This interview was originally recorded on December 7th, 2015.
The Oral History Project is supported by the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation.

Joyce DiDonato, mezzo soprano 

Multi–Grammy Award winner Joyce DiDonato has captivated audiences around the world with her dazzling vocal artistry, profound musicality, and passionate advocacy for the arts. Hailed by The New Yorker as “perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation,” and by The Times as possessing a voice “nothing less than 24-carat gold,” she is widely acclaimed for her interpretations of Handel, Mozart, and bel canto heroines, as well as for her genre-defying recital and concert work. A 2018 Olivier Award winner, she has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera, and Teatro Real Madrid, in roles such as Sesto (La clemenza di Tito), Agrippina, Charlotte (Werther), Didon (Les Troyens), and Sister Helen (Dead Man Walking).

A sought-after concert artist, DiDonato has performed with leading orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, collaborating with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Sir John Eliot Gardiner. A committed recording artist with Erato/Warner Classics, her acclaimed discography includes In War & Peace, Songplay, Stella di Napoli, Diva Divo, and Les Troyens, the latter earning multiple international awards including Gramophone’s Recording of the Year.

Transcript

Marc A. Scorca: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the National Opera Center and our Conversation this evening with the wonderful Joyce DiDonato. I wanted to start by congratulating you on the Grammy Award nomination that was announced this morning. It is for the live recording that you did with Tony (Antonio) Pappano from Wigmore Hall. What's on that recording?

Joyce DiDonato: We opened the Wigmore Hall recital series last fall, and it was my first time doing a recital with Tony Pappano at the piano, and I thought, "What do I program that merits Sir Tony Pappano being at the piano?" And we settled on a very distinctive two halves, and the first half was all Italian art song, Haydn Arianna a Naxos and some Rossini songs, and these Santoliquido pieces that I don't think had ever been recorded before, which is exciting. And then to pay tribute to what Tony used to do when he was a 17-year-old at the Red Barn Inn, he used to play piano bar. He was underage, but he would go and play piano music and he's extraordinary at it. And I thought, "This is my chance to do some of the American standards and some of the Broadway tunes and American pieces I've wanted to do", and he is sublime on it. So, it's a double disc, recorded live. I think it captured a lot of the electricity.

Marc A. Scorca: Oh, fabulous. Well, fingers crossed on the Grammy Award. I always begin these conversations by asking the same question: who brought you to your first opera?

Joyce DiDonato: My college roommate, well, my first live opera. So, I went to college at Wichita State University as a Music Ed major, and the stars aligned and put me with the most sublime human being, Katie Steele at the time; she's now Katie Goyer. I didn't know her. It was a random pairing. And she was a voice major, and she was the one with the exquisitely beautiful voice, and she was the daughter of Kansas City's fabulous star baritone, Brian Steele. He sang in Central City a lot. He's sung around. I think he did City Opera a number of times. But he was raising his family in Kansas City, so he was really the hometown guy there. And my dad had tried to get me to watch opera, (sings with wobbly voice) "I don't like opera". I didn't get it. I was taking voice lessons as an Ed major, so as Katie was doing the performance stuff with this gorgeous voice, I was starting to understand the mechanics of a classically trained voice. So, it was all of a sudden less foreign to me. And we went to Kansas City. We did a road trip, because her dad was singing in The Marriage of Figaro. So, that was my first live opera at Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Marc A. Scorca: Now, when I checked this morning, it was 57 degrees in Prairie Village, Kansas. You were born in Prairie Village?

Joyce DiDonato: Yes.

Marc A. Scorca: And what was it like growing up there? It was just south of Kansas City. Did you partake in the culture of Kansas City?

Joyce DiDonato: Well, I have to say the cultural landscape has exploded in Kansas City in the last 10 years, in the most magnificent way. Fellow Grammy nominees are the Kansas City Symphony and the Kansas City Chorale, and they're world class musical groups. And so it's really exploded. Of course, my perspective is skewed, because I didn't know the world of music at that time, but it felt a little bit like Hickville, growing up. The Kansas City Symphony was trying, the Lyric Opera was in there. At that time, Russell Patterson was running it, and it was one of the stalwarts of the American opera scene, performing everything in English. But they weren't setting the world on fire, and so I didn't quite know what was happening. We did have The Harriman-Jewell Series. Richard Harriman was this extraordinary visionary who was at the William Jewell Liberal Arts College, and he started bringing the world to Kansas City. They're now, I think, in their 51st year. And he would bring the Vienna Boys' Choir. He would bring Itzhak Perlman. Luciano Pavarotti did his first American recital there. Marilyn Horne sang there five times. And jazz, and really brought the cultural world to Kansas City. And my dad had a subscription. So, every three weeks or so we'd say, "What was on tonight?" And I'd hear from him what was happening. But from my perspective, at that time, it felt like the art was happening outside and they had to bring it to Kansas City. Now we are creating the art there.

