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Interview: Maria Luigia Borsi, singing in the Italian tradition | reviews, news & interviews

Interview: Maria Luigia Borsi, singing in the Italian tradition

Interview: Maria Luigia Borsi, singing in the Italian tradition

Soprano talks about Muti, Bocelli and her Wigmore Hall recital

In this era of spectacular divas from Russia, Latvia and Romania, it is often remarked that the Italian lyric soprano is a commodity in distressingly short supply. Hoping to rectify that sorry situation is Tuscany’s Maria Luigia Borsi, who will be making her London debut at the Wigmore Hall on Sunday, singing a luxuriant programme of Puccini, Catalani and Mascagni.

“My favourite composer is Puccini,” says Borsi, “and I feel very good when I sing Puccini’s music. I was born in the south of Italy, near Rome, but I grew up in Tuscany not far from Pisa and Livorno. Perhaps for that reason I love Puccini and Tuscan music in general, and that’s why I chose this repertoire for the Wigmore Hall.”

Though it’s a solo recital, where she’ll be accompanied by pianist John Novacek, the programme has been carefully selected to throw light on her roots in Italian opera. “It’s very interesting, because in some of the songs you can hear some famous operatic themes,” she explains. “In Puccini’s ‘Solo e amore’ there is the famous theme from the quartet in the third act of La Bohème.” She pauses to sing an extract, in a sweetly toned chamber voice.

“Then in ‘Sogno d’Or’, which is a lullaby, there is the theme from the end of the second act of La Rondine,” she says, delivering another melodic morsel by way of illustration. And what’s more, “In 'Chanson groenlandaise' by Catalani, there is the theme from Catalani’s most famous aria from La Wally.” If I’m not very much mistaken, that’ll be "Ebben? Ne andro lontano". On top of all that, she’ll be performing Mascagni’s "Ave Maria", which is based on the same tune as the well-travelled "Intermezzo" from Cavalleria Rusticana.

maria_luigia_borsi“There will also be three songs dedicated to Jesus’ mother, the Madonna Maria,” she goes on. “One each by Puccini, Catalani and Mascagni. The one composed by Catalani was written when he was very young, and it was lost for many years. A friend of mine rediscovered it, and I think perhaps my performance will be the debut of this 'Ave Maria' in the UK."

She enjoys recital performances for their intimacy and for the liberating effect of singing without an orchestra, but meanwhile she has a hit-list of ambitions on the operatic stage. She’d like the opportunity to do more bel canto roles from Donizetti and Bellini, and is limbering up for a crack at Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur. Among her favourite opera roles to date are Violetta in La Traviata, Liu in Turandot, Mozart’s Donna Elvira and Fiordiligi, and Desdemona in Otello, which she was thrilled to sing under Riccardo Muti’s baton in Rome and Salzburg. It will be as Desdemona that she makes her American opera debut in July in Cincinnati, while December 2010 will find her in Copenhagen, singing Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly at the Royal Danish Theatre (pictured right as Cio Cio San in Japan, 2008).

But Borsi aside, where is the new wave of Italian sopranos? “There are some very good Italian sopranos, but you don’t hear them outside of Italy,” she says. “I love Barbara Frittoli, I think she’s a great singer, and also Mariella Devia. But I think there are many reasons why there are not more. First, because in Italy I’m sad to say that the government doesn’t invest in young talent. Again, because Italy is the country where opera was born. So for instance Korean singers will come to Italy and want to sing there because it’s the home of opera, but the Italian singers will stay at home because they don’t like to travel a lot.”

Sitting opposite her to help out as translator and sounding-board is her husband, American-Italian violinist Brad Repp. He takes a more jaundiced view. “I think some of the most famous sopranos today don’t necessarily have the greatest vocal qualities, but they are projects very skilfully put together by the record company,” he suggests. “And maybe Italian singers are too expensive in these days when finances are tough. Maybe the opera houses go and look for Romanian singers instead.”

