Ah
Canadians. Always so pleasant. And with such international names! Ileana
Montalbetti, 29, is our Prairie Soprano traveling from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
(via Toronto on a stormy Tuesday) to compete in the Big Apple.
It is no wonder that Ileana finds herself here today in the
opera world with such an impressive pedigree...her mom was an opera singer and
currently resides as
Artistic Director of Saskatoon Opera. I am told that in her
20s, Ms. Montalbetti's mother received her formal training from the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna where she studied with American soprano, Arleen Auger. The performing genes do not stop here, as her father is a trained actor
and her brother is training as an actor.
I
was pleased not to sit down and chat with only Ileana but also her friends Yegor Shevtsov (pianist),
and Jonathan Beyer, 2006 MONC National Finalist, and the resulting and highly
entertaining banter may deem a separate blog entry.
Opera
Idols: Do
you have a favourite opera/aria/composer?
Ileana
Montalbetti: Mozart,
I've sung a lot of Mozart, although now I am moving more into the Germanic
repertoire. I am currently a young artist with the Canadian Opera Company in
their training program...in my fourth year and finishing this Spring. I have my
debut next year with the Edmonton Opera Company where I will perform Antonia in the
Tales of Hoffman. I also just returned from Rome where I performed Fifth Maid (the
one they kill) in Strauss' Elektra. My dream is
to perform in Wagner's Die
Walküre.
OI: Any advice to future
auditioners/opera singers?
IM: Stay hydrated and rested,
especially if you are traveling
OI: What has been your
impressions of these MONC ER auditions?
IM: I have to say that these
auditions are very well organized and ahead of time. Everyone is really
friendly. And I love being in New York.
OI: Do you have any techniques
to relax after an audition or any preparation methods on the day of an audition
like this?
IM: Post-audition...watching mindless
TV so that I can stop thinking and analyzing about my performance!
:)
