This interview was originally recorded on October 16th, 2019.
The Oral History Project is supported by the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation.

Angel Blue, soprano

Angel Blue has emerged in recent seasons as one of the most influential sopranos before the public today. While singing and performing are what Blue is known for, it is her genuine, friendly, and kind disposition that leaves a lasting impression on those who meet her. The two-time Grammy Award winner, 2020 Beverly Sills Award recipient, and 2022 Richard Tucker Award winner is celebrated worldwide for her honeyed soprano and affecting deliveries of many of the most beloved roles in the operatic repertory, such as the title roles in Aida and Tosca, Violetta in La traviata, Bess in Porgy and Bess, Mimì in La bohème, and Liù in Turandot.

Transcript

Marc A. Scorca: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the National Opera Center here in New York. How wonderful that Angel Blue is with us tonight; please join me in welcoming her.

Angel Blue: Hi everybody.

Marc A. Scorca: Welcome to the Opera Center.

Angel Blue: Thank you for having me here.

Marc A. Scorca: As I always do, I start out by asking: who brought you to your first opera?

Angel Blue: My mom and my dad. We were visiting Cleveland, Ohio, and I was four years old and I went to see a production - it wasn't a full production, but more of a concert version - of Turandot. And I was just mesmerized by everything that happened on the stage, even though it wasn't a fully-staged opera.

Marc A. Scorca: Now, you're from California, so why Cleveland?

Angel Blue: Well, my mom is from Cleveland and my dad actually was born in Praco, Alabama, but grew up in West Virginia and then Ohio, and that's where he met my mom. And they moved to California and they had me, and whenever we traveled, we tried to catch concerts and operas.

Marc A. Scorca: Were your parents involved in music?

Angel Blue: Yes, heavily actually. My dad actually studied classical voice at the Cleveland Institute of Music, but he was a brilliant musician. He taught me how to play the bass guitar, the piano, and the alto saxophone. He taught my brother how to play the drums. And my mom grew up playing classical piano, but when my dad wanted to start a family band, she needed to learn how to play gospel, so he taught her how to play by ear.

Marc A. Scorca: How wonderful that the music ran that deeply in your family. But certainly seeing Turandot as a 4-year-old, you might have been kind of mesmerized by it, but when did you think, "Hey, this is something I might want to do?"

Angel Blue: I was four.

Marc A. Scorca: Really?

Angel Blue: I was four, really. I was four years old. And I said to my dad - he's no longer with us; he passed on December 31st, 2006 - but I said to him, "Dad, I want to be like the woman in the light". And he looked at me and he said, "Angel, you can absolutely be like the woman in the light". And I'm thankful, 'cause the other day I was standing on stage, and I thought, "Well, I'm the woman in the light now; it's kind of cool".

Marc A. Scorca: Now, I learned from your bio that your father was your first voice teacher, and he was trained classically, so he began to guide your voice?

Angel Blue: Absolutely. My very first memory of having a proper voice lesson, I was six years old, and my dad taught my sister and I (sings descending notes to different vowels). And he started talking about the mask, and I was scared of what the mask meant, because my dad actually had a mask. And so he said, "This is where the focus of your sound comes from". So I started crying, because I thought it was scary. And I was like, "The mask, that's scary". And he said, "No, no, that's just where the focus comes from". And I was in the first grade when I had my very first voice lesson. But my sister actually really excelled as a classical singer, and she did so many competitions. So, after my dad, I'd say she was the one that I was really modeling myself after, because she was doing a lot of young artist competitions. She's five years older than I am (and she's gonna hate me for saying that) but - my big sister, I wanted to be like her. So, she was in the voice lessons as well.

Marc A. Scorca: There's a lot of discussion about how much you can teach voice to a youngster. That before puberty, before the body really settles in, there's only so much you can teach. So, you really learned the fundamentals of good singing early on in life?

Angel Blue: I really feel like I did. I do feel like my dad took the time. It's great when your parent is your teacher. It's great and it's terrible at the same time, but I would say my experience with him was more great, because he really took the time to nurture every tiny little aspect of singing. So, I feel like I had a very strong foundation, that I got from my dad, because he wanted me to know everything that he learned when he was studying.

Marc A. Scorca: How about your first time singing in public?

