Phyllis Frank Loves Opera by Kathryn Bumpass

Phyllis Frank

After seeing several operas she attended a performance of Puccini's Suor Angelica with her good friend and opera mentor Mary Baiamonte in Los Angeles in 2008. At the point where the heroine sings her heart-rending aria to the Virgin Mary, Phyllis remembers, "the temperature went up 10 degrees, the audience was totally silent" and then exploded into applause. Then, "I got it," she says, in what she calls her first "diva moment," a moment of flashing insight and total artistic absorption.

KB. What's your favorite opera?

PF: Rigoletto. The characters are believable. I think the scene in Act II where Rigoletto is pleading pathetically with the courtiers to return his daughter, is heart wrenching. They think they're playing a prank, but they're breaking a man's heart.

KB. What did you think of the Met's recent production setting the story in Las Vegas?

PF. I was initially skeptical, but for me it really worked.

KB. What are some others that have especially impressed you?

PF. I saw Verdi's Macbeth in New York at the Met, and then saw Juan Diego Florez and Mariusz Kwiecien in L'Elisir d'amore. Then La Boheme with Anna Netrebko and Joseph Calleja at the Chicago Lyric Opera.

KB. You've travelled around quite a bit to see opera. Where else?

PF. Closer to home, I go frequently to San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Santa Barbara. And to Santa Fe when I can get there. The setting there is wonderful and they do very interesting repertoire.

KB. What do you think about Wagner?

PF. [Laughter] I've done it. Been there, done that. My husband I saw the entire Ring – four operas in four drives North to Monterey in seven nights; it was the Met HD, but shown as a series over a week.

I think Wagner writes the most beautiful music for orchestra, but I think he must not have liked singers that much. I enjoy listening to his music, but not so much seeing his dramas on stage.

KB. You know I have to ask you this. Who are your favorite singers?

PF. Jussi Bjoerling is my all-time favorite. Then there's Joseph Calleja and Juan Diego Florez. Calleja's voice is similar to Bjoerling's, but warm where Jussi was cool. Guess that is the difference between Sweden and Malta! Florez is really the only tenor right now with the perfect kind of voice to sing bel canto repertoire. Most male singers lack the agility in the voice that's necessary for a beautiful performance. Too many tenors sound labored in attempting bel canto. Joyce DiDonato is the leading soprano for bel canto. She and Florez own this repertoire today. I think their abilities have been crucial for its success.

KB. Who do you especially like among the sopranos?

PF. Sondra Radvanovsky is my overall favorite. I saw her in a riveting Tosca in May of last year. I was all ready for this, my favorite soprano singing a great role. Then a man came on to the stage and uttered five words that made my heart sink, "We regret to inform you. . ." Radvanovsky had a cold, but decided to sing anyway, asking the audience for their understanding. Then she came on and she nailed it.

When it comes to acting, Maria Callas set the standard. She was the first great actress in the post-World War II period and was able to revive the bel canto repertoire more on the strength of her acting than on beauty of voice or agility. I think Anna Netrebko is the greatest of today's sopranos. She may not have the most beautiful voice among the others, but she is the greatest artist. Her acting, her charm and beauty just overwhelm audiences.

There was a wonderful moment in the Met HD performance of Anna Bolena two years ago, when Netrebko, playing the title role, faced her execution. As she approached the guillotine, she wrapped her hair around, exposing her neck, and gave a defiant stare into the camera, as if tosay, "Go ahead, kill me."

KB. You bring up a really important point. . . the camera and high definition performances. Singers are really exposed now, in a way that's new.

PF. The camera has completely transformed opera. Singers have to look good and act well. You have to wonder if some stars of even the recent past would have been so successful in today's environment. Would Joan Sutherland, who was basically a "stand and sing" soprano, have made it today? She had a voice from heaven, but no acting skill. And even Luciano Pavarotti would have had problems, no matter how great his voice. But then, I think he preferred being a celebrity to being a singer. He sang only about seven roles in his career, though he made many CDs and gave lots of concerts.

KB. I know you are a passionate opera devotee and also a serious advocate for it.

PF. Yes. I try to take someone new to opera every year, usually to the Met Live in HD performances. When my husband and I were building this house I got the idea to take the construction crew to the opera. I invited them and their wives to go to the Met HD performance of Donizetti's Anna Bolena. None of these men had any background in opera, so at lunch time I would tell them a little bit about the story, the different characters, aspects of the production, and things like that. Well, the big day came and off we went. They had a really good time. I don't know if any of them will go to another opera on their own, but now they know something about it and can feel at ease if they do go.

KB. What is your next big opera adventure?

PF. Mary and I are going to Santa Fe for the opera productions there, for our third year. I'm especially excited about seeing Beethoven's Fidelio, which is not often done, and which I've never seen. And I really love Santa Fe and the opera house there. It makes a wonderful setting for any opera. Then, next spring Mary and I will attend our third opera conference in Oakhurst, outside Yosemite. Four days of talking about opera. Next year's focus will be on "the productions" – the settings and stagings that different directors invent to stage the opera.

Time for Opera Camp

It's time for opera camp once more. Each summer Opera San Luis Obispo sponsors a two-week opera camp for youngsters eight - sixteen years old interested in the musical stage. This year they will produce and perform Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.

In the course of two weeks the children will learn correct vocal techniques, drama and stage movement, ear training and musicianship, part singing and choral techniques, and use of props, costumes, and makeup. The preparation is quite complete.

The campers meet from 9am until 3pm  Monday through Friday, July 21 – August 1, at the United Methodist Church. Camp concludes with a grand performance for friends and family on August 1 at 7pm at the United Methodist Church.

The camp instructional staff includes Marissa Bloom, camp counselor and stage director, who has been camp director for seven years. An Atascadero native, she holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern California and a Master of Music from West Virginia University. She has extensive experience with both opera and stage direction.

Music director Alan Boehmer has worked with OperaSLO since the first opera camp in 1997, both as accompanist and music director. Katelyn Holliday is a former attendee at opera camp and is returning for her seventh year as a camp counselor. Paul Woodring has worked with OperaSLO since 1996, both as repetiteur for opera productions and as the accompanist for Opera Camp.

Applications for camp are on online at Operaslo.org. Cost is $400 for the first family member and $375 for additional family members. Payment plans are offered. Scholarships are provided if funds are available.

(Photos from The Mikado - 2013)