Marc A. Scorca: Absolutely.

Joyce DiDonato: And that's thrilling to see. And it's a community effort. It's a civic effort. It's a philanthropic effort as well. And we're blessed with some really fantastic leaders who are making that happen.

Marc A. Scorca: It's been an amazing investment in the cultural infrastructure, between the new performing arts center and the incredible dance center for the dance company - really amazing things going on there.

Joyce DiDonato: Visual arts, the museum has taken off. I do not think it's accidental that all these tentacles of culture are working together in tandem. And that's something Kansas City does very well. There's not a competition kind of thing. They recognize the strength of every cultural institution thriving and doing well. And one feeds the other.

Marc A. Scorca: Now, your father was a choral director?

Joyce DiDonato: Yes.

Marc A. Scorca: In what context was he a choral director?

Joyce DiDonato: He was the volunteer church choir director. 1953 is when he started.

Marc A. Scorca: Does that mean you were a volunteer choir singer?

Joyce DiDonato: Yes. When I got old enough, I had to wait. My older sisters got to sing in the choir, and I had to wait. I was a cantor. I would even, (makes air quotes) play the organ; I never used the pedals. But I called it playing the organ. I used to make it go really loud and (sings while miming keyboard playing) and I would volunteer, and that was really a big part of our life. We were a liturgical family. Christmas was a big deal. Easter was a big deal, and that's why I fell in love with sacred music.

Marc A. Scorca: And people didn't notice at that time, you were in high school, in the choir, or the church choir, high school chorus and say, "Boy, you've got a real voice, Joyce".

Joyce DiDonato: No, I was seen as musical.

Marc A. Scorca: Sounds like damning with faint praise.

Joyce DiDonato: Yeah. I was just musical... I had a serviceable voice. I could sing in tune and it wasn't terrible, but I didn't know what I was doing, and I was more a pianist at the time, than a singer. And I was singing second soprano or second alto in the choir, because I could hold the harmonies and I could sight read. I was musical. I would be in the plays or the musicals in high school, but I was never the romantic lead; I was the one who needed punch or sauciness on the stage. So, I had good stage presence, and I was musical, but I was never identified as a vocal star.

Marc A. Scorca: So, then Wichita State for music education? 'Cause you thought you wanted to be a music teacher?

Joyce DiDonato: I was certain I would be a music teacher, as all 18 year olds are. "I know what I'm gonna be". I was one of those great, lucky, lucky kids that we had a fantastic choral program, and it lit my world on fire, and it opened up my worldview, and it taught me the power of music. It taught me the power of ensemble, being a part of something greater than yourself. And we did great things. We did, my sophomore year, Ceremony of Carols. We did Bach Magnificat, B minor mass. I mean, it was hardcore and it was extraordinary. And I still feel like some of those performances were some of the most memorable of my musical life. So, that was my intention, to pass on the torch in that way.

Marc A. Scorca: Did you have music teachers in the family, or was this just what you wanted to do?

Joyce DiDonato: My oldest sister, Amy - I'm sixth of seven, so there's a number of us. The two older sisters trained in classical piano, and so that's kind of where I learned to play the piano. But my sister still teaches at the same grade school we all went to, St. Ann's in Prairie Village, Kansas, and she teaches K-8 music.

Marc A. Scorca: You would make a great show-and-tell visitor.

Joyce DiDonato: I go there and I'll sing, like maybe every other year. But every year I try and get up and visit her classroom, and now I'm kind of a rock star - now. But before they were like, (makes funny face) "Your sister does what?" And I've done a couple masterclasses with them, like they're putting on The Little Mermaid or Shrek and I go, and I work with the kids. And what's interesting about that is I find - you know, now I do masterclasses where I can - and oftentimes at different levels and different developmental stages, I'm talking about the same stuff. All the time, whether it's a seventh grader or a 33-year-old.

Marc A. Scorca: So, back in Wichita then, there's this Die Fledermaus?.

Joyce DiDonato: Yes.

Marc A. Scorca: And were you Orlofsky in the Fledermaus?

Joyce DiDonato: No, I was in the chorus.

Marc A. Scorca: Oh, really? Okay.

Joyce DiDonato: Orlofsky was a star part, remember. I was Kate Pinkerton, I was the mother in Hansel and Gretel.

Marc A. Scorca: But that was your first opera on stage?

Joyce DiDonato: Yes. And that's when I sort of went, "Ooh, this is fun". I was just in the chorus, but it's a good chorus show; there's a lot to do. And that's when I thought, "Ooh, this is something special".

Marc A. Scorca: Now, you could write a book about training programs. There's AVA (Academy of Vocal Arts), Santa Fe, the HGO (Houston Grand Opera) Studio, Merola Opera Program in San Francisco. And that occupies about six years from 1992.

Joyce DiDonato: And there's lot that I didn't get into - Wolf Trap (coughs). I really wanted to get into Wolf Trap. I really did.

