing I am very proud of is that my mentor, Plácido Domingo, sent me to Operalia in 2009. I was competing in the Zarzuela category—Zarzuela is Spanish operetta—and I knew how much Zarzuela meant to him because of his heritage. So it was a goal of mine to win that category, and I did. So that meant a lot to me.

Do you have a favorite composer for the voice?
I don’t have a favorite composer, but I have a favorite singer. Leontyne Price is my favorite singer, and she sings a lot of Verdi and Puccini. Because of that, those would be some of my favorite composers, but it’s because of her!

Lisa Daltirus (Bess) and Angel Blue (Clara) rehearse for Seattle Opera's production of Porgy and Bess.
Photo by Alan Alabastro

Much of this cast has a great deal of experience performing Porgy and Bess. What about you? What’s your background with this opera?
I had only seen it once before I performed it, and that was when I was about 16. I totally didn’t get it; I thought it was a musical! Like so many people, I recognized a lot of the music but I didn’t get the depth of it. Then, two years ago at San Francisco Opera, I made my debut as Clara. Since then, I’ve been singing “Summertime” a lot in concerts and such.

What have you found to be the biggest challenge of this role?
I started studying the role in 2008 and the hardest thing for me to grasp is how people lived their lives back then. So I’ve really been trying to bring myself into the character and understand all the themes that make Porgy and Bess what it is, because we’re so far removed from that now. So when I began studying the role back in 2008, I was thinking to myself, “No one talks like this anymore!” But I’ve been to Charleston—my dad’s side of my family is from the south—and that has helped me a lot with the dialect, because the dialect is very different. So basically, I’ve been trying to get myself, in 2011, to think what I would have been like in 1935.

”Summertime” is a song that nearly everyone knows, even if they don’t know it comes from Porgy and Bess. How do you make such an iconic piece of music your own?
I think for me, the words really mean a lot. Sometimes you have a really good, iconic song and it stays in your head and you can always remember the melody. But with “Summertime,” what sticks with me are the words. For example, my grandmother grew up picking cotton and when I first sang the role two years ago, I asked her about these lyrics, and she explained to me, “Oh, when cotton is high, picking it is so much easier.” And there’s the greater understanding of Clara, and knowing that in Catfish Row, Jake is probably one of the richest men there, and they have stability with their young baby, knowing that the cotton is high and people can work, and her husband is working, and she herself is beautiful. I think those words mean a lot to me because I connect it to my family history. So that’s how I make it my own, instead of being intimidated by all the great singers who have sung the part.

Director Chris Alexander works with Angel Blue (Clara) during rehearsal for Seattle Opera's production of Porgy and Bess. Watch Alexander discuss this cast in his recent Director's Talk video.
Photo by Alan Alabastro

”Summertime” especially has been performed by so many artists over the years. Do you have a favorite non-operatic rendition of it?
I have two that I can think of. One is Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington, and it’s just a beautiful rendition. It’s really low but, of course, it’s Ella and she can do that. She doesn’t scat on it or anything; it’s written exactly the way Gershwin wrote it.

The other rendition I like is by a band called Sublime (I like rock music a lot). It’s not the whole song, just parts of “Summertime,” but I love it so much. They were a wonderful band.

What other rock music do you like listening to?
Well, on my way in this morning, I was listening to “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden, because it’s definitely appropriate. I love Pearl Jam, and I’m a big fan of Nirvana. I’m in Seattle so I have to mention these bands! I listen to everything, but I love rock and roll, and I’m definitely a grunge person. Maybe I shouldn’t say this, as an opera singer, but I used to be into metal. And then I got into screamo kind of stuff.

That would definitely mess up your voice!
Definitely. So I think I’m sticking with my grunge phase.

New Online Learning Classes

This past May, Seattle Opera offered our first ever stage makeup class, and now we are happy to offer an online version of the class, an introductory course perfect for anyone wanting to learn a new hobby or anyone working in theater anywhere.

Seattle Opera Hair and Makeup Manager Liesl Gatcheco-Munemitsu leads the lesson along with Prinical Hair and Makeup Artist Tricia Partida. Our model is straight from our own women's chorus, Lucy Weber. Here, our artists show how to achieve a French Revolution look.

Part 1 covers foundation, contour, and highlighting.



Part 2 covers eyes, cheeks, and lips, plus the final transformation with wig and costume.



We would love your feedback as we consider whether to create more videos like this in the future. For example: Did you find these videos valuable? Did they make you want to learn more? How likely are you to use these skills? Please leave a comment and let us know your thoughts! Thanks, and enjoy!

