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What are stars made of? Of extraordinary uniqueness like that Nadine Serra. Of innate talent that imposes itself, of passion and discipline that resists anything. In her case, for the beauty and flexibility of her voice, for the artistic and acting perfection of drama and comedy, for the charm of her charisma and her diva appearance that needs no explanations. But also, he says, a great deal of personal compromise.
She becomes the role model for her romantic heroines (Traviata, Giulietta, Lucia and many others), travels around the world giving life to her characters and conquers the highest stages of poetry. From the Met in New York to the Staatsoper in Vienna, from La Scala in Milan to London and Paris. She is currently on a Latin American tour that takes her to Buenos Aires with an Aura Cycle concert on Wednesday at the Colon Theater.
He is the star of the moment. An exclusive artist for the German label Deutsche Grammophon, the North American soprano has reached the pinnacle of the art she has dreamed of since she was a child, when her mother made her see it via video. No bohème By Zeffirelli and fell in love with singing forever. What stars are they made of, says Nadine Sierra Nation.
– Three years after your first appearance in Cologne with Elisir DamourYour international presence has grown significantly. How do you rate your career up to this point?
– The first thing I want to say is that I am excited to return to Kowloon because I love the energy of this theater. I was with (Andrea) Bocelli and now I’m back with Brian Waghorn. It’s always a great experience because the crowd is friendly and welcoming, and they celebrate good music and singing. For me, who has wanted to be a singer since childhood, the atmosphere surrounding opera is what makes what happens on stage unforgettable. Receiving so much love from the audience in Buenos Aires, Milan, New York or London is what drives me to be better, to improve myself every day, to find a way to grow in this art form in which there is always something to improve. Once, for example, one of the women in the choir knew that I liked alfajores and dulce de leche. She made me some homemade alfajores and brought them to me in a gift box!
-A great gesture…
– From Argentines one can feel these types of gestures that come from the soul. Knowing that when I leave the show there is a crowd of people waiting for me outside the theater. It makes me feel special, so enthusiasm is what motivates me the most and my career balance is the sum of those experiences that made me grow.
What secrets of sound or interpretation make the difference?
– I think I discovered one of my singing secrets when I was 30 years old: the realization that performing opera with all body and facial movements is never enough. I have to act with the sound. This means that it is not enough to sing well and do it technically brilliantly. In addition, you need color, emotion, and the right expression in every word. If he said the line com. piangendo (Crying), I can’t sing the tune carelessly. I almost cry, giving the song the term “crying.” Opera is that. It’s not just about the emotion of the music itself, but how the singer takes each word and colors it to convey a message. This aspect is what elevates my performance.
-Who are your references in this sense?
-(Maria) Callas did it better than anyone else. Renata Scotto, who knew how to color every line to evoke emotion. Placido Domingo, who knows how to work with his voice. There are singers who have this talent and are able to express themselves better than others. And then those who have perfect technique, who sing beautifully, but nothing more.
-Is the ideal you longed for as a child, to become a singing singer, what it was like in your dreams?
– There is a part of me that wonders with increasing anxiety, because I am a woman, I am 37 years old and I have not yet had children: Will I be able to start a family? This is the real side of this profession. Of course singing on stage is glamorous, being an established and famous artist! Those are the positive moments of this profession. But there are other things that are more dangerous to a life full of sacrifices. Be a woman and be 37 years old. It’s time to ask myself.
-Because it’s a mandate or do you really want it?
– Because there are moments of loneliness in which I suffer greatly. At this age, I’m still not sure I’ll be able to have children, and that’s something that worries me. Many of my colleagues and I talked about these women’s issues. Some freeze their eggs, others perform fertility treatments In the laboratory. Today there are scientific possibilities that give women the opportunity to become mothers around the age of forty. For me, it’s a constant anxiety, it’s an emotional stress because even though I’m happy in my career, I lack that fulfillment. The singer’s life constantly travels around the world and this is not easy. It’s an exhausting way to live. I have my home in New York, for example, and I last left in November and came back in August. It’s a time when I don’t have a space of my own, a closet of my own things, a bed of my own, or a life of my own.
– How did you choose your party program?
– Pieces from the opera and a part dedicated to my Portuguese roots, to music I sang as a young girl when I fell in love with opera and started studying this genre. These songs were taught to me by my mother, who used to sit with me to review the Portuguese language. As well as many languages he helped me pronounce correctly. It was my mother who taught me and they are the pieces I grew up with. It’s the story of my life. Now I’m with Brian, who I’ve known for twenty years. We studied together, were classmates at Mannes College of Music in New York and are great friends.
– Who are your most exceptional colleagues?
-Two leaders who believed in me from the beginning: Zubin Mehta and Daniel Barenboim. I made the first Traviata with Zubin. And with Daniel, Figaro, Orfeo, my first Falstaff at the Staatsoper in Berlin. I auditioned for him at La Scala and it was one of the best auditions of my life. He let me sing and then we sat down to talk. I felt positive energy from him because at no time did he make me feel like he was the great teacher and I was the weird novice soprano. Quite the opposite, he treated me as an equal and then asked me to sing whatever I wanted. He welcomed me when the easiest thing would have been to make me feel intimidated by his great personality. I have deep respect and admiration for him.
– When you first came out you released your album There is a place for us (There’s a Place for Us) How do you feel today about the message of this album?
My response was to a type of speech that affects people and makes them feel uncomfortable, as I felt as a daughter of immigrants in the United States. My mother immigrated from Portugal, my grandfather from Puerto Rico, and my grandmother from Italy. Today the world is divided into extreme positions. You are completely conservative or completely liberal, but there is no middle ground. I believe that balance must be restored, and that this spiral in the way people communicate is out of control, because on both sides, things end badly.
-What is the role of music in this panorama?
-Music is all around us. In restaurants, elevators, lobbies and gyms, music is there for a reason: because it affects our mood. We all go through difficulties in our lives, and experience stress from relationships, finances, and anything else; So if, during the two hours of a concert, I can bring a little peace and harmony to whoever is listening, I feel very happy and satisfied.
Singing and playing the piano. Nadine Sierra (soprano). Brian Waghorn (piano). Works by Gounod, Puccini, Donizetti, Mozart, Verdi, Chopin and others. Wednesday, December 3, 8 pm, at Teatro Colón, Libertad 621. Organisation: Mama Húngara Live and Elisa Wagner. Corona cycle.