Marc A. Scorca: Kim Witman, I'm sure, is listening to this live stream.

Joyce DiDonato: Kim was not auditioning at the time, but I remember who was. I save all my rejection letters. I still have all my rejection letters.

Marc A. Scorca: I do too.

Joyce DiDonato: It's important.

Marc A. Scorca: So, did each of these training programs somehow contribute differently, so that you accumulated from all of them?

Joyce DiDonato: Yes. And I think that's a reflection of the programs and what they're designed to do, and absolutely a reflection on where I was and what my learning needs were at that time, what my strengths were, what I was still working on.

Marc A. Scorca: Because you went right from Wichita to AVA.

Joyce DiDonato: Yes.

Marc A. Scorca: Because the best young singers will try to get into AVA. So, clearly something clicked at Wichita; you went from chorus in Fledermaus to AVA.

Joyce DiDonato: Clearly, I was ignorant, and that Midwestern, 'I can do anything' (prevailed). I was rejected from AVA on my first audition. Totally rejected; I have the letter. But Kevin McDowell, who's still the executive director, scribbled "I", not we, "really liked your audition. Wish we had a spot for you". Okay? What did I do? I called him up, and he said something like, "I wish we had a spot, 'cause we have nothing to offer you on stage", implying that there were no roles for me. I called him up and I said, "I don't need a role. I don't care". And also, I had not auditioned for any other program. I went to the Musical America Guidebook. We did not have Google at that time. This was 95/96. And Musical America was the bible where you could find out about training programs, and it described what was happening. I knew I didn't wanna go into a conventional master's program, because I didn't want to be writing papers and teaching people something when I didn't even know what I was doing. I wanted stage experience, and at the time, AVA was really the singular place to get that. It still kind of is for that age. And I just bullied my way in. I kind of didn't let him say no. I didn't know what I was doing at all. It was not planned; I didn't know what was gonna happen. I just thought "I've gotta give it another try". And I said, "I don't need any roles. I just wanna be there. I'll do whatever it takes". And this was like in June, and the program started in August. And I can't remember then how he finally gave in, but he sort of said, "Well, all right". And at that time, there was no scholarship. I mean, you got full scholarship for tuition, but there was no stipend or anything, so I worked three jobs to get there. Sure enough, there were no roles for me, but I was thrown into the lion's den and I wasn't quite ready for it. I didn't have my technique worked out yet. So they were right not to give me roles, because I didn't know what this (indicates throat) was doing. I was 23 when I started the program. And it was hard. It was like going to bootcamp and I kind of wasn't ready. And the whole first year I sort of floundered. And the second year I started getting a little irritated going, "I think I have something. Why is nobody seeing it?" And the third year, I got a little belligerent and I started taking matters kind of into my own hands. Meanwhile, the level of training I got was exceptional. I hit the roadblock that I think a lot of young singers hit, in that somebody hears you, and from that moment, they hear you with those same ears. But I was making a lot of progress. Not enough, but I was making a lot of progress, and I couldn't quite break through. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. That's where I learned how to do a recitative. It's where I learned how to fight back the tears and keep singing. It's where I learned that nobody was gonna give me this career. It was where I learned that the only person responsible for my level of artistry was me. And it's where I got exceptional coaching, exceptional coaching that I still pull on today. Santa Fe mercifully came in between my second and third year there. And they were hearing me with new ears. And it's really the first time I ever got attention in terms of, "Hey, you're not bad". Not, "We think you're gonna be a star", but, "You're not bad". And they gave me some highlighted things to do. I got to do a big scene in the Scenes Program, which was a big deal.

Marc A. Scorca: Always singing coloratura at this point? Was coloratura just a natural gift?

Joyce DiDonato: My voice could move, so I had speed, but I didn't have accuracy and I didn't have fluidity. There were a lot of gear shifts happening, and there was a lot of screeching at the top, 'cause I didn't quite know how to get up and access the top there. So, I had flexibility, but I had to work very hard on the other two components.

Marc A. Scorca: You touched on two of my questions about all this training period, and without getting too personal, how did you survive during these years of extended training? It's six years or so of young artist programs and AVA tuition, but no room and board. How did you hold body and soul together through those years?

Joyce DiDonato: Well, sometimes I didn't. There were some really shattering periods that you just thought, "I'm not sure what I'm doing". There was happily something inside of me that thought and hoped and believed; I can't say knew. Maybe deep down I knew, maybe. I don't know. I'm not objective enough to say that. But I wanted to believe that I had something to say. And I was getting just enough carrots along the way. I would win third prize in a local competition. Not first, but I get third. So, it was just enough encouragement to keep me going. But there was this inner motor that I thought, "I think I have something to say". And I would beat my head against the wall going, "Why aren't they getting it?" And finally, when I joined the Houston Opera Studio, I had a voice teacher that called me out and he said, "Joyce, you're musical, you're talented, you're smart, but you're singing on youth and muscle. You haven't figured this out yet". And I went, "I think you're right". And he was kind of my savior; it was Steve (W. Stephen) Smith, who's now at Northwestern. He was sort of my savior in that way, because I was getting by, and I was making it happen. He hooked me up to my breath, and so my voice could start arriving. And so that stuff that I thought I had to say, started to get out. It was a three year process of working my technique with him. Three intense years, from 26 to 29. And so it was 29/30 when I started hitting the circuit and things started happening. But that's kind of late; today that's a late bloomer.

