Opera star calls career a blessing
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
Her friends call her Flicka. "It means little girl in Swedish," said opera star Frederica von Stade. "I've only outgrown it by 50 years."
Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade says that singing is a discipline: "If you have a voice, you can use that instrument and accomplish in a month what an instrumentalist may take a year to do."
Von Stade, who grew up loving and listening to Ethel Merman and Mary Martin doing Broadway belters, took a path to classical music. But she has no regrets.
"What I've noticed, over the years, is that when you have a love of theater, it never goes away. I think when you stop loving it, it's time to stop. Living the life of music is so much fun. I'd love to say it gets much easier, the more you do it, but it really doesn't."
Von Stade was speaking from her Alameda, Calif., home, before heading to Hawai'i for concerts with the Honolulu Symphony tonight and Sunday at Blaisdell Concert Hall.
With a career spanning more than three decades, von Stade said reflection often fuels new challenges and goals.
"You could lose that youthful trust, the more you sing, so when you start looking back, you strive for that same spirit," she said.
Mezzo-soprano, performing in the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra's Halekulani Classical MasterWorks series 8 p.m. today, 4 p.m. Sunday Blaisdell Concert Hall $15-$57 792-2000
"No, my time is not up yet, though I suspect it's coming. But I treat every performance as a special treat. I'm so blessed to have had this life in theater and music and I try to maintain this enthusiasm, to pass on to kids. I do fund-raising projects to keep music a part of the school; we must maintain music in the schools, to encourage youngsters to enjoy music."
Frederica von Stade
She likens the nudging process of sharing music to motherhood. "All of a sudden, you're interested in (the kids) more than your own performances. You focus on the kids, then the grandchildren. You want them to carry on."
Von Stade said her journey to the classics — instead of the Broadway stage — was accidental.
"I went to music school to learn to read music," she said. "I needed to learn an aria. The school didn't have a musical comedy department but it did have an opera department. I was fascinated by what is demanded in opera — the high notes, the long phrases, the coloratura. So I never left. In many ways, an opera career is a nicer life; you never do eight shows a week (the Broadway norm). But I still love Broadway music."
Von Stade excels in the romantic masterpieces and has earned accolades for her French repertoire. Is she partial to one composer?
"I adore Faure, and I have loved the music of Mozart and Debussy in my career. I appreciate the great positive effect music can have; it can be so touching, so accessible."
She said in her dealings with youngsters, she emphasizes the fact that "if they're willing to put in the time, they can do on Friday what they couldn't on Monday. Music is basically a discipline and not a hard one. Sure, it's a skill. And sometimes these skills just take time.
"If you have a voice, you can use that instrument and accomplish in a month what an instrumentalist may take a year to do. The voice is a natural instrument; it can function with will power. In my work with youngsters, I try to show them there are skills involved, but the whole point is communication, to experience joy or sadness. The point is not to just show off a great voice or technique, but say something in the process."