Behind the Scenes: Porgy Orchestra

Some of opera’s most memorable music is in Porgy and Bess, and the orchestra is responsible for making it come alive to us. Go backstage to an orchestra rehearsal and hear the songs you know and love, plus Maestro John DeMain walks us through some of the challenges of this work, why Gershwin is so difficult to perform, and why our orchestra is up to the task.




Learn more about Porgy and Bess on the Seattle Opera website.

Porgy and Bess: Director's Talk

The artists are hard at work in rehearsal, and Stage Director Chris Alexander brags on the amazing talent found in the cast and conductor. Watch Alexander's take on this production, peek behind-the-scenes at the rehearsal process, and hear commentary from the star singers themselves.




Learn more about Porgy and Bess on the Seattle Opera website.

Meet Our Singers: Mary Elizabeth Williams, Serena

Today, we get to know soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams--and her character, Serena--a little better. Williams was a Seattle Opera Young Artist in 2000 (Elvira in Don Giovanni), and made her mainstage debut as Leonora in Il trovatore back in 2010. Now she's back for Porgy and Bess, and in our Q&A, she tells us what's likeable about Serena, what it's like to portray grief on stage, and shares some of her favorite Porgy and Bess renditions.

(By the way, for more with Williams, tune into KITZ today between 6 and 7 p.m., when host Mike Siegel will re-broadcast an interview he had with her last week.)

How did you get started singing Serena?
My first experience singing Serena was thanks to Dennis Hanthorn at the Atlanta Opera. He knew me back when I was a young singer in Milwaukee (at the time, he was the General Director of the Florentine Opera there), and had hired me for a small role in Der Rosenkavalier while I was in school. He called me out of the blue in 2004 while I was living in France, finishing up the young artist program at the Opera National de Paris, and offered me the role for the following season. It was my first good-sized role at a professional level in the USA, and I will forever be grateful that Mr. Hanthorn remembered me—and hired me!

Tell us about Serena—her pride, her intolerance, her faith.
Perhaps it is a weakness of mine that I cannot sing a character well unless I like her—and in my early experiences, observing Serena from the audience, I can't say that I had much affection for her. She always seemed so haughty and mean-spirited. And inflexible! She was a piece of work. Because I didn't like Serena much, it was difficult for me to empathize with her.

So, when it came time for me to try my hand at bringing Serena to life, I remembered my own experiences as an audience member and promised myself I would try my best to blaze a newer, sweeter trail as Serena. I have worked hard to humanize her, mostly for my own sake! I try to show that Serena is a woman who believes deeply in the comfort and grace of God, and who looks to religion to give meaning and a framework to her life. She has lived through some very bad times and is distrustful of anyone she doesn't know well. She likes to keep her world small because she is an exacting woman, and chaos and change make her anxious. She is fiercely protective of her family, and holds them to a very high standard of behavior—but under her tough exterior is someone who loves just as fiercely. I try to find moments, being Serena, to show the audience her softer side...I want the audience to see her hold her children close, smile fondly at her husband, and help her neighbors. Otherwise, Serena is often remembered only for her wailing and spiteful words—and to me, she's so much more than that.

Mary Elizabeth Williams (Serena) and Angel Blue (Clara) rehearse for Seattle Opera's production of Porgy and Bess.
Photo by Alan Alabastro

In the prayer “Oh Doctor Jesus,” you’re able to improvise your own cadenza(s). Do you usually do the same thing, or do you try to mix it up each time?

In general, I am the type of singer that always mixes things up, even when I'm singing Aida or Trovatore! I find that when I let the spirit of the moment and the music move me, interesting things usually happen. In general, though, the "mixing" I do is pretty tame—I might play around with word stress, dynamics, or perhaps where I choose to breathe in a phrase. I guess I have learned over time that these are the things I can change from performance to performance without driving the conductor crazy. I am not the type of singer to interpolate cadenzi; truthfully, that's never been my strong suit, and I prefer to leave the melody-making to Gershwin, who was much more talented than I!

The grief you channel in “My Man’s Gone Now” is hugely powerful. Is it difficult to get yourself to that emotional place, or does it come naturally? Do you have to be careful so that your own emotions don’t get in the way of your singing?

It is very nice to know that the audience feels something powerful when I sing this aria. I have always felt, in every work I sing, that communicating emotion is my primary job as a performer. I will be completely honest that, most of the time, I actually cry real tears when I sing "My Man's Gone Now," because the music carries me to place of legitimate grief. I have always been able to sing and cry at the same time, thank heaven; with all the sad roles I sing, I end up crying onstage quite a bit!

