Carolinas Concert Association

Singer's life bound up in melody
To Frederica von Stade, childhood, family and music are forever linked
STEVEN BROWN
sbrown@charlotteobserver.com

Has anyone woven singing and life into each other as tightly as Frederica von Stade?

It isn't just that von Stade -- who comes to Charlotte with bass Samuel Ramey for a duo recital Tuesday -- has been singing since childhood.

After von Stade, pregnant with her first child, started having contractions during a recording session, she named her daughter Jenny Rebecca after one of the songs she had been taping. Daughter No. 2 became the dedicatee of a set of songs with words by von Stade, put to music by a composer friend.

Von Stade used music to draw her closer to the father she never knew. Killed in action with the Army during World War II, he had sent letters home that were among the family's last mementos of him. Von Stade helped spearhead a work for voices and orchestra inspired by them -- with music by Richard Danielpour, whose Civil War saga "Margaret Garner" was staged in Charlotte in 2006.

In a new opera premiering next month, von Stade completes the family circle by playing a character who harks back to her mother. Von Stade describes her as "an amazing character" in the spirit of Auntie Mame, the indomitable Hollywood and Broadway heroine.

"Both my parents are long gone, and to honor my dad in song was a great privilege," von Stade said in a recent interview. "Now I get to honor my mom, too. At my age, to be able to do that is fantastic."

"It's always wonderful to be able to reflect back on your family and what you came from ... and what their struggles were."

4 decades in the spotlight

Nowadays, von Stade can reflect on her own addition to the family saga. After all, nearly four decades have passed since she broke into the big time with her debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera.Not bad for someone who, as a student, thought a singing career was a long shot.

"It's one of those things," von Stade said. "You don't dare dream of what you want so much."

Yet it came to her quickly. Von Stade was only in her mid-20s when she debuted at the Met.

Her voice wasn't -- and isn't -- the type to hurl thunderbolts. She found her niche in gentler fare, especially the grace and vitality of Mozart; the breeziness of Rossini comedies; and the subtle brush strokes of French opera. With her slim figure, she was tailor-made for roles in that operatic tradition of having a woman play an adolescent boy. Even when von Stade was pushing 50, she cut an exuberant figure as Octavian, the 17-year-old experiencing hormonal overdrive in Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier."

But making it all sound too easy would be a mistake.

"A couple of times," von Stade said, "I burned out, just from fatigue. ... And I've sung things that weren't exactly right for me, and had to realize that was a mistake."

She also found that a busy career can get in the way of family life. That operatic character von Stade likened to her mother also contains pieces of herself, she said. The character is a famous actress, and her children "accuse her of neglecting them" in her quest for fame.

"I haven't been that famous," von Stade said, "but that's an element of my life as well -- that I had to be gone at different times in my kids' lives."

That's why a line near the end of the new opera -- "Last Acts" by Jake Heggie -- particularly strikes home to her. The actress points to her children and says to the audience: "I think these two are going to be OK, don't you?"

"All you really want," von Stade said, "is for your kids to be happy, in spite of yourself.

"In spite of what you've done to them," she added, laughing.

On the program

Von Stade will open Tuesday's concert with a group of the French arias she's known for. She'll also sing Broadway standards that she was drawn to even before she discovered opera.

Ramey will take turns with her in the Broadway classics. But he'll begin with some of the music that has been his calling card: three musical personifications of the devil.

That's not a case of typecasting, von Stade commented.

"Nobody can resist Sam Ramey," she said. "He's one of the dearest human beings that God ever put on this earth."

Von Stade has had plenty of time to decide about that. The two met in the 1970s, when they were recording a little-known Rossini drama -- his operatic version of Shakespeare's "Othello." Von Stade played the ill-fated Desdemona, and Ramey -- as basses often do -- portrayed the heroine's father.

"When Sam opened his mouth for the first time and sang, everyone in the room was just stricken," she said. "I had never heard a voice so beautiful in my entire life."

CAROLINAS CONCERT ASSOCIATION

Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and bass Samuel Ramey join forces. Martin Katz is the pianist.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday.

WHERE: Belk Theater, Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, 130 N. Tryon St.

TICKETS: $25-$65.

