10 Questions with Nadia Krasteva
San Diego Opera (SDO): First, welcome to San Diego Opera – we’re very pleased to have you making your Company debut with us as Delilah. So our readers can learn a bit more about you, where you now and what are you currently singing?
Nadia Krasteva (NK): Now I am at home in Vienna for a short break. I’ve just come back from Dallas, where I made my Company debut in the opera house as Amneris in ”Aida”, definitely one of my favorite parts, which I have been really singing with a great pleasure.
SDO: Can you tell me a little about your Delilah?
NK: This will be my debut in the role, so I am so excited about working on it! In my imagination, Delilah is a beautiful young woman, which is selfish and thirsty for attention. She uses her erotic emanation and is obsessed by the idea of having control on men.
SDO: Samson and Delilah is a great first-time opera and we’ll have many first time opera goers in the theatre when you sing. What should someone who have never been to the opera before know about Samson and Delilah before sitting down in the theatre?
NK: Anyone, who is going for the first time to the opera, should know, that “Samson and Delilah” is one of the most famous and beautiful operas ever written. At the same time this is the only opera by Camille Saint-Saens which is frequently performed nowadays. The opera is sung in French language, the libretto is based on the biblical tale of Samson and Delilah and the place is the ancient Palestine, which is very suitable for some oriental motives inserted by the composer into the music of the opera.
SDO: Any exciting roles for you coming up?
NK: I am excited about singing soon Eboli in the French version of”Don Carlo” in Vienna and Amneris in “Theatro alla Scala” di Milano.
SDO: Are there any dream roles that you would love to sing? (We promise to have Ian read this.)
NK: I have already sung some of my dream roles, like Carmen, Amneris, Eboli, Leonore from ”La Favorite”, Venus in ”Tannhäuser”. Of course, there are also other wonderful roles that I would very much like to perform on the stage like the Joanna from” The Maid of Orleans”, or why not the Kundry from ”Parsifal”. I am a person who likes finding the beauty in the different styles of music and I enjoy very much the process of finding myself in the different roles and situations.
SDO: Fill in the blank section: “If I was not an opera singer I would be…..
NK: a poet or a painter, or maybe a philosopher.
SDO: Two parter: What’s your favorite part of being an international opera singer? What’s your least favorite part?
NK: The great advantage being a singer is to perform on the stage, to open your heart and your soul in your singing, in your acting, and sharing your emotions with the public. Another wonderful thing about this profession is to visit different countries, to know other cultures and meet interesting people…But there is a disadvantage being long time in a foreign country, you start missing your family, missing the feeling of being at home.
SDO: Some people say there is more to life than opera. We think they’re crazy. But we’ll humor them: do you have any hobbies?
NK: My hobbies are very simple. When I have time from working or studying, I find relaxation in sharing precious moments together with my family or with friends, or walking outside in the nature, seeing a good film, listening to different styles of music, sometimes sitting and trying to express my feelings in a poetry…
SDO: Do you have a book next to your bed? What is it?
NK: As I like very much to think about the philosophy of life, about the magic of being here, I find interesting for example the books of Deepak Chopra. I dream about waking up one day and find the world the way it should be-with people, respecting the miracle of life-the life of the other human beings, as well as the life of the animals.
SDO: Name three bands or musicians on your iPod that aren’t opera related
NK: My taste about music is so various, that it’s difficult for me to choose only three musicians. In my teenage years I was the biggest fan of heavy metal and rock music.Today I would name between my favorites Whitney Heuston, Mariah Carey, Cher, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, KISS, Bon Jovi, Guns ’n’ Roses, Blue, Michael Bolton, Nightwish, Karizma. And talking about classical music, the work I am never tired to listen to, is the Second Symphony of Rachmaninov.
SDO: This will be your first time in San Diego, what are you looking forward to the most?
NK: Ian Campbell told me, that this is the best city of the world and promised that I will love it… So, I can’t wait to see more!
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