Angel Blue: I have several memories. The earliest one would be when I was eight years old, and I went to a Christian school, and we did the Handel's Children's Messiah something. I don't remember exactly what it was called, but I had a solo, and I remember my mom made a Christmas outfit for me, and that was my first memory of singing out loud by myself. But the one that I hold the dearest...my dad was good friends with the pianist for The Lawrence Welk Orchestra, Frank Scott. I grew up listening to a lot of big band - Les Brown, Lawrence Welk and The Andrew Sisters. But my dad was actually preaching one day and he said, "I have a very special soloist. Her name is Angel Blue, she's my youngest daughter". And he said, "Angel, will you come up to the stage, please?" And so then I went up to the stage and I sang with my dad. That's my first real memory of being called a soloist, because it was like my dad was introducing me.

Marc A. Scorca: How wonderful; that's marvelous. So, you went to LA County High School for the Arts, and there is a wonderful video interview with you where you speak about driving two and a half hours each way, each day. And one of your parents drove you, because you were in junior high school, you weren't driving yourself, and you would leave home at like five in the morning.

Angel Blue: Yeah. So my mom would come into my room at 4.30 and wake me up and we would be out of the house by about 5.15. And they would drive me to the Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink Station, which is our train in California. And the drive from Apple Valley to Rancho Cucamonga was one hour. And then the train ride from Rancho Cucamonga into Cal State LA, which is where the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts meets was another hour, maybe an hour, 10 minutes. And so when we actually arrived at school, it was something like 7.34, 7.40, but it never seemed like a long trip.

Marc A. Scorca: And the same in reverse to get home?

Angel Blue: And the same to get home. But I was with a lot of other students. It's a big commuter school there, so it wasn't like I was by myself. I was with a lot of other young, aspiring singers, dancers, actors, and visual artists.

Marc A. Scorca: And you were there to be a singer, to be an opera singer?

Angel Blue: Actually, yes. I got in for singing, but I also studied piano there, 'cause I was classically trained, and I studied classical piano for 14 years. And so, one major, but I was considered a double major because I also studied piano.

Marc A. Scorca: Well, that can be so helpful as a singer to just learn music and to understand what's going on in the music, if you can sit and play through the score.

Angel Blue: Yes, absolutely.

Marc A. Scorca: So frequently, I speak with singers about the competitions that they've been in, and we'll talk about Operalia in a second. But some of your early competitions you won, as Miss Apple Valley, Miss Hollywood. You were a first runner-up in Miss California. So, how did those pageants figure in your career advancement as a musician?

Angel Blue: It was such a beautiful time for me. I don't really know how to explain that, because it seems like it would be a real detour to becoming an opera singer, but I don't feel that way; I think it helped me. One thing I thought was always smart, and I hope nobody ever really finds out my trick, but if they do, that's okay. For the talent portion of the competition, it had to be - I don't know what it is today for the Miss America organization - but it had to be under two minutes.

Marc A. Scorca: Under two minutes. That's even shorter than Puccini.

Angel Blue: Which is probably why I never sang anything by Puccini. But I'm still obsessed with the opera La Traviata, so I took 'Sempre libera', and at the time I was studying at UCLA, and I was listening to it, and I said, "Wow, if you cut out the tenor solo and you don't repeat it, then it's actually a minute and 58 seconds. So, I ended up singing that for the talent portion of competition.

Marc A. Scorca: And it's flashy too.

Angel Blue: It's super-flashy, and actually, a lot of people in the pageant world are familiar with opera. So, there were some people who were like, "Wow, that's really bold of you; you're only 19 and you're singing Violetta" And I was like, "Don't tell anybody". But I think the pageantry has helped me so much in my opera career, because one of the things I learned in beauty pageants is don't compare yourself, 'cause I'm five foot eleven, and I'd be competing and standing next to a girl who was five foot two, with a very petite frame, and there is nothing petite about me. And so I learned very quickly not to compare myself, and I think that's beyond helpful in the opera world.

Marc A. Scorca: And I would think certainly the confidence, the poise, just being able to stand up in front of people has got to help when you're on that opera stage. How fantastic. Then, of course, in 2009, you did really well in the Operalia Competition. So, does winning, does coming out on top in a big competition like that, really open doors for a young singer? Did it open doors for you?

Angel Blue: To be completely honest, it opened the right door for me. I won't say it opened many doors. And I'm looking at Karen, who's my mentor for a very long time. And Karen will tell you, for a very long time, I just was not ready. Whatever 'ready' meant at that time, I just wasn't. Operalia opened the right door for me, and what I mean by that was, it allowed me the opportunity to go to Europe, and to study overseas, and to understand - 'cause you have to understand I'm from Apple Valley, California. Most people in California don't know where that is. And I didn't know that Europe had this just vast love and adoration for opera. And the door that I needed to be opened at that time was because of the competition. And so, right after Operalia happened, I then moved to Valencia, Spain, and I studied at the Palau de les Arts and I will never regret that as long as I live, because it was in that season that I realized that I could be an opera singer.