Marc A. Scorca: We'll get to the bloom in a second, 'cause you could also write a book about competitions. McCollum, Met Regional, Sullivan, Operalia, London, Shoshana, Tucker in 2002, and I'm sure there are a lot more. This is just what I listed here. And of course they helped you pay the bills, which was really important, but they were also these data points that let you know you had something.

Joyce DiDonato: Yeah. They were confidence boosters. And I like how you said that: a data point that you could sort of chart. You go through the circuit. At the time Eric Owens was winning everything. He went to Wolf Trap. He was like the star of Wolf Trap, and he was in Houston, and I arrived there a year after him, and he was like, Eric Owens, Owens, Owens. And so, I share the stage with him now and I'm like, "Eric, look at what we're doing". He was winning every competition. And so you look at that and go, "Okay, that's the bar for a young artist my age", and "Okay, I auditioned for the Sullivan this year, and I didn't get it, so I'm not there yet". And then the first domino falls, and you think, "Oh, wow". And then it tends to happen on the competition circuit, if you're sort of on the right path, it let me know that I was doing something right, and those things started happening when I was in Houston. It didn't start happening until I got my technique under me. Larry (Lawrence Brownlee, present in the audience) and I did the Stewart Awards in Oklahoma in like 1973 or something. What was it, Larry?

Lawrence Brownlee: '98.

Joyce DiDonato: It was '98 or something. One of us got first... And the next time we shared a stage was at La Scala in '95 in Cenerentola, and we were taking the bow, and the lights came up and I went, "We're not in Oklahoma anymore". That was very cool. So, those are wonderful points along the way that just give you confidence, signals that you're on the right way.

Marc A. Scorca: And again, you anticipated my next question, and I'm sure that it seemed to you to take forever, but you went from Houston and Santa Fe, where you sang Cherubino, to La Scala for Cenerentola and then to London and to Paris. And in the first couple of years you were working with (Riccardo) Muti and with Zubin Mehta. What happened?

Joyce DiDonato: It's such a strange thing. Again, I think it ties back to being a young artist. You do the whole circuit and everybody hears you every season. The same people are hearing the same people when you're a young artist. And I started really behind the eight ball with not a very solid technique. I did Santa Fe before the Houston years, so it was working, but I was fighting with it. I think the American scene continued to hear me with ears of a not-rock-solid technique. I couldn't get management. (I have those rejection letters too), but I couldn't get American Management, and I did the Operalia Competition in Hamburg. This was '98. I had just finished the Houston Opera Studio. Everybody else leaving that year with me had management, and I didn't. And I thought, "Well, I got pretty close", and I had a couple of jobs lined up in Tulsa and Kentucky. So, I was thinking and hoping I was gonna have a good regional career, that if I could just break in at that level, maybe sing in Kansas City one day, that would've been like a Holy Grail for me. And I was leaving the Houston Opera Studio, feasibly one of the top young singers in America, but it wasn't breaking through for me. I did the competition in Hamburg. And Monday morning when I got back, I got a phone call from an agent at IMG in London, and he said, "I think you're gonna be a huge star". And I went, (face expresses disbelief), and I wanna represent you worldwide. The first thing he did was send me on a round of auditions in Europe, saying nobody here knows you. You've gotta introduce yourself. These are gonna be general auditions. If you get one job, that's good; we can work with that. So, he set up this crazy tour, 13 cities in 16 days, and they were regional B and C level houses in Europe: Nancy, Antwerp, Scottish Opera, Seville Opera. I got 12 outright no's and the 13th audition is the only A level house that I auditioned for, and it was the Paris Opera, and two hours after I did it, they'd offered me a new production of The Barber of Seville. I sang the same audition for Paris that I did for all these other houses, and that I had been doing for all the managements; I was singing consistently. I mean, maybe there was an extra spark, but I was singing pretty consistently. I think what happened in Paris is two things.

Marc A. Scorca: Was it the last in the sequence?

Joyce DiDonato: The last audition. So, maybe I went in with a little bit (feins dissmisive attitude) whatever. That was what probably gave me the edge, but Hugues Gall was running the Paris Opera, and he had an affinity for American singers and for giving young singers a chance. Also, he was close with Francesca Zambello. She had just that spring directed me as Kate Pinkerton in a new production of Butterfly at the Houston Grand Opera. She thought I was smart. I don't think she thought I was the greatest singer. I mean, (sings) "Glielo dirai". I can still sing her, but she saw I was smart and quick, and she liked that. She said to Hugues, "Joyce is gonna be auditioning for you. Pay attention; she's good". So his listening ears had a different frequency than just all the other 12 people where I was just another generic lyric mezzo. And I fell into an A level house. And that's where the other houses then went, "Who's this singer?" And I'm like, "The same singer who auditioned for you two years ago". And then I started at that level.