I have never lost a spouse, but I have many emotional memories from my life that I draw on to sing the role of Serena: for example, the waves of physical pain that would come over me in the months following my father's death. I remember the extreme juxtaposition of emotion; I could laugh at a happy memory of him and 30 seconds later be dissolved in tears. I remember being angry he was gone. I remember feeling a rush of gratefulness that he had lived such a good life. I try to use these experiences as an emotional blueprint, because I think grief is a universal and animal experience to which we all can relate.

Arnold Rawls (Manrico) and Mary Elizabeth Williams (Leonora) in Seattle Opera's 2010 production of Il trovatore.
Photo by Rozarii Lynch

Nearly everyone is familiar with the music of Porgy and Bess, thanks to countless renditions over the years. Do you have a favorite performance of a song from Porgy and Bess by a non-opera performer?

Oh my, this is a tough one! I love Nina Simone's "Summertime," and everything Ella Fitzgerald ever sang from Porgy and Bess, because I love everything she does, period.

I have a sassy little rendition of "It Ain't Necessarily So" featuring Beverly Kenney singing with only a solo drum accompanying her. I love that version.

Louis Armstrong’s rendition of "A Woman is a Sometime Thing" is a masterpiece, too. Gershwin wrote an opera that can't help but be re-imagined, repurposed, and quoted—and I think Gershwin would be very happy that we're still finding new ways to bring this music to life.

Meet Our Singers: Gordon Hawkins, Porgy

Time is flying by, and we are only a couple weeks away from the opening of our 2011/2012 season with Porgy and Bess. As usual, we'll be bringing you Q&As with members of the cast, and today we kick off with our wonderful Porgy, baritone Gordon Hawkins. He was last seen at Seattle Opera in 2010, as Count di Luna in Il trovatore, and also as Donner/Gunther in our 2009 Ring. Speaking of the Ring, Hawkins came to Seattle this month immediately after finishing San Francisco's production, and we ask him what it's like to go from Wagner to Gershwin, his character, and some of his favorite Porgy recordings.

You’re coming to this Porgy and Bess right from the San Francisco Opera Ring, and you must really know both Porgy and Alberich by now. But what’s it like to flip between these two polar opposites?
Going from Wagner's Ring to Gershwin's Porgy is kind of like parachuting from a plane at 20,000 feet, and landing on a speeding train. Wagner's emotional and dramatic ebb and flow are incomparable. For three months, I lived and breathed one of the greatest villains in the entire operatic lexicon. Now, I have an opportunity to indulge a more lyrical side. I can play more with spinning melodic lines, perhaps indulging the tone a bit more in certain places. There is a purity, a simplicity, in Gershwin that can only be reached by surrendering yourself to his rhythms. You literally have no choice but to ride his melodic tracks and let your body go with it. In the end, how lucky can one singer be? I have an opportunity to sing two characters that travel diametrically opposing dramatic arcs. Alberich forsakes love to gain the world; Porgy gives up all he owns to reclaim his love.

Gordon Hawkins as Siegfried-disguised-as-Gunther in Wagner's Götterdämmerung in 2009.
Photo by Rozarii Lynch

How many nights of your life have you spent singing Porgy? How has your understanding of the character changed since the first time you performed the role?
I have sung the role of Porgy nearly 130 times. Actually, I have sung Rigoletto the most—and my Alberich tally is rising as we speak! As in most cases, the more I grow as a human being, the more colors I have to paint with. I simply see more opportunities. There are more risks taken, and hopefully these risks help me to illuminate the human condition of the roles I play. I try not to make any judgments about Porgy, making sure he remains a strong, dynamic man. Over the years, perhaps I have learned a bit more about both physical and emotional challenges. Not all of these restrictions are visible to the human eye.

Gordon Hawkins (Porgy) and Lisa Daltirus (Bess) in staging rehearsal for Seattle Opera's Porgy and Bess.
Photo by Alan Alabastro

Sometimes Porgy is sung by a bass-baritone; how does it fit in your baritone range? In terms of the vocal challenges, is there any other role you can compare it to?
Audiences should keep in mind that Porgy was written with two singers in mind. Paul Robeson was more of a bass, and the first part of Porgy vocal range sits low to middle. The second half was written for Todd Duncan, who was a high lyric baritone. I believe my voice has the timbre to do the first part justice, but I am definitely more comfortable with the higher tessitura. As a result, while singing Porgy, I cannot invest so much volume and power in the lower range that I have nothing left for the end. Stamina is crucial. Being smart while you sing this epic piece is also a good thing to keep in mind. Oh, and did I mention that I am not at liberty to use my entire body! Hobbling around on a crutch is not the best position a body can be in to sing over that thick orchestration. As far as comparisons, let’s just say the morning after singing Rigoletto and Porgy, I am very tired.