Marc A. Scorca: You were in the Young Artist program at LA Opera, and as I understand it, there was an opportunity for you to be a part of the Lindemann Young Artist program, but you decided that the European journey was a more important journey for you.

Angel Blue: I did, yes. Maestro Plácido Domingo was my mentor, as well as Karen, and I was talking to a lot of different people, just asking them "What should I do? Should I go - I mean, this is The Met". Of course, I'm gonna go to their Young Artist Program and learn from them and try to excel through that way. But what people were saying to me was, "Angel, you need to see how it is outside of the United States, and you don't need another program. Now what you need is stage time, and you need to learn roles and you need to be able to cover and to learn how the job actually works". And so that was the reason why I didn't go to the Lindemann. Thank God they didn't hold it against me. But that was the reason why I didn't go.

Marc A. Scorca: And it was the right choice for you. It was interesting to me to see so many of your early credits in Valencia. And the Palau de les Arts in Valencia is this Santiago Calatrava building that is the most extraordinary building you'll ever see. So you worked in that building, was it open at the time?

Angel Blue: Yes. The entire campus is beautiful, the sciences and the Palacio de la Música is also really beautiful. My husband says that the opera house looks like a spartan helmet.

Marc A. Scorca: It does. Whether it's a bird, a fish, a helmet, it's just an amazing thing.

Angel Blue: It kind of changes every time you see it; it's beautiful.

Marc A. Scorca: You lived in Valencia for a couple of years?

Angel Blue: I lived there for about a year and a half.

Marc A. Scorca: And started with roles and covering larger roles?

Angel Blue: Yes, it was the weirdest thing, actually. I made my professional opera debut, as I consider it, on I believe, August 27th, 2009, and I sang "Las carceleras" and "De España vengo", because those are pieces that I had been working on actually at the young artist program in LA, and I was in Spain, so why not? And it was this big concert, and I was so nervous, and I just remember thinking...it didn't actually dawn on me that I was singing Spanish in Spain. What scared me more was that I was so far from home, and I just thought, "I don't have anybody in the audience for me; this is weird". I didn't know what to do. But after that happened, Helga Schmidt and Lorin Maazel and Maestro Zubin Mehta said, "We'll have a meeting with you tomorrow". And I thought, "Well, what did I do?"

Marc A. Scorca: Exactly. Exactly.

Angel Blue: And what they told me was, "You need to learn the roles", and I had my own Italian teacher, my own Spanish coach, and I was covering Lucia, I was covering Traviata, I was covering Elvira/Puritani, and I was doing just a lot of covering, but it was great because I was able to learn the roles, and I don't think I realized what went into really becoming someone who knew a role, the whole thing. I feel very blessed to have had that time.

Marc A. Scorca: And you talk about singing in Spanish in Spain, because in the Operalia Competition, you won the prize for zarzuela, and you just named some zarzuela for us. And it is a form that everyone is curious about, but has never really caught on in the United States. Zarzuela are popular in Valencia?

Angel Blue: Very.

Marc A. Scorca: And did you enjoy them?

Angel Blue: I did. I did.

Marc A. Scorca: Does the music speak to you?

Angel Blue: It does. It speaks to me, I think, because it's similar to how I grew up, going to church. If you came to my church and somebody said something that you liked, you could easily shout out, "Amen. Hallelujah", and nobody would look at you like you were crazy. And so, actually, I was in Zaragoza, Spain singing "Las carceleras" again, and this lady yelled out, "¡Ole!" in the middle of the song. And I was like, "Oh, gosh, did I do something wrong? What just happened?" And I realized that it was almost like that - not, of course, a call and response thing, but that's what it reminded me of. So, I feel like somewhere inside of me, there's something in my soul that really does connect with zarzuela. I wish that the United States understood that art form a little bit more. It is the Spanish operetta, really.

Marc A. Scorca: And in your experience of it, you feel that it is viable and that people should give it a try?

Angel Blue: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I mean, if we can enjoy The Merry Widow, we can definitely enjoy El niño judío.

Marc A. Scorca: I would hope to see them. I hope to see you doing them. Now, in one of your bios, it mentioned that you're a crossover artist, and I'm curious to know what does crossover mean to you?

