STAGE SCENE
'Salome' opera star enjoys wild side of life

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

Kristine Ciesinski as Salome performs her erotic dance so she can get her reward, the head of John the Baptist, in the Hawaii Opera Theatre production of "Salome." Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Salome' An opera by Richard Strauss, produced by Hawaii Opera Theatre, sung in German 8 p.m. today, 4 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday Blaisdell Concert Hall Featuring Kristine Ciesinski as Salome, Kenneth Riegel as Herod, Ruthild Engert as Herodias, David Okerlund as John the Baptist, James Comelison as Jokanaan, Dorothy Byrne as Page of Herodias Directed by Henry Akina Honolulu Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ivan Torz $27-$95 596-7858, hawaiiopera.org

Maybe that explains why she focuses on two diverse careers, as an opera singer and as a pilot of commercial gliders, and gets high talking about both.

"I fly between opera roles," said Ciesinski, who is doing her 15th go-round as Salome, the Richard Strauss heroine often known for her erotic dance as well as vocal dexterity.

"I love both singing and flying," she said. "They both have an academic challenge and their own aerodynamics. They require an actual skill, which becomes an art. My singing on stage is my performance, and my performance in the air is flying that glider plane. I strive to do both in a refined, elegant, savvy manner. And yes, I am addicted."

She learns a little bit more each time she takes on Salome because no two productions are alike. "You kind of have to adjust to the vision of the director and the designer ... as well as the different idiosyncrasies of the cast."

Similarly, she gets better the more landings she completes, working her way toward a commercial pilot's license. Weather could affect her flying, but she makes appropriate adjustments, just as she would shift postures on stage.

"I like things that stimulate me on many levels, and I particularly love music that is stimulating, not just emotionally but intellectually."

Then there's that business about the sometimes controversial, erotic "Dances of the Seven Veils" in "Salome." It's a flashy, eight-minute solo that requires stamina, sizzle and agility.

"It takes up an enormous amount of rehearsal time, and requires a certain type of ability to move," she said. "And you have to be fit."

Because Salome often is scantily clad, the segment has raised some eyebrows.

"But let's put it this way: I've shown more before; but it's still very sexy," Ciesinski said.

"I wear very sexy lingerie (from Victoria's Secret), and I believe lingerie is sexier than nudity. And people just don't realize that if you do this dance, your adrenaline is pumping. But I do have these wonderful dancers who help me look good. It's awesome; I'm hanging on the edge myself."

Because "Salome" is a one-act opera, without an intermission and running an hour and 40 minutes, there's no pause to refresh.

No matter; she welcomes the challenge. "'Salome' is atonal, and at the height of emotions, pushes the chromaticism to the ultimate edge; it all may sound bizarre to the ear, but that's the totally unique part of opera. For me, this one fits my voice, and some of the lower notes are animalistic, but I love it. Some people are born to sprint hurdles, some run marathons. I'm a marathoner; I'd rather sing 500 B-flats and two Ds, which is kind of soprano talk, but 'Salome' is that kind of role that tests your stamina."

With her interest in flying, she's already been up in the air, flying to Moloka'i, and she's had a glider ride over Dillingham Field out Mokule'ia way, too. "And I heard about the hang gliders on the east side of the island," she said of the Makapu'u aerialists.

She'll likely have to wait till her "Salome" run is over before really getting Up There.

"And I don't do beach; I'll do it the day after the show closes," she said. "I don't dare get my head under water and chance a cold." It's something she learned after 28 years as a professional singer.

When she moved to the Tetons in Wyoming, she heard that actor Harrison Ford kept his planes there, and that fueled her fantasies about flying about four years ago. "I've since met him and spoken to him, and I'm now working on my power rating for a single-engine plane.

"The first time you're in the air, you're on sensory overload," she said.

"That's sort of how I felt when I did opera, too."