Profiles

May 25, 2011

An opera diva in our ranks

Stallcop-Horrox is also an opera singer. She talked about her extracurricular endeavors with Tara Brown, recognition program and events coordinator, Organization Development & Training, Harborview and UW Medical Center.

TB: Tell me a bit about your experience as an opera singer?

ESH: I have been a member of the Seattle Opera Regular Chorus since 1997. I have also done several principal roles with small companies in Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Pennsylvania, including a small principal role in “Elektra” with Seattle Opera in 2008, which garnered a positive mention in the Metropolitan Opera News magazine, a national publication. I also freelance as a soloist for concert and oratorio work. I have been a professional classical singer for all of my adult life, but there were gaps where life and family intervened. There are lots of classically trained musicians who work day jobs to support their “habit.”

TB: What is the latest opera that you were involved in and what was your role?

ESH: I am currently performing as a member of the chorus in Mozarts “Magic Flute” with Seattle Opera. I will be the soprano soloist in a performance of the Verdi “Requiem” on Saturday, May 28, at St Marks Cathedral. It is a benefit for Friends of the Orphans, the second of these fundraising events that I have participated in. I am traveling to New York in June to perform with my brother at the American Composers Alliance Summer Festival for New Music. We will be performing a song cycle that he wrote for me entitled “Meditation at Oyster River” with text by the late Theodore Roethke (May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) from his last work, The Far Field. Roethke taught poetry at the UW from 1947 until his death in 1963.

TB: About how much time do you commit each week to rehearsing and singing?

ESH: It varies. I have just spent two weeks where we rehearsed 3-4 hours per night for five nights in a row with only one day off in between because we were running up to opening night. I also squeezed in a voice lesson on the day off. Time spent is always greater when I am in the middle of a project or production. But I try to sing daily for 30 minutes at least.

TB: What is your favorite thing about being an opera singer?

ESH: I love the music, of course. The challenge of learning difficult music is exhilarating! But it is the performing that really excites me. The feeling of communicating directly with ones audience is the best feeling in the world and the reward for all the hard work.

TB: What is the most challenging part of being an opera singer?

ESH: The easy answer would be the competition for roles – getting the gig. Once that hurdle is passed, its probably the assimilation of the music, the language, and putting the directors vision into a cohesive performance.

TB: What is your favorite opera to watch? To perform?

ESH: I tend to like listening to things that are in my repertoire, so the big dramatic operas are my favorites – like Richard Strauss (“Der Rosenkavalier,” “Arabella”), Richard Wagner (“Der Fliegande Hollander,” ” Lohengrin,” “The Ring”), Puccini and Verdi. To sing, it has to be Tosca, hands down. Performed it three times, most recently with Bellevue Opera in 2009. Love it!

TB: What goals do you have for the rest of your opera career?

ESH: I intend to continue to challenge myself with new music and give the best performances possible. And of course, to do as many as possible!

Listen to samples of Eleanor Stallcop-Horroxs singing.  You can also read a recent article about her in the Journal Media Group.