Angel Blue: I don't know who wrote that, but thank you, whoever wrote that; that's nice. But I don't consider myself a proper crossover artist. When I think of crossover, I think of people who can sing opera, legitimate opera, like what we do, and can also crossover into any other genre, be it pop or musical theater, whatever. I look at someone like Alfie Boe as being a real, true crossover artist. I imagine that maybe the reason why that was said is probably because I grew up singing gospel, and I've sung a lot of other genres of music. I actually just posted a video from when I was living in London from the BBC Songs of Praise, and I posted it because it was how I was feeling that morning, actually. And it's not operatic at all. It's an original song that my brother and I wrote together called "Sing", but I don't know that that makes me a crossover artist. I think it just makes me someone who can sing opera and can sing other genres as well.

Marc A. Scorca: Now we do a quick Q and A before these formal interviews, and I hear that Whitney Houston is at the top of your list.

Angel Blue: Yes, she is.

Marc A. Scorca: An incredible singer. And it's funny, because I understand how the crossover might be misapplied the way we think of what a crossover artist means. And yet when I look at your repertoire, and you go from Puccini to Berg to Gershwin. And you've done Lulu.

Angel Blue: I've done Lulu.

Marc A. Scorca: Which is no easy sing. And about the complete opposite vocally of doing Mimì. So, how do you navigate that vocally? Is it the same singing, or are you making adjustments to crossover from that really difficult contemporary music into a more melodic, traditional Italian opera?

Angel Blue: No, nothing's really different for me. I mean the tessitura sits much higher. But that's the only thing that's really different to me. It doesn't matter what I'm singing. Technically, I'm always doing the same thing. How can we really check to have a low larynx throughout our evening? I suppose maybe yawning? This is something that I do; I yawn a lot. Sometimes, I am really just tired. But other times, I really am trying to make sure that my larynx is in a low position. I don't know. I think that the breathing is the same, and my technique stays the same. My dad used to tell me, "Angel, if it feels good, then it should sound good". And I said, "Okay". And he said, "When anything doesn't feel right, don't do it". So that's kind of the basis of how I can switch from not just genres, but even within opera, singing something like Lulu and then singing Mimì.

Marc A. Scorca: Which would you rather sing again soon, Mimì or Lulu?

Angel Blue: To be completely honest with you, I'm interested to see if I could do Lulu again, actually. I would like to try that again, actually.

Marc A. Scorca: So, you've worked internationally at so many of the major houses, and just the list is incredible. And you also are working your way through the major houses of North America, whether it's LA, or The Met, or San Francisco, or Toronto. How is working in Europe different from working in the United States?

Angel Blue: Okay. I think at rehearsal. I say this with all due respect to every opera company I've ever worked with. I'm very proud to be American. I'm very happy to be working in the United States. I'm very thankful that I've had the opportunity to work overseas. I love that we have unions and things that protect us from being overworked or things like that, but one of the biggest things with rehearsal is when I'm working in Germany, specifically Germany is where I notice it's different, is that there's this ginormous gap in the day. So, we might start at like 10 o'clock, and we might work from like 10 to 1, and then you don't come back until like 6 or 7 at night. And so there's just this entire part of the day, which really makes sense if one has a fest contract, because then you can go home and have dinner with family, and then put the kids to bed, then go back to rehearsal. But for me, when I'm traveling, it can be a little stressful, just because my body goes down in those hours, and then I think I have to come back up so that I can do the rest of the day. As far as preparation and everything goes, I really think it's all the same. Nothing's different, other than of course, you know, maybe it's Germany, maybe it's Italy, maybe it's Spain, maybe it's the UK. I find that most opera houses are generally run just about the same, but I have to say, one thing I do love about the European houses, is that they usually have the canteen or the cafeteria's always open, and they usually sell beer, which is really great.

Marc A. Scorca: I guess it is. Because lots of times people hear that in Europe, the rehearsal period is six weeks or whatever. It may be six weeks, but it isn't necessarily that you're working six steady weeks, because to make room for fest performances and things like that, the time gets stretched out some.

Angel Blue: And there's a lot of Saint celebration days, like Saint somebody...I mean that respectfully, but there's a lot of bank holidays. It's not like here, when we are working, we really are. If we say we're in rehearsal for six weeks...

Marc A. Scorca: ...you really are. So, you've sung at La Scala, which is...

Angel Blue: I love La Scala.

Marc A. Scorca: ...you know, a crucible for most singers. La Scala is notorious for eating people alive. Is that any different, in terms of working at Scala?

Angel Blue: I saw one show, and I can't say which one it was, but I saw one performance, and it seemed like everybody on the third balcony was booing. I wasn't in the show, thank God. But I was just really taken aback by just how strong and bold it was, that they showed their disappointment in what was happening on stage.

