Jenufa - Preparing for new roles and the evolution of a career with singing actress Patricia Racette

Jenufa - Preparing for new roles and the evolution of a career with singing actress Patricia Racette

Author: The Santa Fe Opera July 19, 2019 Duration: 30:18

All eyes in the village are on Jenufa. Her fiancé sees only a trophy wife. Her rejected suitor sees a chance to avenge the most cutting wrongs in his past. Her righteous stepmother sees her own life's tragedy about to play out again for her child. The results are two unspeakable crimes which lead to the opera's true theme—that the wounds of troubled lives can be assuaged through acceptance, forgiveness, and hope.

Patricia Racette returns to the Santa Fe Opera for her 10th role on our stage in this production of Jenufa by Leos Janáček, staged by David Alden. Having performed the role of Jenufa many, many times, Patricia now takes on the role of the stepmother, Kostelnicka. 

Cori and Patricia talk about what it's like to prepare for a new character in an opera she knows so well; her career expansion from ingenue to more mature, dramatic roles; her passion for coaching young singers; a return to her musical theatre roots; and the answer to the burning question on all Santa Feans' minds -- red or green? 

 

Follow Patricia at http://patriciaracette.com on Twitter @patriciaracette and on Facebook @divapatriciaracette.

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Jenufa runs at the Santa Fe Opera July 20 - August 15, 2019.

Learn more and plan your visit at http://www.santafeopera.org.

We'd love for you to join us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @santafeopera. 

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Beyond the Opera is produced for the Santa Fe Opera by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Our audio engineer is Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe.

Our hosts are dramaturg Cori Ellison and Kathleen Clawson, associate director of the Santa Fe Opera apprentice singer program.


Behind every curtain call at The Santa Fe Opera is a world of craft, history, and human effort. Destination Santa Fe Opera pulls back that curtain, offering a rare backstage pass to the artists, technicians, designers, and visionaries who bring the spectacle to life. This podcast is a series of intimate, revealing conversations that go far beyond the performance notes. You’ll hear from a costume designer about the weight and meaning of a single garment, from a singer unraveling the emotional core of a challenging role, or from a stage director mapping the journey from concept to opening night. It’s about the problem-solving, the collaboration, and the occasional happy accident that defines a season. Each episode connects you to the living, breathing process of opera, focusing on the people whose dedicated work transforms a New Mexico evening into something unforgettable. Listen for stories about musical discovery, artistic risk, and the sheer logistical marvel of mounting world-class productions against a backdrop of southwestern skies. Produced by The Santa Fe Opera, this series is an essential companion for anyone curious about the alchemy that happens when countless disciplines converge to create a single, powerful story in song.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 31

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