Ten Questions with Wallis Giunta

Ten Questions with...

Wallis Giunta, mezzo-soprano


1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:
Exploring the depths of my imagination as I create and invade all of the characters I get to play.  Whether it's an opera role or just an art song, I get to escape and be a totally different person. 

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is: 
Traveling and living alone most of the time - regularly asking for a table for one, and often having no one to share my incredible experiences with in the moment.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:
Front row seats for Ray Lamontagne, unplugged, at Carnegie Hall. 

4. A few of my favorite films are:
Well, I really like Will Ferrell, so I would have to say Anchorman, Zoolander, and probably Old School.  Otherwise, I like Guy Ritchie films (Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smokin' Barrels, etc.), and any kind of movie-musical!

5. Three things I can’t live without are:
My Moleskine diary, my titanium spork, and my Neti-pot. 

6. My number one hobby is:
Reading!!!  I could just read all day every day and be perfectly content.  

7. If you could perform with any singer, retired or deceased, who would it be? 
100% Giuseppe Giacomini. 

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
I would love to work in animal rescue and rehabilitation, most especially with small domestics.  I am very fond of rabbits, and have some experience doing volunteer work with rabbit rescues around the world.  So if the singing thing doesn't work out, look for me where there are bunnies in need.

9. What role do you wish you could sing that you could never sing because it’s the wrong voice type/gender?

Oh, Iago in Otello!  The Credo... the most epic aria. 

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage. 

I was covering Sesto in a production of La Clemenza di Tito at the Canadian Opera Company last year, and with about a half-day's notice, I got the call to go on.  It was the second perfomrance in the run, and I hadn't even had a staging run-through for Sesto or music rehearsals with the conductor before that afternoon (mainly because I was busy singing the other pants role, Annio, at the same time).  Even still, it was a big success, and the most transporting, magical night I have ever had on stage.  The adrenaline, nerves, and everything else combined for an almost out-of-body experience.

Bonus:  One question you wish someone ask you.

Q:  Are you very enthusiastic about apple pie, the eating of said pie, and the making of it to the best of your ability, with an exclusively butter crust?

A: Yes.
 

Come hear Wallis at Opera in the Park on Saturday, July 26 at 8pm.  FREE ADMISSION!