Post | SMARTx

By Joana Patacas*, on July 1, 2024

Ana Paula Russo is an excellent Portuguese soprano who dedicated her life to unveiling the essence and beauty of the human voice. Born in Beja, she began her musical training at the National Conservatory, developing a refined technique and expressiveness that formed the basis of her artistic journey.

With a degree from the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa and a master's degree in singing and vocal pedagogy, she deepened her studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg under the guidance of the renowned soprano Elisabeth Grümmer. Throughout his career, he stood out in countless concerts and recitals, both in Portugal and abroad, being present at music festivals and renowned events such as Europália-91 and "Lisboa 94 — Capital of Culture".

“Music is an essential part of my life. I live from music and I live with music. Even when I’m not singing, there’s always something singing in my head.” Ana Paula Russo, 2024

In the world of opera, she performed notable roles such as “Rosina” in “ The Barber of Seville” , “Marie” in The Daughter of the Regiment , “Musetta” in La Bohème , among others. She also had an active role in world premieres, such as in the opera Os Dias Raised by António Pinho Vargas, Corvo Branco by Philip Glass and A Rainha Louca , by Alexandre Delgado.

Awarded with prizes such as 1st place in the Portuguese Musical Youth competitions and the Olga Violante Competition, Ana Paula Russo represented Portugal on world-renowned stages, such as the " Cardiff Singer of the World " competition. His diverse repertoire includes everything from Christmas Carols to emblematic works of the Portuguese operatic repertoire, allowing him to intensely explore his passion for music.

He currently performs recitals and participates in the project “ Entre Mulheres ” with Nuno Dias , lyrical singer and Portuguese guitarist from Coimbra. He also has an Ibero-American musical duo with guitarist Carlos Gutkin .

“The advice I give to young singers is to have a lot of patience and resilience, and not to let difficulties get you down. It’s a bit like castings: you have to persist, even in the face of rejection and obstacles.” – Ana Paula Russo, 2024

In this interview, Ana Paula Russo , who is also a vocal consultant at ProART , shares with SMART her journey, her passion for music and the human voice, and the importance of balancing technical mastery with expressiveness in the art of singing. An inspiring conversation that invites us to explore the fascinating universe of operatic singing.

How did you discover your passion for operatic singing?

This is a difficult question to answer, because it was all very random, which leads me to think that what is destined for us ends up happening, even though we are in a completely different place. I ended up entering the world of music and lyrical singing by chance. Of course, I don't recommend this to anyone. On the contrary, I recommend that you follow the normal training path, but it wasn't like that for me.

So how did music come into your life?

My father's family has always been linked to music. In old photographs, from the beginning of the last century, my family often appeared playing guitar or wind instruments. There was always music in the family. My father was a professional musician. I sang and played drums in a jazz band, and when I was little, I went to concerts. He had an extraordinary voice... In fact, I have a repertoire of boleros, fados, light songs and jazz, which I imagine was influenced by what he sang. Interestingly, at home that wasn't what I sang. Although I can't say why, I imitated opera singers, and then my parents started buying classical music records. I closed myself in the room alone and sang, thinking that no one was listening, but of course everyone listened, because my voice was always very audible and naturally powerful, like all the voices in my father's family. However, I never thought of opera singing as a career.

And how did your musical training begin?

It was when I was already taking the Modern Languages and Literature course – variants of English and German. At that time, in 1979, my godmother – who is also my cousin and 18 years older – saw that there were auditions for the Gulbenkian Choir. We were both born in Beja, but I came to Lisbon when I was little. She stayed in Beja and there were no opportunities there to fulfill her dream of being a singer; Although she was a teacher, she even said (somewhat teasingly) that she would have liked to have been a chorus girl at Parque Mayer. She projected onto me the dreams that she couldn't fulfill and signed me up for the tests. I ended up joining the Gulbenkian Choir and had the help of conductor João Valeriano, who taught me all the basics of Musical Training. I remember him with great nostalgia and gratitude. After that, everything went very quickly. I went to the National Conservatory and completed the Superior Singing Course in just three years. For me, singing was a very natural thing. I started doing opera very early – at 23, 24 years old. I had an “extravagant” voice compared to what was common at the time, which allowed me to do roles that other singers were rarely able to do, even though they were very talented – now there are a lot of people studying in a structured way and who are prepared to do them, but not at that time.