Marc A. Scorca: Was it knowing how vocal they can be, how opinionated they are? I'm nervous in the audience, fearing the judgment of the audience about what's going on stage. Does that add a level of pressure that's really difficult for you as a singer?

Angel Blue: No, only because I didn't know that until after my performances of Musetta were finished. I didn't know actually that they would boo, because the story that I was just speaking about happened after. But I didn't know that. I never think that people are actually gonna go to the opera and be that vocal. And if that were to happen to me, I pray that it doesn't, but if it were to happen, I imagine it's just a time for reevaluating everything, and would just make me be a little bit more humble.

Marc A. Scorca: Dominick Argento spoke at an annual conference of OPERA America, it may have been 1991, and he said "Bad reviews have occasionally ruined my breakfast, but never my lunch", and I like to think that way. They may boo and it'll ruin my breakfast, but I won't let it ruin my lunch. Now you were just in a production of Tosca in Aix-en-Provence. That fascinates me, because it was no simple Tosca.

Angel Blue: No, it wasn't.

Marc A. Scorca: Would you describe to us what the production concept was and how it worked?

Angel Blue: Yes. So I suggested when we did this production in Aix-en-Provence, that instead of making it be called Tosca, that it should be called Becoming Tosca. Because the idea behind the production, (I'm gonna try to do this really quickly) was that there is a woman who is trying to become Tosca, which was played by me. Then there is THE Tosca, the prima donna, which was played by the amazing, impeccable Catherine Malfitano. I adore her. And the concept was: every single person in the opera, with the exception of Cavaradossi, his character was supposed to be an opera singer who was past his prime, which was very difficult for Joseph Calleja, because he's like in his prime, you know, but he's supposed to be past his prime and is trying to find relevancy in his work. Scarpia was somebody who was in their prime. I was someone who was a fan, who is going to be this new Tosca. This is why when, if you ever see it on YouTube, I come into the opera basically dressed kind of how I dress when I'm at home, just jeans and a t-shirt and a hoodie. And throughout the course of the evening, what happens is, everyone in the opera, even Angelotti and the Sacristan, everybody is really trying to break her, to realize that she cannot be Tosca, which is fascinating to me, because I had a lot of people say, you shouldn't sing this role, and I used that when I was on stage. And everyone's trying to sort of get her to say, "Okay, I can't do this". But what ends up happening in Act three, is that she comes out as the diva, and you see Catherine Malfitano, who plays the prima donna sort of off to the side, and she realizes then that this woman has now become - I guess you call her La Tosca - so she no longer needs any of them. It's a fascinating production. As you can imagine, some people loved it, some didn't. And I, myself, I am very thankful for that production because - it's weird, 'cause I didn't meet Christophe Honoré before. And every single emotion, every feeling I had about singing Tosca, it seemed like he knew it. And he was able to put it into a story that fit not just his vision, but fit how I felt about being a singer and about singing this grand, great opera.

Marc A. Scorca: So in this production, who sang "Mario, Mario...?"

Angel Blue: Catherine Malfitano sang "Mario, Mario", yes. But I was happy that she did, 'cause when we first started the rehearsal, I wasn't quite sure when to come in, so that was good that she did.

Marc A. Scorca: Who sang "Vissi d'arte?"

Angel Blue: I did.

Marc A. Scorca: Okay, so by second act, you were singing "Vissi d'arte".

Angel Blue: Yes. Well, she actually only sang "Mario, Mario, Mario", and then she did, "Perchè chiuso? A chi parlavi?" She did this part, and then the idea was that she was going to try to steal the show from me, but because the next bit was the "Lo neghi", and the idea was that her voice had given out, but Catherine always sang the high A, and she sang it very, very, very beautifully.

Marc A. Scorca: Well, it sounds fantastic, and the people I know who saw it said it was really great. So, congratulations on that.

Angel Blue: Thank you so much.

Marc A. Scorca: So, of course, you're here, and you just triumphed an opening night in Porgy and Bess. You sang Clara in San Francisco; that was your debut there?

Angel Blue: That was my debut.

Marc A. Scorca: And then singing Bess here at The Met, and of course, the opera just has such gorgeous music, and it is spectacular, and it's challenging at the same time, in the way it stereotypes a Black community. And here you have a white man from New York in the 1930s writing about his impression of a Black community in Charleston. So, how do you feel about singing Porgy and Bess? What does the work mean to you?

Angel Blue: I feel really honored. I just think that it's so great that Peter Gelb was able to bring the piece back to New York, and back to The Met after so many years. The things that are troublesome to some people about the opera - I don't mean to sound like I'm not ever thinking, but I don't think about those things, because I'm very thankful to have my job. I'm very thankful to be able to be in the position to even sing Bess and portray this character. So, for me, I find that it really, truly is one of the great American operas. Definitely the one from that time period, and I just feel honored to be a part of it.

