Elina Garanca: Time to end my career?
OperaThe Latvian soprano, 47, has been sharing her plans with an Austrian radio host:
‘I’ve been thinking about the end of my career for a long time. I am a realist. Ten to fifteen years is a really great career for a singer, 25 years of career – as long as mine has lasted – is already a super extra and everything that comes after that borders on a miracle. I still enjoy it, but my knees hurt. We stand on the sloping stages for a very long time during every performance. And I notice that singing the same parts over and over again is less fun for me. And I have accumulated so much experience, I enjoy passing it on to young people.’
What else would she do?
‘I have so many things that interest me. For example, we did a major renovation of our house in Malaga in the summer. I chose all the tiles myself, all the curtains – so if singing doesn’t work out anymore, I might work as an interior designer. Or in Spain, where we live, there are only terrible cakes. I could bake the Latvian cakes there and start a small business.’
More here.
“The time to retire is when people are asking ‘why?’, not ‘when?’.
Kudos to her for this decision. Too many other musicians go on a long way past ‘when?’
I can say from personal experience it’s hard to give it up. The act of singing is addictive. It’s not just the attention and applause. I remember seeing John Reardon o
MR Roger’s and thinking ” why would he do that instead of resting on the laurels of his fine career. Now I understand When I retired it lasted a couple years then I got a gig singing in Italian restaurants. Some friends are thinking it’s very sad that Ive been reduced to such a state. On the contrary It’s actually the . most fun thing Ive done in a long time. No critics. All I do is sing what I like. I am sure she will stay involved in music in some capacity. In opera you never hear of someone retiring at the perfect time. They either wait too long or retire too soon.
If a singer retires at 47, that suggests the voice may not have been optimally maintained.
What is a “lyrical mezzo” as a voice type?
Kids, beware.
A very clever lady.
and a bloody cold one also – in many ways totally overrated and honestly she never moved me
Bloody frigid is right. You are not alone. Was never once moved by a note or utterance from her.
A very intense, not at all ”frigid”, performer. I liked her Santuzza. Singing Amneris or Kundry didn’t suit her nevertheless.
Elina Garanca is an excellent Carmen, much more sensuous and seductive than Aigul Akhmetshina. I saw Aigul at the Met in HD on Saturday morning and she has an excellent voice. She is only 27 years old and has time to improve her acting skills and charisma.
Curtains and cakes?! Definitely time to stop.
When did she become a soprano?
same time as Isabel Leonard.
Brava!
Garanča isn’t retiring. If you listen to the full interview she was talking about being more selective in what roles she wants to take on and talking rather light heartedly about what she would do instead.
I tried to post this earlier but for some reason it didn’t publish…
She’s right about Spanish pastries. The country is a wasteland in that respect (for bread, too). I’d have liked to have heard a few more German zwischenfach roles from her, though.
You don’t live in Spain, clearly. If you want to stay in an English or German enclave in Malaga or Gran Canaria, you may as well stay home.
I live in France and have spent a lot of time in Spain as we have family there. The pastries are rubbish.
Wasteland? You are absolutely wrong, Spain is one of the best countries in Europe for food, all sweets included. Our bread is glorious too. Do explore this country accordingly next time to avoid a new a ridiculous comment.
Makes sense to me. She can still get big fees for concert work without the hassle of doing operas.
Gorgeous singer. Best wishes to her on whatever she decides.
I like opera cake.
Interestingly, Dame Joan Sutherland said the reason she retired when she did was because her knees couldn’t take it any more.
“The knees” said Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as well, but she and Dame Joan clearly sung past appropriate retirement age.
Garanca, however, is 47.
Could we not address the issue of vocal problems.
Love her dearly. Frigid, never.
A good singer, with little personality and zero acting abilities
Terrible cakes in Spain? Tell your husband to show you around properly, if he knows himself…
Says the daughter of a conservatory director. They have the worst life as musicians because they can’t enjoy their work enough. The bar is set too high. It was never meant to be so exacting. Then came recordings.
Her sublime performance in Vienna’s ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ shows how she can bring an honesty and believability to a rôle, in what is a fraught melodrama, thankfully in a production that was authentic in its setting and Ms. Garança conveyed her character’s dilemma throughout the ‘Intermezzo’ though not a word is sung!
In ‘Carmen’ her lower register is as seductive as any I’ve heard…
May she continue to sing whatever and whenever she likes!