Ten Questions With…
Alisa Jordheim, soprano
Marzelline in Fidelio
1. Where were you born / raised?
Appleton, Wisconsin
2. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
Medicine / healthcare – a nurse or nurse practitioner (see my answer to #5).
3. My favorite opera is…
Nixon in China by John Adams.
4. My favorite pre/post-show meal is…
Pre-show: A light combination of protein and carbohydrates, candied ginger, and always an apple!
Post-show: Ice cream and/or french fries!
5. People would be surprised to know that…
I danced ballet and en pointe for seven years. I also became a State-Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA or CNA) in 2008. I worked as an STNA with a healthcare company giving in-home care for nearly two years while I was in school at the University of Cincinnati College – Conservatory of Music. I couldn’t keep up both my work as an STNA and my work as a traveling singer, so I chose to focus on singing. However, I miss my work as an STNA very much and still have my scrubs!
6. What is your favorite song to belt out at the bar / in the car /for karaoke?
I have no shame. Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off.”
7. What is your pop culture guilty pleasure?
I am a big fan of the Food Network, HGTV, and TLC.
8. A few of my favorite films are…
Some Like it Hot, The Seven Year Itch, Casablanca, Catch Me If You Can, 500 Days of Summer, The Shawshank Redemption, any of the Muppet movies (but especially The Great Muppet Caper), and so many more. My favorite TV show was / is Breaking Bad.
9. If we were to turn on your ipod right now, what five artists/songs would we see on your recently-played list?
Fidelio (!), Maroon 5, Imogen Heap, Edvard Grieg (Norwegian Dances for Piano – Eva Knardahl), Beyonce.
10. What is the best costume you’ve ever worn?
One of my favorite costume wardrobes was for Albert Herring with Florentine Opera, and I was Miss Wordsworth. The style was 1950s retro, and I had pink cat-eye glasses with rhinestones and a blonde wig curled in a flip. It was like the whole cast stepped right out of Mad Men!
11. Bonus question:
Q: Do you sing in genres/ styles other than opera?
A: I enjoy singing all different genres and styles of music – opera, oratorio, art song, musical theater, cabaret, jazz, chamber music, electronic music, etc. I am also passionate about singing diction and Scandinavian vocal music (my heritage is Norwegian and Danish, and that is the inspiration for my interest in Scandinavian music). My cognate field for my DMA degree from CCM is Scandinavian song and diction, and I recently completed studies in Scandinavia on the subject, thanks to grants from the Fulbright Foundation and the American Scandinavian Foundation.
Don’t miss the chance to see Alisa in Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera! Performances are November 21 and 23 at Overture Hall. Tickets start at $18; visit madisonopera.org for more information.
Ten Questions With…
David Blalock, tenor
Jaquino in Fidelio
1. Where were you born / raised?
Chapel Hill, North Carolina / Burlington, North Carolina
2. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
I would absolutely love to be a sports writer. I am an avid sports fan, and writing about sports for a living would be a dream job.
3. My favorite opera is…
Peter Grimes, although the answer to this question changes about every 2 or 3 weeks.
4. My favorite pre/post-show meal is…
Pre-show: Something light: either a salad or a small sandwich.
Post-show: Double whatever I had pre-show.
5. People would be surprised to know that…
My brother is also a professional opera singer.
6. What is your favorite song to belt out for karaoke?
“My Funny Valentine,” in the style of Frank Sinatra.
7. What is your pop culture guilty pleasure?
Going to see movies. I absolutely love the experience of going to the theater.
8. A few of my favorite films are…
The Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, Twelve Angry Men, Some Like It Hot, The Deer Hunter, Unforgiven.
9. If we were to turn on your ipod right now, what five artists/songs would we see on your recently-played list?
Kurt Elling, definitely Jonas Kaufmann, Lake Street Dive, probably some other young tenors like Bryan Hymel or Michael Fabiano.
10. What is the best costume you’ve ever worn?
A marionette costume for the world premiere of Oscar at Santa Fe Opera during the summer of 2013. There was a scene that took place in a nursery and all of the toys came to life. My character was a marionette dressed as a pirate. I had giant strings attached to my limbs that were hooked to a handle above my head. It’s hard to describe, but I looked amazing. Plus I got to walk around like a puppet, which was fun.
Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer):
Q: What is your dream role in any voice type?
A: My dream role is Rigoletto. I would love to sing the role, but also it would be a fun challenge dramatically.
Don’t miss the chance to see David in Fidelio, Beethoven’s only opera! Performances are November 21 and 23 at Overture Hall. Tickets start at $18; visit madisonopera.org for more information.
