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In addition to my translations of Dutch magazine and newspaper articles and interviews in messages 562, 644, 652, 671 and 776 here is another one, 9 months old but only just discovered. It wasn't exactly in a very logical magazine, OPZIJ, a general Dutch feminist monthly.I leave out minor parts of this long article.
BEING DEMANDING IS PROFESSIONAL
by Liddie Austin
We made an appointment for a back room of the Royal Opera House in London and Cecilia Bartoli is late, probably lost as I can well imagine in this huge building.
But then she comes, apologizing extensively for the delay. I see a cute young woman. In stead of the- subsidized by a fan- long silk gown in which she performs she wears a comfortable black outfit. Her hair hangs lose, no make-up, but some simple golden earrings and a gold watch on her wrist, a
Rolex?
L'anima del filosofo is all sold out and she
also has nothing to complain about the reviews. "It's going well, yes", she confirms but immediately toning down her own role.
"I hope that most people come to discover this opera. That would be the biggest success, that Haydn is being discovered as an opera composer.That gives me the freedom to perform the music in my own way, in which I most of all feel obliged to the composer.My goal is to give the best possible performance of the work of Haydn, Gluck or Vivaldi, to bring their ideas to light as best as possible. How the audience reacts to that is of secundary importance. My love for certain composers is so big that I want to persuade the audience to also love them. I want to tempt the audience. In the end that is always the challenge: how do I convey my love? How do I translate the score, how do I interpret the composer's intentions best?"
Measured by the success that persues her in the last decade Bartoli succeeds excellently in this.From the moment of her international breakthrough in 1989 (aged 23) she is the darling of the international opera audience.
And she is not chosing the easiest path. She could get old and rich by singing time and again the success arias of Puccini and Rossini, but prefers dedicating to work of forgotten composers and unknown work of their famous, 18th century colleagues.
"I see it as my mission, although that sounds rather pretentious, may be responsability is a better description of what I mean- to give a part of the unknown work the attention it deserves. It was like a Spielberg-movie to undust the Vivaldi manuscripts in the library, papers written by the composer himself. I had microfiches made of them and studied those. I focused on the castrati roles. When you study that you start automatically wondering who would have sung this? Who would have been able to sing it as this music is quite demanding.And then you feel what a special time it was, that 18th century. The great castrati were the stars. They were vocal athletes, they could make huge leaps with their voice. We women will never be able to touch that: their lung capacity was much bigger than ours, their voices much more powerful. I cannot sing like they, but I try to follow them as well as I can.That alone is already a big challenge for me, one I seek consciously. I have to keep myself fascinated. I do that by learning new things, the music of great composers, a different singing technique".
Cecilia Bartoli was born Rome 4 june 1966......... her brother Gabriele, with whom she had a strong bond, died 4 years ago of cancer.A shadow falls upon her face when he is mentioned. She does not want to talk about him. "It is a great sorrow, but I keep it to myself and the people who are dear to me. I share already so much with my audience. Especially in this job you have to have a place where you can be entirely yourself. For me that is my family".
As a child she didn't want to know about singing. "You want always something different than your parents. I wanted flamenco but one day my mother persuaded me to sing. Just a little song, at home at he piano. She let me do some voice tests. After a few times I managed to produce a real sound and I was shocked. Is this me? I felt it was the beginning of something I couldn't comprehend the range. It was such a big kick that first sound. I wanted to reach that again ,and again" . Not that she realised at that time she was going to become a singer.
"But I did realise I had an instrument that could be developed. I went to the conservatory and also practiced at home with my mother. It was an exciting time, full of possibilities".
Why does one make a carriere and the other doesn't? " I now know that having a great voice is not enough. There is also an element of luck. You have to know how to use your instrument and how to listen to it.If you cannot you make the wrong decisions. You have to be able to say "no".This means she limits herself to 2 operas per year and 60 recitals in intimate halls. "I am curious by nature but a voice like mine forces me to take limits into account. It is a part of myself but it often happens that I want something that my mind wants and that is not good for my voice and then usually the mind loses".