Nonetheless, Borsi is proud of her Italian heritage, and can’t see it as anything but an advantage in her chosen career. “Yes, I’m Italian!” she declares. “The moment I sing something in the Italian language I feel that I’m really singing, I understand perfectly the sense of the words. It’s not so easy in another language if you don’t speak it so fluently. For instance, I love the Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss, but it doesn’t feel so immediate to me. When I sing in Italian I don’t have to think. I think it’s important because it helps to transmit some real feeling to the audience."

While Borsi has some influential musical supporters and is gaining international recognition, she has had to overcome a string of professional misfires along the way. She thrived under the guidance of one of her early singing teachers, Lucia Stanescu, but experienced a rougher ride when she went for classes with revered soprano Renata Scotto, who was by all accounts somewhat frugal with the flowers and champagne.

“It was not a good experience for me,” Borsi confesses. “It was quite hard. But I have to thank her, because her comments made me stronger.” The protective Brad is less forgiving of the great diva. “She feels threatened by anyone with talent,” he snorts. “She sent Maria Luigia away, but a year later she was called to do recitals with José Carreras. The year after that she sang Turandot in La Scala.” (Borsi pictured singing Fiodiligi in Così Fan Tutte, below.)

An important champion was conductor Marcello Viotti, who conducted her as Violetta in La Traviata in early 2005 and raved about her musical and interpretive qualities. He recommended her to numerous opera houses and festivals throughout Europe, but this promising connection was terminated when Viotti died suddenly later the same year. She ran into another setback in 2002.

“In 2002 I auditioned at La Scala for Traviata, because there was a tour planned in China with the La Scala company, and maestro Muti chose me. But the tour was cancelled because there was a SARS outbreak in China.” Luckily, all was not lost. “I was chosen twice by Muti, and I’m quite proud of this,” she recalls. “Five years later I auditioned for him again in Salzburg. The artistic director there asked him, ‘Do you know Maria Luigia Borsi?’ and he said ‘No, I don’t know her’. So I did another audition, and maestro Muti chose me again. I told him I had auditioned for him before, but he didn’t remember.”

For good measure, Muti picked up the phone to the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome and made sure Borsi was booked to sing as his Desdemona there as well. “He said, ‘I want Maria Luigia Borsi, first because she is bravissima, and secondly because I want to work with singers who I’ve worked with before.’ After this I said to him, ‘Maestro, thank you so much.' He said, ‘You don’t have to thank me, I don’t do favours.’ I felt very nervous auditioning for him because he’s a very dominating figure, but he’s full of passion for music. Singing with Muti has been one of my most important experiences.”

borsi__bocelliA curious and under-reported aspect of Borsi’s career is that outside her operatic and recital work, she has found herself singing to huge crowds around the world while touring with the pop-tenor Andrea Bocelli (picture of the two, left, from www.bocelli.de). This came about when Bocelli heard her win the San Remo International Lyric competition.

“After this competition, Bocelli asked me, ‘Do you like to fly?’” she remembers. “I said yes, and so I did a lot of concerts with him in New Zealand, in China, in Manila and Singapore. Then all around the United States. Bocelli sang crossover, but he loves opera so much. In these concerts, I would sing opera duets with him from Butterfly, Bohème and Otello.”

It was while circling the globe with the crowd-pleasing crooner that she met husband Brad, who was Bocelli’s featured violinist. “It’s strange,” he says. “Maria Luigia was everywhere, on billboards and TV. I have videos of her in front of the pyramids in Egypt, in an incredibly beautifully set-up concert with just her and Bocelli. I don’t know why it wasn’t marketed so much. That’s why they call her the Phantom of the Opera, because she has sung in many places but people don’t realise it.”

The unpretentious Borsi admits she’s terrible at partying, schmoozing and the showbiz lifestyle that surrounds a big crossover star like Bocelli.  “When I was in London with Bocelli, after the concert there was a party with Richard Gere and Naomi Campbell,” she recalls. “But I said, ‘No no! I cannot!’ and I stayed in the hotel. The only thing that is important for me is music. I am a diva maybe when I sing, but in my life no, I am a simple person. I think to live quietly is the secret to having serenity.”

Maria Luigia Borsi sings at the Wigmore Hall on Sunday 17 January. Buy tickets here.

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Comments

Wonderful interview Adam. Very fresh and honest. Thank you very much. Best regards, Brad the snorter :-)

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