Six Questions with…
Robert Orth, baritone
Voltaire / Pangloss, Candide
1. My favorite thing about being a singer is: Getting to live inside the greatest pieces of music ever written, and then getting to share them with enthusiastic audiences.
2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is: Exercising the self-discipline involved to learn the score, and always living with the insecurity of getting future jobs.
3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is: Chanticleer’s Christmas concerts are unforgettable.
4. My favorite American operas are: Candide, Nixon in China, Moby Dick, Dead Man Walking, The Grapes of Wrath, and too many more to mention.
5. People would be surprised to know that: When I was 3 years old, I memorized the Old Testament story of Jonah and the Whale, and recited it while standing on a chair behind the pulpit at a Sunday School convention. I was adorable.
6. Describe your favorite moment on stage: One of my favorite moments on stage was doing Nixon in China as part of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the composer John Adams conducting.
Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer).
Q: How is it that you are and always have been the hottest baritone in the business?
A: I would answer modestly, “moisturizer.”
Come hear Robert sing Voltaire / Pangloss in excerpts from Candide as part of American Kaleidoscope at the Overture Center this Saturday and Sunday. Tickets at overturecenter.org or 608.258.4141.
Five Questions with…
Jeni Houser, soprano
Cunegonde, Candide
1. My favorite thing about being a singer is: Creating something new and spontaneous every time I perform. With live orchestra and colleagues, each and every performance is fresh, even though the music and story may have been around for quite a long time. I love the feeling of improvising a bit even as you perform previously-rehearsed material.
2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is: Staying physically and mentally healthy in the midst of a demanding audition season or performance schedule. A cold can completely wipe out your ability to do what you have trained for. And this is a taxing career, so sleeping, exercising, and eating well are incredibly important, along with seeing friends and taking time for yourself.
3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is: Bobby McFerrin with the jazz ensemble at Lawrence University – he had everyone in the audience improvising and laughing and glad to be alive.
4. My favorite American opera is: The Ballad of Baby Doe by Douglas Moore.
5. People would be surprised to know that: I can sign the alphabet backwards and can name all 50 states in alphabetical order in one breath.
Come hear Jeni in excerpts from Candideas part of American Kaleidoscope at the Overture Center this Saturday and Sunday. Tickets at overturecenter.org or 608.258.4141.
Six questions with…
Daniel Shirley, tenor
Candide in Candide
1. My favorite thing about being a singer is: That my colleagues and I are part of a 400+ year-old tradition of singing. Even though opera is and always will be relevant, the craft defies the modern world, which is so obsessed with instant gratification. We purvey a tradition that is bigger than all of us. And there is a weird comfort in accepting that it cannot be “mastered,” only gradually understood over the course of a lifetime.
2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is: Being away from the ones you love. Others have given the same answer to this question, and they are absolutely right. That, and also wearing a heavy woolen costume previously worn by someone with B.O. That’s pretty rough, too.
3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is: Alison Krauss and Union Station at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. When the whole band sang, the tuning was so precise that the pews shook. (Yes, you sit in pews at the Ryman, the “Mother Church of Country Music.”)
4. My favorite American Opera is: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It’s an opera, it’s a musical, it’s everything, from the sublime to the horrible. Sweeney is one of my “desert island” pieces, along with the Matthew Passion and The Marriage of Figaro. This is a completely honest answer and not an intentional plug for our production in February… but since I’m on the subject, Madison Opera is doing Sweeney in February and I am SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY STAND IT. [Ed. note: Daniel will sing Anthony Hope in the Madison Opera production.]
5. People would be surprised to know that: I did not go to college with the intent of studying music. I wanted to go to law school and then practice entertainment law. Could not have named you three operas until the age of 19. Though I had been singing and playing bass for many years, I had no professional musical aspirations until my 20s.
6. Describe your favorite moment on stage. My answer here is less a specific moment, more an experience. My middle school choir director was a brilliant musician who inspired fearless singing from all of us knuckleheads. Those performances are some of my most cherished memories from my entire life, musical and otherwise. Watching people react, cry, laugh, rise to their feet because of singing – this is when I first discovered that there is power in music, in particular the music made by the human voice.
Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer).
Q: Where are you from?
A: Despite sojourns in Tennessee, Indiana, Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina, and no matter where on this Earth I will ever live, I will always be a Mississippian. My lovely Yankee wife, on observing my enjoyment of the brisk Midwestern fall temperatures, has on occasion mislabeled me a (shudder) Yankee. But this, actually, can never be so.
Come hear Daniel in excerpts from Candide as part of American Kaleidoscope at the Overture Center this Saturday and Sunday. Tickets at overturecenter.org or 608.258.4141.
