Anja Silja: ‘I hate surtitles’

From the great soprano’s archived interview with Bruce Duffie.

BD:    Is it good now that all the operas are done in the original language, with the text above so the people can follow exactly?

AS:    No.  [Laughs]

BD:    [Genuinely surprised]  No???

AS:    No.  I don’t like it.  It’s important for so many opera-goers who never saw that opera, but I believe that they should come prepared, which is obviously not possible.  They should come prepared, and if not, they should just have first the feeling and the idea about what’s going on.  Then later on they can learn and go again, which is also a problem.  I know that, but looking up all the time takes so much of their attention.  Also for us, especially for me.  I’m very far-sighted, and if the lights are not directly in my face then I see very far, and I see the public looking up, and that distracts me terribly.  So it also takes my concentration a little bit away because I always think they are not interested.  But of course they are.  They’re just looking and reading.

Read the full interview here.