A Shape-shifting Opera Singer With A Break To Match


They were supportive, though, and Petersen’s piano teacher exposed him to “everything from Bach to Hindemith.” Her voice was noticed in a school music class, which led to singing in a church choir and learning the sacred repertoire of Schubert, Mozart, and more. When he was 15, his family took him to his first opera, Verdi’s “Rigoletto”. He fell asleep.

“I didn’t understand anything,” said Petersen. “Actually, I was late to the opera.”

This happened when he studied vocals in Stuttgart, partly funding his training by performing in a cover band called Square on weekends. Petersen played keyboards and sang hits like Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. He used to give concerts with a keyboard player colleague, which included performing “Starlight Express” on roller skates.

“It was a good training because the nights were long and there was some toughness involved,” Petersen said. He imitated the voices of the original singers, a skill that paid off when he entered a composition that later included categories for classical repertoire, then chansons and musical theatre. Channeling Barbra Streisand with her show tune on “Yentl,” she won the top prize at both.

But by the age of 25, he focused entirely on opera. He attended home societies in Nuremberg and Düsseldorf. As a light coloratura soprano, she has performed roles such as Ännchen in “Der Freischütz” and Oscar in “Un Ballo in Maschera”. She later started freelancing in 2003.

Petersen began to develop a more personal repertoire and signature roles. Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” featured Susanna, whom she saw as a “quick, fun, and creative” relative. And the anti-hero title of “Lulu,” which Berg sang about 10 runs earlier. retiring at the Metropolitan Opera Notorious for the complexity and excess of his music and psychology, he said this role was “the greatest thing in my life.”



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