Marc A. Scorca: It's a wonderful cast. Had you worked with a lot of those people before?

Angel Blue: I have. Eric Owens and I worked together 10 years ago. That was his first Porgy in San Francisco, and that was my first anything, so it was quite interesting. Latonia Moore and I actually sang together; she did her first Bess with the Berlin Philharmonic, and I was singing Clara. She learned Bess (I hope she doesn't get mad at me for saying this) on the flight from, I think, Philadelphia to Berlin. And she got there and sounded amazing. I mean, she sounds fabulous as Serena, but she sounds fabulous as Bess too. Golda Schultz and I haven't worked together; we're just really close friends. I feel like we've done a lot of things together, but this is our first opera. And Tichina Vaughn and I, we actually did Suor Angelica together when I was in the LA Opera Young Artist Program, and became friends with her there. I can go on and on and on with the people in the cast.

Marc A. Scorca: So, there's no such thing as an ensemble company in the United States, and yet when you all came together, it was an ensemble of friends. You mentioned to me back in the Green Room about the generosity of colleagues to you. And you told me a story about Susan Graham, who's been in this chair on the stage here. Tell everyone how one artist helps another.

Angel Blue: I'm an emotional person, so I apologize if I get a little teary-eyed. But I've been really fortunate with the people whom I've encountered in this profession, when I was younger. I had an audition at LA Opera, I guess this was probably 2007, I think, and Susan Graham was standing backstage. And as I said before, I'm five 11. I say that a lot, 'cause I am tall, and it's not often that you walk backstage of an opera house and you are able to look someone, a lady right in the eye, and she's your height and everything. And Susan Graham is very tall. And I was standing backstage, and I was just sort of doing one of these things, just going like this (swaying side to side, rubbing hands together), and she came up to me and she said, "Are you singing today?" And I was like, "Yes". And I was like (whispers to self) "You're Susan Graham". You know, I had to get myself together. And she took my hand, and she said, "They're so lucky to hear you. Just go out there and sing and have fun". I have another story of Sondra Radvanovsky. In 2015, when I auditioned at The Metropolitan Opera, and I was backstage, warming up. And Sondra knocks on the door. She goes, "It's Sondra". I met her in 2008 when she was singing Suor Angelica at LA Opera. And she comes in and I said, "Hi, Sondra, it's great to see you". She's like, "Oh, I'm so happy for you. Oh, I'm so happy for you". I said, "Thank you, thank you so much". And I said, "I'm really nervous". She goes, "Don't be, take it all in. It's gonna be a great experience for you. Oh, I'm so happy for you". And you know, that amount of encouragement. Another one is Denyce Graves. I was 16 years old when I met Denyce Graves. I met her through Angela Bassett and Courtney (B.) Vance. My dad was preaching at this church in Los Angeles, and my siblings and I are sitting on the front row. And it's just 1996, I guess, maybe '94. I don't remember the year exactly. And my brother leans forward. I mean, we're church-going people, so we know how to act in church. So when we act out, it's a big deal. So, my brother sits forward and he goes, "Hey, hey, that's the man from The Preacher's Wife". And so we look, and then we get all excited and whatever, and as Angela and Courtney were leaving church, something just came up in me and I was like, I gotta ask them how I can become an opera singer. So, I chased them out of the church; I followed them out of the church and I asked Angela and Courtney, I said, "Can you help me become an opera singer? I wanna sing opera". And Courtney said, "Here's my email. I can't help you become an opera singer, because I don't know opera, but I know somebody who does". And he introduced me to Denyce Graves, and if you go to my Instagram, (I think I posted it on everything. I have Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter). And I met Denyce when I was 16, and she was so kind, and just so encouraging. And sorry to be so emotional, but I feel all of that encouragement that I feel that I got, I want to give that back to people now. Other than singing, that's my lot in this job, is to encourage other people, because I never felt one time, an ounce of jealousy. Now in beauty pageants, that's a different story. But for sure, in the opera world, when I met these great singers, Susan Graham, Sondra Radvanovsky and Denyce Graves, Tichina Vaughn, who's a very good friend of mine, I find that they are so helpful. It's like they're rooting. It's like, I can feel them behind me. Like, "I'm rooting for you, Angel. Go get 'em, Angel. You got this, Angel. You can do it, Angel". And I'm so thankful for that, and I hope to give that to singers who are in my generation and singers who are coming up behind me,

Marc A. Scorca: It makes me so proud to hear that about the opera world, that people give to one another in that way. It just makes me very, very proud of our community. Now, in your bio, 35 countries over the last six years. I travel a lot, but 35 countries in six years is a whole lot. And I'm fascinated by the challenge of sort of keeping your soul and your body and how you stay centered. How you stay true to yourself while you're on a plane, in an airport, in a hotel, a place where you don't know where the grocery store is. How do you keep your soul and your body with that kind of schedule?