Gordon Hawkins as Macbeth in 2006.
Photo by Rozarii Lynch

How would Porgy be different if he weren’t disabled?
That’s a nice question. I think the audience would obviously focus more on what he was saying, as opposed to how he was saying it. I would not necessarily call him a poet, but he expresses a kind of philosophy that is poetic. As is often the case with people who are diminished in certain ways, the other senses become keener. How else can you explain the fact that he sees something completely different in Bess than any other character--including the other two men in her life--are able to see?

It seems that nearly everyone is familiar with the music of Porgy and Bess, thanks to countless renditions over the years. Do you have a favorite performance of a song from Porgy and Bess by a non-opera performer?
I'll give you a few: Nina Simone singing “I loves you Porgy.” I shake my head in amazement at how hauntingly beautiful her voice is.

The recording with Ray Charles and Cleo Lane. I've never heard orchestration that swings as hot as this. EVER!

Ella and Satchmo of course. It makes me smile every time!

2011/2012 Spotlight Guides Now Available

A new season means a new series of Seattle Opera’s much-loved Spotlight Guides, which offer a crash course on each opera—the characters and story, the historical background, and a little about its composer and musical world.

Kicking off the 2011/2012 season is Porgy and Bess, and our Spotlight Guide for this American classic is now available online as a PDF, or as a download for Amazon’s Kindle e-reader. (Hard copies of the entire 2011/12 Spotlight Guide Series are included in our new Souvenir Book, which was mailed to subscribers this week.) Spotlight Guides for Carmen, Attila, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Madama Butterfly are also online, as well as the guide for Don Pasquale, which our Young Artists Program will perform in the spring.

Want more opera content on-the-go? We've also made our blog available as a Kindle subscription, so you can read our artist interviews, see behind-the-scenes photos, and keep up with Seattle Opera news wherever you are!

Checking in with Chris Alexander

I stopped by the rehearsal studio yesterday and grabbed Porgy and Bess stage director Chris Alexander to get his impressions of the first week of rehearsal.

Chris, how’s it going so far?
It’s fantastic. We have a young, engaged, and very involved ensemble; they’re raring to go, and I’m so gratified that they’re eager to do the staging that I want. With Cynthia Savage, who’s working on our costumes, we’ve gone for the idea of giving everyone who lives in Catfish Row a profession and an identity, and they were eager to go for it, for example, “Oh, I’m a fisherman, I’m a blind man, I’m a fool." And as for our principals--well, it’s thrilling to hear their voices.

Any surprises this week?
I was amazed by how well the people in our ensemble move. We did a work-out with our choreographer, Kabby Mitchell III, and got everybody dancing, and it was terrific. Porgy and Bess is an opera, not a musical, but still it needs that element, and in this ensemble so many people have the skills. Kabby did a lovely job with it.

Anything in particular that we should be watching for?
It’s very funny. The story is intensely dramatic, but what I’m going for is the old Shakespearean mingle-mangle thing where you mix comedy and tragedy: these moments of brutality that then go right the next moment into something hilarious. There’s a thrilling scene, it’s extremely funny, between Maria and Sportin’ Life, where she chases him around with this huge knife and gives him hell. That’s a highlight of the evening, and then right after that comes Porgy’s “Buzzard Song”--a comic scene followed immediately by a dramatic scene, where we see the superstition of the community.

Photo by Alan Alabastro

Vote for Your Favorite Opera of 2010/11

It's been quite a year for us here at Seattle Opera! We heard operas in German, Italian, and French, and from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Now that 2010/2011 is in the books, it's time to poll you, our wonderful audience, on your favorite production of the season.

Are you a Wagner fan who will choose Tristan und Isolde, or did you prefer the elegance of Lucia di Lammermoor? Was it the comedy of The Barber of Seville or the magical world of The Magic Flute that won you over? Or perhaps it was Seattle Opera's first-ever Don Quixote that thrilled you most. Whichever your choice, we want to know--so cast your vote today!

Behind The Scenes: Porgy Chorus

When writing the score for Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin himself mandated that every performance of this work include an all-black chorus. To honor the composer’s request, Seattle Opera held auditions to find our newest chorus members, all local Seattleites with great stories to tell. Watch the chorus in rehearsal and meet a few new choristers in backstage interviews.




Learn more about Porgy and Bess on the Seattle Opera website.