Marc A. Scorca: From a management point of view, it is rare that a manager wants to manage talent, they want to manage a career, and you didn't have one. So, he really did hear something and believe in you, and he began by managing your talent before you had any real career

Joyce DiDonato: And doing it very wisely by saying, "Joyce, I know this doesn't seem like a great job, but do it because you're working with A, B and C and this is a good thing", or "We are gonna say no to this job". "No, no, no, no. What do you mean, no?" "Because it would make you appear this (way)". I mean, he did really manage...

Marc A. Scorca: Not a booking agent, but a real manager.

Joyce DiDonato: No. And knowing how to build a career with patience and time, kind of in the old-fashioned way. And so I was ready for those jobs that came, but we are also building it in, in the right way, because one misstep - I'm not gonna say you're ruined - but it's a lost opportunity. And at that point, you don't wanna lose opportunities.

Marc A. Scorca: And how long has that relationship lasted as a management/client relationship?

Joyce DiDonato: We were together for 16 years, which was good. Yeah, it was a very good run.

Marc A. Scorca: How wonderful to have that kind of continuity, watching over the career. So, beyond the stage, and we could list all of the credits of the greatest opera houses in the world, but you are also just a really engaged and generous artist. You have such a reputation of giving of yourself, of your talent, of your wisdom, and I know that you've been doing some masterclasses, and I'm curious to know what you gain by giving masterclasses.

Joyce DiDonato: Oh, that's a good question. Well, I think it fulfills that desire to teach, which, from very early on, was with me. It was a big struggle for me to leave the education field and go into the stage, because that felt very narcissistic. It felt very selfish. And I thought the education is much more service-oriented. Again, Catholic family: 'vocation' was the big word at the dinner table. "What's your vocation gonna be?" And so that was always instilled in me about giving back. And I have a desire to interact with people and help them find what it is that makes them tick. I think part of my advantage is I had to work so hard, in a way feeling kind of isolated to find mine, so I understand that struggle when it seems like the world is against you and nobody's getting it, and all you're hearing is what's wrong with you as a singer. Welcome to your world. The feedback is, "You were sharp, you were flat, you're too this, you're too that". And so I empathize a lot with the singers who are going through that, and I'm very happy to just be a sounding board or a reference point, or a guidance to them about how to weather those waters, because they're tricky. They're very hard. And I also derive incredible joy from seeing people get it, seeing that light bulb go off, seeing some of their barriers fall down, seeing them realize they can do it, or they can do it in a way bigger than they ever thought. That's pretty fabulous.

Marc A. Scorca: Some of the masterclasses have been live streamed, so that people are watching - you're not working with them, they're not in the room, but you have shared it with other students in other cities and other countries.

Joyce DiDonato: That's one of the marvels of technology today, is we have that at our disposal. And I like to get a lot of bang for my buck, so when I travel around South America, China, Japan, I have a lot of young people going up saying, "Can you do a masterclass?" But I'm there for 28 hours. I don't have time. I love the idea of giving them the opportunity to watch this. It's also how I try to teach the classes. I'm not always successful, but my aim is to teach process and to teach things in a general enough way that the smart singers out there will take it and make it their own. So they don't have to be the one who's getting 20 minutes to work with me. I try and identify things and convey it in a way that other singers can utilize that, and learn from it as well. And the smart ones will; they'll internalize it and figure out what it means for them.

Marc A. Scorca: You've just started a website to encourage teenage enjoyment of opera and it parallels a program we have here at OPERA America for opera teens; we're focusing on teens. And actually, we have teen councils watching this interview around the country, and we have a couple of our opera teens right here in the front row. So, what is it that has inspired you to focus on encouraging teenagers?

Joyce DiDonato: Well, the big issue of wanting desperately to cultivate the next generation, and wanting to build that audience. I feel that all of us in the art form now - you guys do this so extraordinarily - we all have a responsibility to do what we can to keep the ball rolling. And the other aspect is, for whatever reason, this was not intentional on my part, it's not what I set out to do, but I think by embracing Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, these things, I've been able to open up a dialogue with young people. Again, that wasn't my intention, but it's a very happy effect from it.

Marc A. Scorca: Because you are the most connected singer I think there is - Facebook, Twitter, you have a blog, all sorts of things. I can't imagine where you find the time to do it, but I imagine it's rewarding to be in touch with all these people around the world.

