Ten Questions with Clay Hilley

Ten Questions with...

Clay Hilley, tenor
Father Grenville in Dead Man Walking

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:

All the wonderful people I get to meet, and the places I get to travel.

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is: 
Dealing with rejection.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:
Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Chautauqua Institute's Amphitheater. 

4. A few of my favorite films are: 

The Return of the King, Scream, The Naked Gun movies.

5. Three things I can’t live without are: 

Friends, Family, Faith

6. My number one hobby is: 

Following current events. 

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

Giuseppe Giacomini.

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?

Law/Politics.

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

Turandot. 

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage. 

There are many, but one comes to mind.  While playing King Kaspar in Amahl, I was dressed in a VERY heavy (and VERY HOT) costume.  It was so hot that I made a choice to forgo any sort of undergarment (as no one in the audience would ever be able to notice).  During the performance I noticed an air-conditioning vent in the stage floor (we were performing in a church chancel), and "altered my blocking" such that I ended up hovering over said vent, enjoying the pleasantly-cooling streams of air while actively engaged in performing. ;)

Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer)
Clay, are you available to sing the lead tenor role tonight at the MET?
A: Yeah.

See Clay in Madison Opera's production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking April 25 and 27 at Overture Hall. Tickets start at just $18!

Ten Questions with Saira Frank

Ten Questions with...

Saira Frank, soprano
Kitty Hart in Dead Man Walking

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:

Finishing an aria or song and seeing someone in the audience who connected with my performance.  I love to sing, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of performing, but the best performances are when I can feel an energy from the audience telling me that they appreciate my work.

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is: 
To persevere.  It's a competitive field, and for every performance high we experience, there are equal disappointments.  Lucky for me, the thrill of preforming for an audience makes it easy to forget any rejection I may encounter along the way.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:Sweeny Todd at the Lyric Opera when I was a freshman in college.  We must have sung the "I feel you, Johanna" over and over for about 6 months after seeing it.

4. A few of my favorite films are: 
Stand By Me, Perfect Harmony, The Color Purple, and Goonies.  Apparently I haven't watched a movie since the '80s.

5. Three things I can’t live without are: 

My morning tea, my iPhone (sadly), and the incredible support system that is my family.

6. My number one hobby is: 

Cooking, baking...anything in the kitchen.

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

I'd love to singer lieder with Fischer Dieskau.  I have a recording of him and Schwartzkopf singing Mahler - his voice is pudding, and they make it sound like so much fun!

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
I'm pretty sure I'd be an environmental lawyer.

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

Funny thing about being a soprano...I feel like I get all the best roles ;-) I tease, I tease.  I'd go for one of the big dramatic baritone roles, like Rigoletto.

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage. 

I love playing evil, so my favorite moment was probably playing Alcina in her spooky spell-casting scene.

Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer)

*Ring, ring*
Me: Hello?
The Met: Hello, this is the Metropolitan Opera, can you fill in for our soprano tonight?

Need I say more? ;-)

See Saira in Madison Opera's production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking April 25 and 27 at Overture Hall. Tickets start at just $18!
 

Ten Questions with Alan Dunbar

Ten Questions with...

Alan Dunbar, baritone
Owen Hart in Dead Man Walking

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is:

Feeling a solid connection and line of communication with the audience.

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is: 
Consistently making that connection in each performance.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is:
The 2008 performance of Frigg (look them up, they're from Finland) at the Lotus World Music Festival in Bloomington, IN.

4. A few of my favorite films are: 
Tampopo (best food movie EVER!), Top Gun, Amadeus, and Stranger Than Fiction

5. Three things I can’t live without are: 

My family, my music, and books.

6. My number one hobby is: 

My number one hobby is impossible to pick.  I like to do too many things - gardening, woodworking, cooking, home brewing, cider making, metal working, etc.  The list could go on and on...

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

 If I could perform with any singer, it would be Fischer-Dieskau.  Not that there are too many duets for baritones, but hey, you said any singer.

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?

If I weren't a singer I would be a luthier, building violins and guitars (which I do in my spare time)

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

I wish I could sing Lensky because I love Eugene Onegin, and "Kuda, kuda" is one of my favorite arias.

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage. 

My favorite moment on stage would probably be the Act II finale of Don Giovanni.  It's such fun!

See Alan in Madison Opera's production of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking April 25 and 27 at Overture Hall. Tickets start at just $18!