What papers were these?

For example, the Queen of the Night [from the opera “The Magic Flute”, by Mozart, a role known for arias that require a very wide vocal range and very high notes] or the doll Olympia [from the opera “The Tales of Hoffmann”, by Jacques Offenbach, which requires peculiar vocalizations to imitate the voice of a mechanical doll], that is, roles full of virtuosity and very high notes. And I hit those notes naturally – and, honestly, at first, without really knowing how I was doing it.

Was there a teacher who marked you?

I owe a lot to my teacher, Joana Silva, especially when it comes to breathing, structuring and physical awareness. I learned from her the principle of cause and effect: if we do something in a certain way, it will result in a certain effect; if we do it differently, the result will also be different. At first, I limited myself to imitating; I listened to the recordings and things came out. I also studied in Salzburg and Lucerne with Elisabeth Grümmer, a magnificent German lyric soprano, who taught me a lot. She said. “Ana, I don’t know what those notes you sing up there are like because I’ve never felt them. I never sang them.” Therefore, it was very important for me to meet the soprano Marimí del Pozo, from the Superior School of Singing in Madrid, who had my type of voice. Until then, I had had some difficulties finding other singers who sang like me. We became very good friends and she told me that I was her heir in Portugal, not only because of the similarity of our voices, but also because the basis of my teaching was greatly influenced by what she taught me about ancient Spanish technique.

Tell us a little about this technique.

It is a technique that is very close to traditional lyrical singing, which has been passed down from generation to generation. It values technical excellence, of course, but it also attaches great importance to the interpretation and sustainable use of the voice. It is essential to recognize that traditional singing should not be discarded; on the contrary, it must be integrated into the most modern methodologies. Singing can be comparable to weightlifting in the sense that it requires adequate strength to support the “weight”, that is, the vocal demands, without the body “shaking” under the effort, which can lead to collapse. Likewise, voices that attempt to produce sounds beyond their natural capabilities may begin to 'shake', indicating inadequate technique. Voices that may appear smaller, but are well projected, often prove to be more effective and audible than large voices that appear to have a “curtain” in front, obstructing their projection. In the long term, abusing your voice is not sustainable, neither for the singer nor for your vocal health."

Do you think that nowadays more importance is given to vocal intensity than to vocal sustainability?

Currently, there is a certain tendency to sing loudly. Sometimes I see big voices that completely wear out before their time, because the body can't handle that intensity. It has become more common for singers to choose to use the full strength of their voice, perhaps choosing an intense short-term career, lasting no more than ten years, before dedicating themselves to another activity. Others prefer to sing with less intensity, but for 20 or 30 years. Ideally, this would be a conscious decision, and not something that happens involuntarily because you have followed a path that forces you to do things that way. The problem gets worse because, sometimes, singers try to compete with the volume produced by orchestras, which is impossible. It is essential that they strive to go over the orchestra, instead of going against it.

Why do you think this happens?

In my opinion, it's not just the singers' fault. The biggest culprits are the artistic directions, or rather, the lack thereof. People confuse artistic direction with marketing, but it's not the same thing. Currently, I feel that what matters is the person's figure, hairstyle, wardrobe... Oh, and if they also have a good voice, perfect. But what are we doing? Castings for models or for singers? Sometimes, the ideal voice may not correspond to the figure the director would like to have on stage. However, in my opinion, what matters is having a voice that sings the role properly. If she's very pretty, that's good, but if she's not, priority needs to be given to the right voice rather than worrying about whether the person looks good on a magazine cover photo.