Joyce DiDonato: Well, it is. It started very innocently when a dear, dear friend of mine in like 2005 said, "You should start a website". I said, "A what?" "A website". I was like, "Oh gosh, no". You know, just pictures of me, and here's what I'm doing. I said, "No, no, no, it doesn't interest me". She goes, "Joyce, it's part of the world now. People are gonna see you in a performance and they're gonna wanna know more about you. They're going to wanna see a website". I said, "Well, the only way I'll do it is if I can make it personal and write, and fill in some of the blanks and have it be about something, and not just my career". And so I started the Yankee Diva. It was a journal, then it became a blog, and now it's a journal again, 'cause I don't write that often anymore. And that all just snowballed. It snowballed because the responses that I would get from people were very sincere and heartfelt. And I thought, "This is actually reaching people, and there's an audience for this element of it". And then videos came in and I thought, "People ask me now" (because this dialogue is open) "a lot of questions". And I was writing back to everybody that wrote me. And that gets a bit overwhelming, and so I thought a lot of you young people are asking the same questions. Let me answer it in a public forum and put it out there. So that became the video blogs. Meanwhile, the young audience is getting cultivated, cultivated. And I thought, "This is exciting". I think one of the really tragic things about being an opera lover, when you're in high school is you feel like you're the only one on the planet. And you're like, "What'd you do this weekend?" "I went (making a 'L for Loser' sign on her forehead) to the opera". And there's a sense of isolation. Then, a couple years ago, somebody started a club like on Twitter called Opera Rocks. And it was for sort of 21-ish and young adults. And they would show up with a group of eight, 15 of them, 20 of them. They'd come see the show and then come to the stage door. They'd bring me a six-pack of beer, because they knew I liked beer. And it's exciting to be in direct dialogue with these people that are getting it, because all we hear is "It's dying" and, "It's for gray-haired people", and "It's for dying". I love that it's for people of all ages. And of course, it's for an older audience. Opera's sophisticated, and it's something you crave when you've raised your kids and you're looking for deeper meaning in life, but it's also for young people that are hooked by it from the beginning. And I've decided to sort pour a lot of energy into that, because it's exciting. And this Opera Rocks is just a way that they can connect and realize they're not the only one on the planet that likes it. And they can have dialogue now with social media across countries, across cities, across states. And they're talking about real things. They're talking about "What is the familial relationship in Wagner and what does it mean in the 21st century?" And I'm like (quizzical look), I'm not even sure I know how to answer that. But they're intelligent, which is of course why they're drawn to the world of opera, and so I wanna give a platform where it can be something of substance.

Marc A. Scorca: You've made these personal choices in your life, but do you think that artists in general have some responsibility to give back, to advocate on behalf of opera, on behalf of the arts? Is it part of the job of being an artist?

Joyce DiDonato: That's a really good question. I don't know how to answer that. I guess it's the parallel. Is it, 'Do we have a duty to be a good citizen?' You can make an argument for 'Yes'. And you can make an argument for 'You're entitled to just live your life and live it to the best that you want to; that's your right'. And I tell you what, the world of being an artist is so complex and pressure-filled and all consuming, that I would never judge an artist if all they can do is get themselves up on stage at night, and give everything they have to that piano recital or opera. That is enough. And that is a lot. But we are a part of this industry. And I can't say that it should be expected or it's a responsibility, because your job is to get up and do the art, but I would love to see more artists find the wherewithal to become more involved. I would love that, but I don't think we can hold them to that, because the act of just getting up on stage and keeping yourself in a healthy place to be able to do that in a generous manner, that's a full-time job.

Marc A. Scorca: Speaking of full-time jobs and repertoire, you're here rehearsing a great reprise of your Rossini success last year, and you just came off doing a new opera, Great Scott in Dallas, which I was privileged to see. So this repertoire mix: Handel and Rossini and all of the coloratura and new work, whether it's Jake Heggie or Mark Adamo or others you've done, what is this dialogue within you of new music and music that's 200 years old? How does that work together? Do they fight?

Joyce DiDonato: Isn't it fabulous? I don't think they fight at all. I love being in that world. I have a very ambitious appetite for music, and I'm so grateful that from the beginning I established myself in all those worlds. The spinal column of what I do is Mozart, Handel, Rossini and will always be that, but I love the tentacles of the other things. The modern work goes back to the Houston days. I did three world premieres with them in the three years that I was down there. Jackie O, Little Women and Resurrection of Tod Machover, which was an extraordinary (piece).

Marc A. Scorca: I really enjoyed that. I really liked that piece.

Joyce DiDonato: Me too. Wow, it was hard. I mean, I was playing a drunken Russian prostitute; it was fabulous. But that was a chance for me to not fall into that safe world of Cherubino and Rosina. This little box of a typical lyric mezzo. I was able to immediately do something different. And at first, I was doing this (gestures arm's length) with modern opera and going, "Oh, ho ho". And then I just tore into it, and it's fascinating and exciting, and it's taught me how to prepare traditional pieces that are new to me. I tear into them as if nobody's ever done them before, instead of being beholden to tradition. I acknowledge tradition, I respect it, I use it. But that's not where I start with a piece I'm going to do for the first time.

