Sara Gartland makes her return to Opera Colorado to carry out as Violetta Valéry, the highly effective heroine of La traviata. Praised for her “gleaming column of sound” by Opera Information, Sara dazzles in her performances of roles like Rusalka, Micaëla, and extra. Hold studying to find out about Sara’s perspective on Violetta, what she enjoys about rehearsing, and the challenges she overcame throughout Opera Colorado’s 2023 manufacturing of Die tote Stadt.
Get tickets to Verdi’s La traviata this November 1, 4, 7, 9 on the Ellie Caulkins Opera Home. >>
Whereas this isn’t your Opera Colorado debut, because you acted in our 2023 manufacturing of Die tote Stadt, this might be your first time singing in an Opera Colorado manufacturing. Inform us about that, and the way are you feeling main as much as this efficiency?
I’m so excited to return and share each my voice and my performing with Opera Colorado’s audiences on the gorgeous stage of the Ellie Caulkins Opera Home. When I used to be right here in 2023 for Die tote Stadt and was unable to sing as a result of a superior laryngeal nerve damage, it was devastating—for me and for everybody concerned. That have, nevertheless, led me to my extraordinary care group right here in Denver: my voice pathologist and instructor, Kate Emerich, and my ENT, Dr. David Opperman. They put me again collectively higher than ever, and I really consider that if I hadn’t been in Denver when it occurred, I wouldn’t have had such a profitable end result.
Solely with the ability to act on stage throughout that point taught me a lot—it compelled me to hear extra deeply to my colleagues, to remain fully current, and to speak with out counting on sound. That have finally made me a stronger singer, actor, and musician. With Kate and Dr. Opperman’s assist, I used to be singing once more by the summer time of 2023, and now to be again in Denver opening Opera Colorado’s forty-third season seems like the best privilege.
Violetta is an incredible function, each musically and dramatically. How do you strategy this function, and the way does she resonate with you?
In 2023, I adopted the mantra “Select Your Pleasure.” I believe Violetta lives with that very same spirit. She is aware of her time is proscribed—she has seen what this sickness does to others—and but she continues to stay within the second, making decisions primarily based on what brings her happiness. She by no means actually believes love is supposed for her, however when she meets Alfredo, she throws warning to the wind and chooses her pleasure. Violetta is fiery, unbiased, and dependable—qualities I additionally acknowledge in myself—so I really feel very near her.
The function is each vocally and bodily demanding, and what I really like is how Verdi makes her voice evolve by means of the opera. In act one, she sparkles with coloratura and airiness; in act two, after leaving her life as a courtesan for the countryside, her music turns into deeper and extra grounded; and in act three, on her deathbed, her strains are fragile and sorrowful. As an actress, it’s a present to maneuver by means of all these emotional landscapes and sing in so many various colours whereas telling her story.
You’ve participated in lots of operas which can be much less mainstream, corresponding to Bluebeard’s Fort, Wozzeck, and extra. How do these experiences examine to performing in La traviata, one of the crucial common operas?
I really like with the ability to revisit Violetta and sing one thing extra mainstream—musically and vocally it feels simpler, nearly like balm for my soul and my throat. It’s additionally uncommon that I get to repeat a job, so returning to La traviata is a present. The extra life I stay, the extra depth I can carry to her story. Ultimately, characters like Judith in Bluebeard’s Fort, Marie in Wozzeck, and Violetta in La traviata all share an identical temperament: they’re extremely smart ladies navigating survival in a world that gives them restricted alternatives exterior of societal expectations. They’re courageous, intelligent, and weak. Exploring these qualities by means of the distinct musical languages of every composer is all the time a thrill.
What’s your favourite a part of the rehearsal course of?
There are such a lot of moments within the rehearsal course of that I really like. That very first day, after we all meet and sing by means of the rating as a group, is all the time exhilarating. Then come the conversations with the director and Maestro about our characters’ motivations and tips on how to carry them to life bodily and vocally. The primary orchestra rehearsal is all the time a thrill, and the primary gown rehearsal seems like entering into one other world. Watching a manufacturing develop from begin to end is unbelievable. I usually inform individuals: come on opening evening, however then come again once more. You’ll see and listen to new issues the second time, and the expertise will really feel completely different as a result of opera is alive—the singers proceed to evolve too.
You lately moved to Denver! What are you most enthusiastic about now that you simply’re right here?
I’ve such a particular relationship with the Denver Metro space. I earned my Grasp’s in Vocal Efficiency at CU Boulder in 2004, then stayed to finish my Artist Diploma in 2006. At the same time as a pupil, I felt I might sooner or later make Colorado my residence—and now I’ve. I simply relocated to Littleton with my son and purchased my first home right here, which seems like the proper place to place down roots whereas persevering with to journey and carry out. I’m excited to settle in, go mountaineering, make a journey to Estes Park, and naturally, cease by Laura’s Candies in Estes, which has all the time been a favourite of mine.
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Witness Sara Gartland as our courageous heroine Violetta this fall. Get tickets to Verdi’s La traviata now. >>
