Today we wanted to share a FANTASTIC interview with Sondra Radvanovsky and David Laviska on MusicalCriticism.com!
And remember, if you don’t already have a Radvanovsky Sings Verdi, you can win it for FREE by taking part in our 37th Anniversary Contest! You will also get a copy of our 35th Anniversary Opera Gala compilation.
From MusicalCriticism.com
Sondra Radvanovsky talks about her Verdi Arias recording and future projects
‘I want to touch the audience and transport them to another place where they can forget all the worries of daily life’
1 May 2010
Radvanovsky’s very first solo aria recording, ‘Verdi Arias’ on the Delos label, was released in the United States during the month of April. I asked her to share her feelings about the recording process and the finished product. ‘Well, the project took a long time to develop, since it was actually postponed twice, due to family concerns on my end, and then the conductor’s schedule. So when we finally got together last June in Moscow, it was in fact our third attempt to get the project completed. It was all a very new process for me, since I had never previously made any studio recordings. The only other time I had made a recording was Philip Glass’ Civil Wars and on that occasion, I was in a studio, recording to a track; there was no orchestra present. So for me, the process was completely foreign, and I had no idea what to expect or how to sing for a microphone in a recording studio. In addition, the studio was in Moscow, so there was a language barrier with the entire orchestra speaking Russian, of course, so that was challenging too.’
When I asked if she had ever previously been to Moscow, Radvanovsky confirmed that she had in fact recorded an album of Verdi duets with Hvorostovsky, taken from a live concert. While this recording hasn’t yet been released here in the US, I have received confirmation from the distributor that it should become available this coming autumn. ‘That concert with Dmitri was actually done a year before my aria disc, and was the first time I had performed with Dmitri and the conductor [Constantine Orbelian]. So for my solo disc, I had the same conductor and the same orchestra [Philharmonia of Russia], which was great! But recording an album is a really intense process, I have to say. There are ten arias – ten big Verdi arias – that are taken from several of my signature roles. I really wanted to record a program that would showcase me in some of the repertoire I love most, and since this is my first album, I really wanted to show people what I’m good at. Like many singers, I hate listening to myself sing, because I don’t really hear the beauty, I tend to focus on the imperfections. Prior to the sessions, I was worried a little bit about how my voice was going to record. I definitely feel that my voice needs a good amount of space in order to bloom and resonate – like a concert hall – and so, going in and standing about 10 inches from a microphone was concerning me. And I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome, I have to say!’…Read the full article and interview on MusicalCriticism.com
And remember to participate in our 37th Anniversary Contest!