DETAILS: 704-527-6680; www.carolinasconcert.org.






Singer's life bound up in melody To Frederica von Stade, childhood, family and music are forever linked STEVEN BROWN sbrown@charlotteobserver.com Has anyone woven singing and life into each other as tightly as Frederica von Stade? It isn't just that von Stade -- who comes to Charlotte with bass Samuel Ramey for a duo recital Tuesday -- has been singing since childhood. After von Stade, pregnant with her first child, started having contractions during a recording session, she named her daughter Jenny Rebecca after one of the songs she had been taping. Daughter No. 2 became the dedicatee of a set of songs with words by von Stade, put to music by a composer friend. Von Stade used music to draw her closer to the father she never knew. Killed in action with the Army during World War II, he had sent letters home that were among the family's last mementos of him. Von Stade helped spearhead a work for voices and orchestra inspired by them -- with music by Richard Danielpour, whose Civil War saga "Margaret Garner" was staged in Charlotte in 2006. In a new opera premiering next month, von Stade completes the family circle by playing a character who harks back to her mother. Von Stade describes her as "an amazing character" in the spirit of Auntie Mame, the indomitable Hollywood and Broadway heroine. "Both my parents are long gone, and to honor my dad in song was a great privilege," von Stade said in a recent interview. "Now I get to honor my mom, too. At my age, to be able to do that is fantastic." "It's always wonderful to be able to reflect back on your family and what you came from ... and what their struggles were." 4 decades in the spotlight Nowadays, von Stade can reflect on her own addition to the family saga. After all, nearly four decades have passed since she broke into the big time with her debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera.Not bad for someone who, as a student, thought a singing career was a long shot. "It's one of those things," von Stade said. "You don't dare dream of what you want so much." Yet it came to her quickly. Von Stade was only in her mid-20s when she debuted at the Met. Her voice wasn't -- and isn't -- the type to hurl thunderbolts. She found her niche in gentler fare, especially the grace and vitality of Mozart; the breeziness of Rossini comedies; and the subtle brush strokes of French opera. With her slim figure, she was tailor-made for roles in that operatic tradition of having a woman play an adolescent boy. Even when von Stade was pushing 50, she cut an exuberant figure as Octavian, the 17-year-old experiencing hormonal overdrive in Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier." But making it all sound too easy would be a mistake. "A couple of times," von Stade said, "I burned out, just from fatigue. ... And I've sung things that weren't exactly right for me, and had to realize that was a mistake." She also found that a busy career can get in the way of family life. That operatic character von Stade likened to her mother also contains pieces of herself, she said. The character is a famous actress, and her children "accuse her of neglecting them" in her quest for fame. "I haven't been that famous," von Stade said, "but that's an element of my life as well -- that I had to be gone at different times in my kids' lives." That's why a line near the end of the new opera -- "Last Acts" by Jake Heggie -- particularly strikes home to her. The actress points to her children and says to the audience: "I think these two are going to be OK, don't you?" "All you really want," von Stade said, "is for your kids to be happy, in spite of yourself. "In spite of what you've done to them," she added, laughing. On the program Von Stade will open Tuesday's concert with a group of the French arias she's known for. She'll also sing Broadway standards that she was drawn to even before she discovered opera. Ramey will take turns with her in the Broadway classics. But he'll begin with some of the music that has been his calling card: three musical personifications of the devil. That's not a case of typecasting, von Stade commented. "Nobody can resist Sam Ramey," she said. "He's one of the dearest human beings that God ever put on this earth." Von Stade has had plenty of time to decide about that. The two met in the 1970s, when they were recording a little-known Rossini drama -- his operatic version of Shakespeare's "Othello." Von Stade played the ill-fated Desdemona, and Ramey -- as basses often do -- portrayed the heroine's father. "When Sam opened his mouth for the first time and sang, everyone in the room was just stricken," she said. "I had never heard a voice so beautiful in my entire life." CAROLINAS CONCERT ASSOCIATION Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and bass Samuel Ramey join forces. Martin Katz is the pianist. WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday. WHERE: Belk Theater, Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, 130 N. Tryon St. TICKETS: $25-$65. DETAILS: 704-527-6680; www.carolinasconcert.org.
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