Have you felt this type of pressure throughout your career?

No, because we can always say that we don't feel comfortable with that kind of pressure and turn down the role. I have always been very detached. I never agreed to do anything that I didn't feel good about.

Have you ever turned down a role?

Yes, it already happened. Once, and faced with a slightly bewildered production, he said: "Look, tell this gentleman that I'm leaving." But then they came after me because there was no one else who could sing that role (it was a world premiere). But I'm not capricious.

What were the most memorable moments of your career?

All lead roles, of course. I always have some difficulty choosing the most memorable of all, because I don't usually do this type of retrospective. I'm always more focused on what I still have to do. I remember fondly my trip to the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. I didn't win, but it was there that I met Dmitri Hvorostovsky, one of the greatest singers the world has ever had. The moment he started singing the first two phrases of an aria from Verdi's Don Carlos we all knew he was going to win. And won. He was an extraordinary singer. Another very special moment was the performance of the role of “Rosina” in The Barber of Seville, by Rossini, at the Macau Festival in 1992. Also the premiere of “Cunegunde" in Bernstein's Candide . I performed the cantata Carmina Burana dozens of times by Orff, until one day I said “enough”, because my voice was also changing and I had to know how to stop. I am grateful every day for having had so many opportunities, but the voice changes as we get older. The last opera I sang. it was Gianni Schicchi de Pucinni, at the Centro Cultural de Belém, in 2018.

And what was your biggest challenge?

The most difficult opera I have ever sung, on many levels, was The English Cat , by composer Hans Werner Henze. I played the role of the cat "Minette". Musically it was extremely challenging due to its contemporary writing. Vocally, it was also incredibly difficult. It is a very complicated opera to interpret. Furthermore, my character was always on stage. There was only one scene where I didn't sing. Only one! It was exhausting. At that time, the staging was done by Luís Miguel Sintra, my dear Luís Miguel. We were just Portuguese singers. A fantastic squad, as good as any squad at international level. In that one scene where I wasn't singing, I went out, sat down, drank water and five minutes later I came back in. The story is about a cat from the nobility who is unadapted to her aristocracy. She ends up being thrown into the river and dies. But doesn't the cat still appear on stage in the form of a ghost? Yes, even after death, the cat continues to sing! It was one of the most exhausting experiences I've had, both mentally and physically. Maybe people don't realize this because the technique exists to make something that isn't easy to do seem natural.

How did you manage your career?

In the past, we didn't have agents. Although there are currently some agencies and agents, the figure of the singer's agent, the one who understands the repertoire and knows what is most suitable for their artists, is still not common. I was always the one negotiating my roles and managing my career. Nowadays, this is still the reality for many singers. However, in the past, it seems to me that we had more support from the artistic directors, who deeply knew the voices they had at their disposal and knew exactly the roles that each one could play. For example, Doctor Serra Formigal, founder of the Companhia Portuguesa de Ópera do Teatro da Trindade and administrator of São Carlos, as well as Doctor João Freitas Brancos, artistic director also of São Carlos, would never invite us to roles that were not suitable.

Comparatively, what are the main challenges that opera singers face today?

As I said a moment ago, we currently face a big problem: choices are often based more on the image we want to project than on vocal suitability. Artists are often pressured into roles that are not appropriate for their voice. There is no effective screening, no filter that prevents people from ending up in difficult situations. If an artist turns down a role, a stigma may emerge on the other side: "We offered him a role and he turned it down." This reveals a lack of understanding that not all sopranos can play all soprano roles, just as not all tenors can play all tenor roles. The comparison with musical instruments such as the violin or piano is illustrative. A violin student follows the same curriculum as other violin students. The same goes for the piano; everyone follows an established program and, technically, everyone must reach a certain skill level. However, in the corner, the situation is different. I can't simply assign a mezzo-soprano aria to a lyric soprano, and vice versa. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Therefore, those who provide the repertoire and select the artists need to have in-depth knowledge in this area to make the right choice. It is crucial to understand the vocal subtleties and specific abilities of each singer.