Angel Blue: I'm just really thankful. I think gratitude brings so much happiness. Like I said earlier, I'm from Apple Valley, and I remember when I was at school, some of the students would do the study abroad program. I never did, and so I hadn't been to Europe. It was actually Operalia that took me there. That was my very first brand spanking, new introduction to Europe. And it's a lot for sure. It's a lot of information to process at once. If I may share with you really quickly, what I did was: I went from LAX to Amsterdam, and this is just one of the things I said. I said, "God, please let me know that you're with me; give me a sign that you're with me", 'cause I was scared. And when I landed in Amsterdam, I saw José Domingo, Plácido's eldest son, and he's like, "Angel, we're so happy that you're coming to Operalia". I said, "Thank you. I'm so excited to go", and I realized that there were a bunch of people on the flight who were also going too, 'cause I just didn't put it together. I didn't think that there would be anybody on my flight, but there were. And so then after, Amsterdam to Budapest - Budapest was where the competition was. Then my career literally started like the next day. And I flew from Budapest to Moscow. And then I flew from Moscow to Seoul, Korea. I had jobs all of these places. And then I went from Seoul, Korea to Tokyo, and then from Tokyo back to LA.

Marc A. Scorca: And this was your first trip.?

Angel Blue: My very first trip. And my mom said when I got home, (I drove back up to Apple Valley, 'cause she still lived there then), "Do you know that you just went around the world?" And I said, "I did". And so we have a globe at home, and so we did the thing, we traced it around. And I said, "Oh, wow. I really did". And my brother said, "Angel, you flew over three oceans", and I said, "Yeah, that's pretty cool".

Marc A. Scorca: I guess you call it trial by fire.

Angel Blue: Yeah. I know it can be daunting for singers who are starting out in their career, but it's exciting, because if that's something that you are looking for, if that's something that you've been desiring, to actually see that thing come to fruition, and to actually see it happen is an amazing journey, if you'll allow it to be one. I mean, the good and the bad. All of it teaches us something.

Marc A. Scorca: Does your husband work in the business? Is he able to travel with you?

Angel Blue: He is absolutely not in the business. I'm so happy.

Marc A. Scorca: And you wouldn't have it any other way?

Angel Blue: No. My Adam, his name is Adam, and he's a computer programmer, a software developer. And so he's the side of the brain that computes and writes and does numbers and just did our taxes and all of that. And I'm the side of the brain that keeps the house clean.

Marc A. Scorca: Is he able to travel with you in some of this?

Angel Blue: He does, yes.

Marc A. Scorca: Oh, that's good. So, home moves with you a little bit.

Angel Blue: He does when he can. Absolutely.

Marc A. Scorca: So in all of your spare time, you started the Sylvia's Kids Foundation. Would you tell us about that?

Angel Blue: So the Sylvia's Kids Foundation is a foundation that my mom and I founded. We really started it in 2015, but officially we became a nonprofit in 2016. My dad is from Praco, Alabama. My dad would always call himself a country boy; my mom was more of a city girl, as she would say. But my mom was raised in the inner city, which is why my parents went out to California, because they wanted us to have a different upbringing. And so my mom was working with, and she still does, a lot of inner city students, most of whom are at risk of not graduating from high school. So, this particular year, my mom was working with this young girl, and she said, "Miss Blue, I really wanna graduate from high school. I'll be the first person to graduate from high school in my family, if I graduate". And her GPA was something like 1.5, which is considerably low. And so my mom said, "Okay, let's see what we can do". So the counselor said, "In order for you to graduate, you'll have to take classes at a college, and you have to do all of these night courses, and a lot of extra things for her, because she even said it herself that she waited until the last minute, and that she didn't have any help from her family. So, the courses equaled out to be something like $750. And so my sister and I said, "Well, why don't we just pay for her classes? I'll give this; you give that, and that way she can graduate". And my mom said that she had never seen someone work so hard to be able to graduate. So, she graduated from high school in Clark County, which is Las Vegas, Nevada, where my mom was working with inner city students. And she graduated with a 3.75 GPA. And so I told my mom, I said, "Mom, I would really like to keep this going". My mom is like...you know there's those women, they're like everybody's mom? She's that woman. If she were sitting here right now, she would treat you like you were her son; she's like that - very nurturing. And so I said, I have to call it "Sylvia's Kids" and we'll call it the "Sylvia's Kids Foundation". And we basically are a foundation; there's about 10 of us who work in this group. And what we do is we travel around to schools. I do this when I'm not singing. And we encourage the students, of course, to study and to go on to the next level, whatever that may be for them. Everybody's not wanting to attend a four year university. Some people wanna go to a trade school and immediately start working. Or one of the young men who just graduated went to, I think it's called ITT Tech (ITT Technical Institute) and he said he just wanted to start working with computers as quickly as he could, so he did everything online, but the objective is to keep the students motivated, because if they don't have anybody behind them to push them, and to encourage them in their journey... I mean, that's how I feel. I had a lot of encouragement. I'm not sitting here - thank you so much for having me - but I'm not sitting here talking because I didn't have anybody behind me, rooting for me and cheering me on. So that's really what Sylvia's Kids is.