There are namely many great roles she cannot sing as a mezzo. "Some roles by Mozart I cannot sing, Verdi, whom I love, also not. My voice does not fit in his operas. I will have to accept that: that music is not suited for my instrument. You have to get to know your limitations and live with them. Fortunately enough is possible. My voice suits the work of 18th century composers and there are worse periods imagineable.I lack time in my entire life with so many fantastic composers. I will only be able to sing a fraction of their work. Then it's not wise to keep mourning about what I cannot do".
Speaking about a short life, is she afraid of what changes the menopause will bring to her voice? "No, I'm not afraid, it is so that a woman's voice changes by hormones in the menopause. But we can have children and men can't. I know that in that phase of my life I will lose a little the control over my voice.I take that into account in my planning. What I want I try to accomplish now, but I am not in a hurry. My instrument is probably now at it's best, but I also know there will be roles I will sing better after the menopause.Some roles demand a different sound of voice. I really look forward to singing Marcellina in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro. That's quite different than Cherubino but also great , with a lot of humour".
Bartoli prefers describing her voice as her instrument. How would you want to describe that instrument? "My instrument is a voice with darkness. It is not a very powerful but a flexible voice so I can also sing castrato roles, a voice that likes to fly, while I myself don't like that at all. I think the human voice touches the soul closest. That makes it so fascinating. You reach an area where you can't get in any other way. Only your voice can touch your soul. That makes it such a moving instrument. Musicians always say they want to let their instrument sing, that's not a coincidental expression. I am glad I have this instrument".
That instrument has to be well take care of.
"For your voice it is best to be silent. Not sing but also not talk. Complete silence. But that is worst for your diaphragm, that has to be practiced every day. That's why I avoid long holidays. A month away is too long for my voice. In between tours I take 2-week holidays. Then I start breathing excercises again. During the holidays I don't sing at all.Although, people say they also hear me often during holidays, but I am not aware of that. Holidays mean doing different things than usually.I want to go out without having to worry about airconditioning and I also like to eat what I want during holidays, like chocolate. This irritates your vocal chords so I don't do it during tours.At home I can and I can rest there, That's important. Fatigue has immediate influence on the voice.
Often I only notice by my voice that I am tired".
Even a star like Bartoli has no unlimited power over her repertoire. "It is always a matter of negotiating but I like that. After the success of Vivaldi it was easier to get Gluck done. For Vivaldi I really had to do my best although it was cheap to produce this CD. My record company only saw this as a present to me after 12 years. "OK,Cecilia, we love you. If you really want to do this then go ahead".
What appeared? Their present to me became my present to them. The nicest was that Vivaldi became a big success without being crossover:pure classical music without a modern sauce. I don't like that. The success proves the audience does not need that always".
Also in the opera world there are different rules for women than for men. "Of women who know what they want they easily say: she is a diva. That's how I am called also. The word "diva" has negative connotations; capricious, unpredictable, arrogant. It is the opposite of professionalism. That is not right. I think being demanding is professional. I want the best. That is often not accepted of women.I want to express my wishes and not being called a diva".
Does she contemplate motherhood? "I want to become a mother but I want to offer my children a decent life. I see all too often how difficult it is for my colleagues to combine carriere with a nice family life. I wonder if it's so good to travel around and put your children in boarding schools (BTW, Emma Kirkby doesn't do operas for that reason). My parents gave up their careers. They had a different sort of career. It was even more difficult for them to combine children and career. I see my voice as a gift and so are children. When I become a mother I want to become a good mother and that is a great responsability. It won't make life easier. I am curious to see it, also because it is not unlikely that it will change my voice. A big love experience always has an effect on the way you perform music. That love you hear through the music".
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Translated article from a Dutch feminist magazine 