So, do you consider that priorities have changed?

A lot, yes. And I think that the strength of the voices also comes from there. Is enough. It's not that people are unwise. But when it's a young singer who's just starting out, saying "sorry, but that's not for me" can come off as arrogant. And whoever is on the other side may think: "Who does he think he is? We give him this opportunity, and he doesn't accept it?" This also limits the development of the singers themselves. Because, when a person sings something that is not ideal for their voice and that puts too much effort on it, they are not taking care of their instrument. And the singer has to be aware of this. When we are young, our capacity for muscle regeneration is much higher than it will be later. Doing adventures like that, in your early 20s or early 30s, can still work. But these adventures can be calamitous.

Tell us about the experience of debuting roles and collaborating directly with composers, as happened several times in your career.

I made several premieres, including " Dias Levantados " by António Pinto Vargas, " Corvo Branco " by Philip Glass and " A Rainha Louca " by Alexandre Delgado. It's difficult because we don't have references. It's all new and that's why it's a lot of work. But it is a privilege to work directly with the composers and, in a way, be part of the creation, because during the rehearsals everyone makes their contribution.

Do you have any rituals before going on stage?

No, I'm very practical about these things. When he sang very high-pitched roles, before going on stage, he would press his fingers on his face in the area of his cheekbones until it hurt immensely. I still do this to my students today so that they remember that it is in this area that we have to project the sound. Then, since my father died, every time I sing I think: "Daddy, help me because you're the one who's going to sing for me." I convinced myself that it wasn't me, but my father singing through me, and that's one of the reasons I keep my voice, so he can sing. When people greet me and congratulate me, I always think that they should congratulate my father, not me. Now, if I couldn't see it, I would worry. But it never happened and before going on stage I always see him smiling. You see… The last thing my father did, when he was already very senile and bedridden, was to sing with me. I lay down next to him and started to sing a song. I pretended I forgot the lyrics and he filled them in. Even though we no longer recognized anyone, we were always connected through singing. I don't think I've ever told anyone this...

He has performed on numerous international stages. Are there many differences between the operatic environments of other countries and Portugal?

In terms of quality, I don't notice much difference. However, I think that in Portugal we are still a little behind when it comes to the production and projection of opera. We do a lot of excellent things – see, for example, the opera “Felizmente, Há Luar!”, by Alexandre Delgado –, but we only have one opera house, the São Carlos. Just go next door, to Spain, to see that every community has a theater and a higher education school. We are talking about the Valencian Community, the Community of Madrid, Andalusia, Catalonia, the Basque Country. They all have structures to host opera shows. In Portugal, unfortunately, we still do not have this reality. Although the quality of our artists is comparable to that of other countries, the lack of infrastructure and investment in opera ends up limiting the development and projection of this art in our country.

She already has a long career as a singing teacher. What advice do you give your students, especially those who want a career in operatic singing?

For now, there is always that question: are we training more musicians than we can respond to? In other words, it is very important to remember that not everyone who trains in singing necessarily has to be an opera singer. There are several career options. They can be choristers, belong to chamber groups or even pursue a career focused on second roles. After all, operas are not just about leading roles. The advice I give to young singers is to have a lot of patience and resilience, and not to let difficulties get you down. It's a bit like castings : you have to persist, even in the face of rejection and obstacles. It is important to continue working to improve technique and expressiveness. With dedication and perseverance, opportunities eventually arise, whether in the world of opera or in other fields of music.

What impact did the awards have on your career?

Awards rarely boost careers. They serve to earn some money, to give visibility. In fact, sometimes it's chance that drives careers. For example, suddenly someone gets sick and there is an opportunity to fill that role as a replacement.

Currently, she is a judge in singing competitions. What are your criteria for evaluating participants?