Marc A. Scorca: But it has to be such a different worldview to create a role, as opposed to doing a role where we've got Maria Callas recordings, just to make it your own from the very start.

Joyce DiDonato: It's daunting, it's overwhelming, it's terrifying, and it's thrilling. And the greatest and most terrifying moment is opening night, where nobody has heard this before. And the electricity of an audience having to absorb everything for the first time, instead of knowing that Mimí's gonna die, so they get the hanky ready, they don't know what's gonna happen. We had the most exquisitely magical moment in the sitzprobe of Great Scott. There's this extraordinary quartet at the end for four treble voices. So, there was Frederica von Stade...

Marc A. Scorca: Who sang brilliantly. It was just amazing.

Joyce DiDonato: She's a miracle. She's a miracle. There's Frederica von Stade. Whatever, that alone is mind-blowing. Ailyn Pérez, Anthony Roth Costanzo and myself. And it's the end of the opera, and it really is this great tribute to Rosenkavalier, and it's that beautiful. And it was the first time we'd done it with orchestra. Also, there's Jake Heggie, who spent three years bleeding to put this score out. But he's never heard the orchestra. He's never heard the orchestra. He's heard the singers, they'd done workshops and he'd been in rehearsals. I can't imagine what that sensation must have been for him. But we're there, and the quartet starts, and all of a sudden, the energy in the room changed. And afterwards Jake said, "Joyce, I'll never forget this. Everybody started looking at each other. They needed to connect to another human being saying, 'Are you hearing this? What's happening?'" And this magical reminder of what music does, it's that need to connect to something outside of ourselves, and how amazing that we get to be a part of that.

Marc A. Scorca: Absolutely and new works to discover, to be at a moment of discovery, which is just such a thrill.

Joyce DiDonato: But that's what we have to do as artists and audience members, is be ruthless in that point of view of coming to a piece, no matter what it is, and being willing to discover. That's really crucial, I think.

Marc A. Scorca: I'm not a big believer in work/life balance, and I have a feeling that you're not either, but how do you catch your breath? How do you do the quick refresh that keeps you going?

Joyce DiDonato: Work in progress, but no, I've gotten much better at it. I'm very, very fortunate in that...well, I'm fortunate and I work at it too, that I love what I do. So the process gives me inordinate amount of joy. And when I am down, the music refuels me. There have been times where I'm getting ready for a show and they call 15 minutes, and I'm sitting there going, "Oof, I do not have this in me tonight". And the orchestra starts, and I have it in spades, 'cause it just energizes me. I love what I do, but I've learned to work very hard and protect the things that allow me to enjoy the world around what I do. The travel, the isolation, the pressure, the energy that it takes to interact with people, the social media stuff, all of that that I do. You know, I back off of it when I need a break, and then I engage in it when I have the energy and when I have something to say. So I've just given myself permission to do it when I can. Nature has become a real necessity in my life. That's where I refuel really well as I get into nature, and that clears things out a lot. And perhaps most importantly, surrounding myself by real people. I think yes-people are really dangerous; that doesn't interest me at all. Not always easy, but I don't surround myself by yes-people. And I work very hard to maintain the relationships that are completely independent of the opera world, but that are, you know, my spinal column.

Marc A. Scorca: I don't wanna say yes. So, no, I understand exactly what you mean. We have time for just a couple of questions from our audience.

Audience Member #1: My question is, you made mention that when you worked with Stephen Smith for three years, he connected you with your breath. And it was from that point that your voice was able to really come out. And I just wanted to get more clarification about what you meant by that technically, or both symbolically and technically.

Joyce DiDonato: Everything. Yeah, this is the glory of the human voice, is that when it's free, it is, I think, perhaps the most pure expression of who you are. And I was really good at forcing my voice. I was using tongue tension and all this stuff to make the sound happen. And that involved a lot of resistance and a lot of pressure and force. So, if you imagine that, it was impossible for myself to resonate in that. Do you play sports at all? But if you can imagine a tennis player or a golfer, when they try and hit the ball (or a baseball player). But when an athlete is using force, they might connect with the ball, but it will never go as far as if it's an easy organic swing. So, first thing he did was take away this muscle tension that I was using, the muscle memory, which was about a year to release that stuff. Then I spent another year actually hooking up the breath. And then it took another year to trust that process and not fall back out of nerves. I'd wanna make the sound happen so I could pressurize it. I could make a lot of sound, but it wasn't pretty. It still happens that way sometimes.

Marc A. Scorca: If you listen to a recording, is it recognizable as you?

Joyce DiDonato: Oh, yes.

Marc A. Scorca: Just a tense you.

