A Little Chat with Christiane Karg, an Upcoming Lyric Soprano to Watch

Born in Feuchtwangen in southern Germany in 1980, Christiane Karg is one of today's most promising young operatic sopranos. She has already performed at the prestigeous Salzburg Summer Festival in 2006 (to rave reviews) and is now in the ensemble at Frankfurt Opera. I first experienced her as Melia and the Weltgeist in the M22 DVD of Mozart's Apollo et Hyacinthus and Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, and was so impressed with her stage presence, marvelously well controlled voice, and originality that I made it a habit of looking out for her every now and then when I surf the internet looking for opera schedules and reviews (opera singers with palpable individuality and authentic sense of drama don't grow on trees these days and I don't want to miss any that I have the chance to experience).

Anyhow! Since English materials on her seemed unseemly scarce, I preposterously asked the young lady for a cyber-interview right in the middle of a hectic singing season. To my utter delight, she complied and somehow made time to provide wonderfully candid and thoughtful answer to my questions below. The interview was given in German and translated into English by yours truly.

1. When and why did you decide to become an opera singer?
Karg: I began to sing in our church choir when I was only 7 yrs old. My first solo performance was at age 10 in a children's cantata, Noah, at the church. I am lucky that my father is a big opera fan, and he took me to the *Bayreuth Festival for the first time when I was 11 yrs old. I also visited the festivals in Salzburg and Munich as a child and was thrilled by the experience.

Aside from studying piano and flute I also took singing lessons. I participated in the 'Jugend musiziert (Young Musician)' competition a few times before 2000, when I was accepted to study at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. I didn't really plan on this path. It just all fell into place this way. Luckily!

(* Bayreuth (pronounced Bai-hoyt) Festival is an annual summer festival that focuses on the operas of Richard Wagner performed at the opera house that he designed and built.)

2. How has the opera singing career been for you? Has it been as you expected it to be?
Karg: About the career, I wouldn't comment on yet. My working life is still at its beginning phrase. There are something I would keep doing and others not.

Starting at the Opera Studio in Hamburg was quite a shock. Back at university we could rehearse for months, now everything is accelerated. Sometimes there is only one week for us to prepare for a work in the main repertoire. It is just a question of me knowing the text and line well so that I don't throw my colleagues off. This is a shame, because it isn't conducive to the artistic aspect of the performance. But if the many works on the program are to be realized, then we must try to find a way to motivate ourselves.

I have always found it a lot of fun to travel, and I feel it a privilege to be able to see and live in different cities for days or weeks at a time. We also often return to the same venues and are able to catch up with acquaintances and friends.

The competition, especially in the soprano fach, always comes back to diction. I must however say that I didn't expect the study of different languages' diction to be this demanding. There are so many different roles to learn and I can only sing in the evening... and not every day at that. It's good that I can listen to many ideas and learn a lot from my colleagues.

3. Young singers are always somewhat burden by comparison to past legends and established stars. Does that make your job harder as an artist?
Karg: It can be a great pressure, if one always thinks of the success of others. And the media's focus now plays such a large role, perhaps overly so. I try to just concentrate on myself and what I'm doing and paying as little attention as possible to the comparison with others. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and that fact is what makes something individual and special. Only when one is honest and stays faithful to oneself, then one knows which way to go artistically.

4. You have such a wide repertoire for a young singer; from Handel and Bach to Puccini and even Britten. Is it hard to sing in these different styles? Do you prefer opera from any certain era more than the others?
Karg: In no way would I like to commit myself to just any specific composer or a musical style. There is still so much left to discover... And also my voice is still developing.

I've sung a lot of Baroque music, because I feel at home with it. And, above others, Mozart forms the basis of my current repertoire. There is an almost inexhaustible wealth there. As my career progresses, I would like to assume Strauss roles like Sophie (in Der Rosenkavalier) and Zdenka (in Arabella).

5. Do you enjoy the modern 'Regietheater' style of stage direction that requires a lot of acting or would you like to be able to concentrate more on singing? Is 'opera' primarily a music genre (where good singing is much more important than good acting) or is it a real blend of music and theater (where it isn't necessary to sing absolutely flawlessly if one can make the audience believe the opera character), in your opinion?
Karg: The two attributes (music and theater) aren't mutually exclusive. It isn't enough for me to just have a vocally perfect evening. I would like for both the singer and the audience to partake on a journey together... and experience the many aspects of the story. There are times where a beautiful voice doesn't fit into the story. Crying, sobbing, laughing, I would like to experience all of it in a performance.

Naturally, everything must fit into the framework, because the music remains the essence of musical theater. Good directors always work with the music. When one listens closely, there are all movements of their own.

6. What makes a performance a successful one for you? If you can choose between having a perfect performance on the stage but not great enthusiasm from the audience and having a rather flawed performance that still make the audience go wild with enthusiasm, which would you prefer?
Karg: Unfortunately or fortunately, I can't decide. The question is really a very difficult to answer.

Naturally there are good and bad nights. And rarely, really bad ones. We rehearse and prepare for long enough so that, hopefully, major difficulties won't happen. Fortunately I've never done a role that I find too difficult to manage.

7. What would you say is the hardest thing about life as an opera singer?
Karg: Even with all the beautiful aspects of it, travel is also the biggest problem. That is something that all of my colleagues actually agree on!

Many relationships break down from the distance and time apart. Only a few, in addition to the commitment, remain. We fly from one gig to the next, and are easily lost in foreign cities, new homes or hotels. But often you find yourselves sitting alone at an acclaimed restaurant and later in the hotel room in the evening. This is really sad. That's when we question why we do what we do. When I stand on the stage, then I know why.

8. Do you have any dream role(s) you've always wanted to sing? Or is there any artist(s) you would like to perform with some day?
Karg: At the moment there are many roles already planned. Susanna (in Le nozze di Figaro) arrives in the next few weeks. Pamina (in The Magic Flute), Norina (in Don Pasquale) in autumn and winter. Of course these are roles that I'm very happy to have.

I am also a big fan of Wagner and have many favorite tenor and bass arias that I will never sing. What I would really like to sing in the near future would be the Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare. I would love be offered that role.

9. Any plan to perform in the USA in the future?
Karg: At the moment there is nothing concrete, but there are some auditions planned in the future.

You can catch a good glimpse of Christiane Karg in the M22 DVD of Mozart's Apollo et Hyacinthus/ Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots (here is a sample clip) or try to catch her performance live (her schedule is posted on her website: www.christianekarg.com/hpcenter/f2.php).

Other Smorg interviews:
Juliette Galstian (mezzo-soprano opera singer), Integr8ted Soul (folk-rock duo), Rene Tornero G (Experimental rock guitarist), Elizabeth Tryon (classical cross-over singer), Esther Barr (Metalworks artist), Christy Erb (ex-LPGA Tour golfer now instructor and author), Leon Natker (Lyric Opera San Diego), Gary McKercher (San Diego Master Chorale), Ian Campbell (San Diego Opera).