I value coherence and intelligence when choosing repertoire. It is essential that the singer selects pieces suited to his voice and that he does not try to sing inappropriate repertoire. Furthermore, I attach great importance to stability throughout all the tests. The performance must be clean from beginning to end, without major flaws or inconsistencies. It's important to remember that it doesn't just take great voices to be successful. There are specific roles for light sopranos, for example, which are smaller, lighter and higher voices. If we only valued heavy voices, these roles and the singers who play them would have no place in the world of opera, which would be a great loss. The important thing is that each singer exploits their potential to the fullest and stands out within the unique characteristics of their voice.

An important part of his career is dedicated to recording repertoire by composers such as João Domingos Bomtempo and Artur Santos, among others. Tell us about this connection to Portuguese music.

A very important part of my career is dedicated to Portuguese music, especially that which was forgotten. It was by pure chance that this happened. Conductor and musicologist Jorge Matta began investigating the repertoire of Portuguese works from the 18th century and invited me, together with other colleagues, to give voice and body to those roles. So, I started doing modern premieres of many of these works, at the invitation of people who knew my taste for this type of repertoire. In fact, when I completed my degree, my dissertation work was on Portuguese music from the time of King João V, that is, the first half of the 18th century. Years later, in my master's degree, I completed the study, covering Portuguese music from the end of the reign of Dom João V to Dom João VI, therefore, the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In addition to the written work, I also did a recital where I sang the works I studied. I have done many recitals with music by Portuguese composers such as José Vianna da Motta, Jorge Croner de Vasconcelos, Artur Santos and Eurico Carrapatoso, my friend and composition teacher at the Conservatory, among others.

Do you feel like you have a mission to promote Portuguese music?

Yes. For example, recently I was invited to sing in Spain and I insisted on bringing Portuguese music, because I think it really is a mission. Our music is excellent. We have things that are as or more beautiful and of as much or greater quality as other world-class composers. I do this out of pleasure and because I think it is our duty to publicize what is ours.

Does the «Entre Mulheres» project, with Nuno Dias, also emerge within this spirit of spreading Portuguese music?

For me, it was a privilege that Nuno chose me for this partnership. We are friends and it is a beautiful project, with magnificent work not only in interpretation, but also in transcription and harmonization. At the beginning of this year, we went to sing in Goa, at the invitation of Fundação Oriente, and we are now trying to apply for support to internationalize the project. It is another initiative that aims to promote and enhance Portuguese music, this time focused on the female discourse of Guitarra de Coimbra and the (female) voice.

Do you have other projects?

I do a lot of recitals. I also have a duo guitar project since 1996 with Carlos Gutkin, but on classical guitar. In 2005, we recorded the album “Melodia Sentimental”, which is the name of a piece by Villa-Lobos, with a repertoire of Ibero-American composers, and we have two other programs: the “Christmas Recital”, with popular songs from various countries; and “Human Pecadillos and Final Redemption”.

One last question: what is music for you?

Music is an essential part of my life. I live from music and I live with music. Even when I'm not singing, there's always something singing in my head. A fellow member of the jury commented the other day: "Have you ever noticed that you're always singing?" And it's true, I'm always singing, even when I'm out on the street.

However, there is one thing I like even more than music: History. It has always been my biggest fixation, even more than music. People are very shocked when I say that, right now, what I like most about music is silence. But silence is part of music, and people forget that this part is very important. This doesn't mean that I don't love music, singing and teaching singing. But there is more to it than that. History is more than a hobby, it is my object of study. When I wrote my theses on Portuguese music, I saw this part as a form of music history. Everything has its story, be it painting, architecture or anything else, and I always see everything in terms of history. Even music must always be contextualized in its time. Therefore, I get frustrated when my students appear to sing things without having researched where they come from, who they are, what style they are, and when and in what context they were produced. Music is a fundamental part of my life, but history is what really fascinates and moves me.

* Joana Patacas - Communication and Content Consultancy

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