The Park Record worked with Park City Opera and sent a string of questions to some of this season’s guest artists.
Three — Rachel Kobernick, Kevin Spooner and Allison Deady — are looking forward to performing in Park City, and here are their answers:
Rachel Kobernick, performing the role of Laurie in Aaron Copland’s ‘The Tender Land’
- Home base: Cincinnati, Ohio, but originally from West Chester, Pennsylvania
- Voice type: Soprano (Soubrette/Lyric-Coloratura)
Park Record: How long have you been an opera singer?
Kobernick: 11 years. I started singing and taking voice lessons my senior year of high school, studied voice and opera for 8 years and have been working post-grad for almost two years!
P.R.: How did you discover opera?
Kobernick: I’d played piano for most of my life, since age 4, and was studying with an awesome teacher who also taught voice. When I started high school, I began to be very interested in songwriting and would take little songs I wrote to my piano teacher to both play and sing. As a voice teacher, she must have heard something in my voice and began giving me a voice lesson here and there instead of piano. After a month or so, she passed me off to a different teacher who taught classical voice and introduced me to the world of opera. I loved it, went to Washington National Opera’s high school program the summer after my senior year and chose to pursue it!
P.R.: What is your favorite opera?
Kobernick: (Giacomo Puccini’s) “Gianni Schicchi!” This is a perfect opera to me. Short, hilarious, and I feel every moment is warranted — no fluff! It’s incredibly entertaining and is some of the most fun I’ve ever had on stage.
P.R.: What does being part of this year’s season mean to you?
Kobernick: This piece is very meaningful to me as “Laurie’s Song” was one of the first arias I ever sang when I began to study voice. Also, the (Park City Opera) team is made up of wonderful people, many of whom I’ve known for many years, and I am so excited to spend a summer with them in gorgeous Park City!
P.R.: What are the challenges of long hours of rehearsing and performing, and what are the rewards?
Kobernick: The more I do this, the more I realize that the rehearsal process is mostly a time of discovery. No matter how well I know the score, once I begin putting a role on its feet, the ultimate challenge of finding who the character really is begins. In the beginning, I often feel like I am so far from knowing and get caught up in adding all sorts of elements (staging, cast mates, props, costumes, how I want to use my voice in this specific role, etc). This can feel really challenging, and in trying lots of different things in long rehearsals for many days in a row, it can sometimes be discouraging. But, every single time, the true character begins to emerge, and this is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world. I think if you give the score and the character and the production time to breathe, we always end up finding it, even if it’s initially overwhelming. All that to say, know your music!!
Kevin Spooner playing the role of Frère Laurent in Charles Gounod’s ‘Roméo et Juliette’
Credit: Photo courtesy of Park City Opera
- Home base: New York City
- Vocal type: Bass-Baritone
Park Record: How long have you been an opera singer?
Spooner: I’ve been studying as an opera singer since I went to the Eastman School of Music 9 years ago. I am now one year out of school.
P.R.: How did you discover opera?
Spooner: I was initially going to be a choral conductor. However, I fell in love with opera when I started to take classical voice lessons at 16 years old.
P.R.: What is your favorite opera?
Spooner: (Giacomo Puccini’s) “Tosca”
P.R.: What does being part of this year’s season mean to you?
Spooner: I am very excited to join Park City Opera for the first time! When I auditioned for Park City Opera, I was extremely impressed with how they make their auditionees feel at home, comfortable and unique in their own way. I knew from the moment that I auditioned that I wanted to work for a company that appreciates their artists and shows them that they are worthy by truly hearing them out. I am so excited to make my debut with Park City Opera in my first French Opera.
P.R.: What are the challenges of long hours of rehearsing and performing?
Spooner: It can be difficult to maintain focus in a difficult and taxing work environment such as opera. There are numerous things that can happen throughout the rehearsal period that will affect how you perform. Allergies, emotions, being far away from your loved ones or just a stressful day can seriously impact your performance and how you prepare mentally. It is important to have a routine to help limit these factors during long rehearsal periods.
Park Record: What are the rewards?
Spooner: It is always exciting to meet new artists during a production period or to reconnect with a colleague that you have worked with in the past. The opera world is small and more often than not you will have worked with a team member at some point before. Also, it is rewarding to be able to listen to such beautiful music every day and to hear your colleagues grow throughout the process. I am extremely grateful to be able to make a career out of the biggest passion in my life.
Allison Deady playing the role of Gertrude in Charles Gounod’s ‘Romèo et Juliette’
Credit: Photo courtesy of Park City Opera
- Home base: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Vocal type: Mezzo soprano. In Italian this literally means medium soprano, alto is typically a word used for choral singing, but it’s basically an alto.
Park Record: How long have you been an opera singer?
Deady: I made my professional debut with Knoxville Opera in 2015 singing Marta in “Boito’s Mefistofele.”
P.R: What were the circumstances that led you to discover opera?
Deady: I started my undergraduate degree as a piano music education major with a minor in voice. I wanted to be a high school choir teacher. My first semester I was involved in a program called Opera Scenes, basically operatic short stories. I was in the chorus for a piece called “Strawberry Fields,” and one of the leads had to drop out. The director asked me to jump in and perform the role, and from that point on I was totally hooked!
P.R.: What is your favorite opera?
Deady: “Der Rosenkavalier” by Richard Strauss. It’s simply stunning! The ending trio makes me cry.
P.R.: If you are new to Park City Opera, what does being part of this year’s season mean to you?
Deady: I’m so excited to be a part of the tradition of creativity and art that Park City Opera has woven into the identity of the city. What a gorgeous place to make some music!
P.R.: What compelled you to audition?
Deady: I love performing character roles, smaller characters on the side who often get to be a bit comedic and can really influence the vibe of the show. Gertrude is a perfect example of a character role and I’ve been really trying to build my repertoire of character roles, so this season was perfect for me to audition for Park City Opera!
P.R.: What are the challenges of long hours of rehearsing and performing?
Deady: Oh gosh, I don’t know! I love rehearsing and performing, so it’s hard to remember the challenges. It’s hard to be away from family for long stretches of time, although I love exploring new places and meeting new people.
P.R.: What are the rewards?
Deady: Endless. I love creating new characters and unexpected moments of levity or beauty. I love sharing these timeless stories with audiences. I love both honoring the traditions of music and using that as a foundation to create something modern and real. I love my job!