Marc A. Scorca: Sounds fantastic. 'Cause Renée Fleming talks about the importance of being a citizen artist, and that's being a citizen artist. You're still such a young singer, but there are singers who are younger still. What advice do you have for them?

Angel Blue: Well, thank you for saying that I'm young. I don't feel so young, but I appreciate that. Advice for younger singers? Just enjoy your journey. Enjoy everything that you can. Listen to as many recordings as you can. Go to as many operas as you can. I think if I could go back just 10 years for myself, I would just tell myself, "You are really doing a good job. You actually are doing a good job". And I mean no disrespect to our institutions or the conservatories, universities, teachers, coaches, but so much of your development will come from what you give to yourself. So much of it will be you learning on your own. And absolutely, it's wise to listen to what the people who you trust have to say. But so much of it is something that you only can do for yourself. I was doing an interview, and I said, "Thank you mom so much for giving me piano lessons when I was young, so that I could learn my music easier". And my mom said, "Well, you're welcome, but Angel, you're the one who was practicing". And I mean, that's kind of my advice to the younger generation, is just that you have everything you need at your colleges. You have everything you need. Utilize the music library, ask your teachers questions, ask what is it like to travel 10, 12 hours on a flight, and have to get off of the flight? I did that last year. I have a different experience with it. But what is it like to travel 10 to 12 hours and get off of a plane and have to go into rehearsal? And the conductor is not gonna let you mark, 'cause you're with orchestra. What is it like to sing, and you have a cold that's like right almost on your chords, not far up enough to be in your head, not far down enough to be in your chest, but you really need to go on stage tonight. What is that like? There's just so many things, but most of these things I feel, now that I look back on my journey, so much of that came from me. And I didn't give myself the credit for it, because I was always trying to get it from somebody else, or trying to make it somebody else's job. But, you know, it's your job. If you are the one that wants to stand on the stage and sing and be the woman in the light, then you're the one that has to do all of the research, and all of the study, all of the practice, and all of the excitement that goes into the job to becoming the woman in the light.

Marc A. Scorca: What incredible advice that is for anyone in life. We have just a couple of minutes left and I wanted to ask if you have any questions for Angel?

Audience Member #1: You're so very impressive, and I know Plácido Domingo said that he thought you were like Leontyne Price. I'm from Mississippi. I'm actually involved with the opera here because of the Price family. And I hope that they're listening tonight.

Marc A. Scorca: There is in one of your bios a reference to "The next Leontyne Price". Do you think about that? Do you think about those who've come before and can you be like them? Or are you just working really hard to be Angel Blue?

Angel Blue: I'm just working really hard to be Angel Blue, but I have to say, having a compliment such as "The next Leontyne Price", the way I view that, I don't think that means that I am Leontyne Price. I certainly don't really sing her repertoire. I mean, come on, there's only one Leontyne Price. But I'm incredibly humbled by that, because that means that, you know, excuse me, someone's comparing me to one of the greatest Black sopranos.

Marc A. Scorca: One of the greatest sopranos, period.

Angel Blue: Period. This is true. And I mean, that's a high, high, high, high praise, and I don't take it and turn my nose up at it. I take it and I think, "Okay, Angel, you gotta keep working".

Marc A. Scorca: It's just inspiring to listen to you talk about your career, and your clarity about your core values. Your advice is truly inspiring. And it seems to me that Angel is not only a name, but a description. Please join me not only in thanking Angel Blue, but in wishing her the best of luck in the adventures that are ahead. Thank you.