Joyce DiDonato: I never listen to those recordings. We don't speak about those, Marc and you hear that my voice is not free. So, what we're always looking for as singers is more freedom, more freedom, more freedom. And I think the only way that can really happen, is if you allow the breath to do what it does naturally. You look at a baby, they've got it down. They're built for that. Once that breath is going freely, I then become more free to express, that my energy can then be channeled in that direction, rather than making sound and trying to get the pitch and get the top note and make it happen. I can relax and I become more expressive and more freely expressive. And I think when it hits that groove, it doesn't always happen by any means, but we look for consistency as much as we can, then my expression as a person comes out. That has been a long process for me, hooking up to the breath. And interestingly enough, the more freedom I found, and I've had these vocal breakthroughs along the way. I won't pinpoint where they were, because then you'll listen and then you'll hear it, and I don't want you to. But I've had these breakthroughs where all of a sudden more freedom has come, or more depth. My career then would kind of step up another notch, or it would go into like a new level. My career has responded to me finding more authentic expression as myself. And when I find that in the voice, then I'm less inhibited to do that as a person. So, when I speak, or I give a speech, I'm grounded more in that place of freedom, which the voice has taught me. By studying my voice, by working on my voice, finding freedom in that, I've been able to find it more in my own life, which is unexpected. And I didn't set out to have that happen, but I think as I look back, that's kind of what's happened. And it's not that I sing so differently now that put me up into this other level. I think people respond to me because I'm more myself, rather than another diva or whatever.

Marc A. Scorca: And a lesson from that wonderful response is that breakthroughs keep happening; that it just keeps unfolding.

Joyce DiDonato: Yeah, I have a voice lesson tomorrow. I had two last week.

Marc A. Scorca: That was my next question about voice lessons. Someone at your incredible career, do you still study?

Joyce DiDonato: Oh, last week. What did I say? I was like, "Wait, why didn't I know this 20 years ago? Why am I just now learning this?" Yes, you're constantly peeling back the layers of an onion. We are an infinite onion. Better phrases have rolled off my tongue than that.

Marc A. Scorca: But luckily we're all in the same room together.

Joyce DiDonato: And I think the singers, y'all know what I'm talking about, but it's a constant process. I don't feel like I'm learning to sing. I feel like I'm learning to let go. Learning to let go and putting in place measures to allow more freedom to come. That's a constant process. Also, the body is changing. I mean, this (gestures to herself) is not what it was 20 years ago. I think it's better, but that's just me.

Marc A. Scorca: Absolutely. It just keeps on changing.

Joyce DiDonato: Well, fake it til you make it. And the serious singers that I know, keep studying. I'm at a disadvantage in that, if I'm in Zurich and I'm in Berlin, and then I'm in China, sometimes it's impractical, but I do it at every chance that I can.

Marc A. Scorca: Another question in the room for Joyce?

Audience Member #2: I was just wondering, you said earlier how you had empathy for the young singers that you've been working with. And you said, you know the struggle and you know it's real. And I was just wondering, during your career, did you ever have times where you wanted to stop and quit? And if you did, how you dealt with it?

Joyce DiDonato: So, I've never gotten to the point where I thought, "I wanna stop". I remember after my summer in Santa Fe, which was so good, such a fulfilling summer, I remember thinking, "If this is as good as it ever gets, I'm happy, 'cause it's more than most people get". And I thought, "This is good". And I still find myself saying that. I'm still in awe of the experiences I get to have. But there was also something in me - I observe people a lot. I hope I don't judge them - sometimes I do, okay - but I observe them. And I saw a lot of bitter people that were holding on, just because they had to. And I just remember saying, "That's not for me. If it ever becomes too much, I'll walk away", knowing that it's already been really good. So, I've always felt like I had that freedom to continue to choose this, and I don't feel like I'm tied to it. So, that allows me some freedom. But I've had gut-wrenching - every human being has this, but certainly artists have this - gut-wrenching moments, that you might not realize how you're gonna get out of it. You can't quite see the way out yet. The really acute ones have happened about 15 minutes before you go on to a big stage, and you just think "Just phonate, just phonate..." Those really difficult moments that I had when I was a young artist, I still have them, but they're different, and the struggles are different. I'm not auditioning for a job anymore, thank God. That day may come back, I don't know. But for the moment, I'm not. But the struggles are different and the way through it, you take a really deep breath, you do what you have to do. I'm a person that I find strength in barreling through the show. That somehow brings me back to a center, or then I feel like I have the strength to figure the other stuff out. Then you get a little older and you realize that even if you can't see what the outcome is gonna be, you know that it's gonna be what needs to happen and it's gonna teach you what you need to know, or it's gonna bring you to the point where you need to be. And it's usually not where you're driving, or where you're aimed. And so I have those tsunamis of (halting breath), and now I just panic a little less. But I still feel it.

Marc A. Scorca: It is incredible to hear what you have gone through to bring us the gift you bring to us, because all of us have been inspired, enriched, transformed by your gifts. So, on behalf of all of us in the room, I just want to say thank you for this evening.