Sydney Mancasola on Mozart and The Magic Flute with Gail Eichenthal

Summary

LA Opera Podcasts: Behind the Curtain

Sydney Mancasola on Mozart and "The Magic Flute"

Host: Gail Eichenthal
Guest: Sydney Mancasola (Pamina, LA Opera’s 2026 "The Magic Flute")
Release Date: May 19, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Behind the Curtain features soprano Sydney Mancasola, who stars as Pamina in LA Opera's upcoming production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute." Host Gail Eichenthal leads an illuminating, spirited conversation about Sydney's unique journey from a ghost town in Northern California to international opera stages, her artistry, and her adventurous cross-genre collaborations. The discussion offers insights into the challenges and joys of embodying Mozart heroines, working with Maestro James Conlon during his final season as LA Opera’s music director, and the evolving demands and freedoms of a modern opera career.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sydney’s Opera Origin Story: From Ghost Town to Global Stages

• Early Life in Shasta, CA
  • Sydney was born in Shasta, a historic but nearly deserted Gold Rush town (“…born from a ghost town feels like the plot of an opera or something like that.” – Sydney, 02:46).
  • Her family still lives there; Sydney describes the setting as “a really beautiful area of wilderness just outside Redding” (02:20).
• Musical Beginnings
  • Started violin lessons at age two, inspired by her older sister.
  • “I was learning this language of music and classical music…before my speech had fully developed” (03:45).
• Pivot to Opera
  • After the death of a beloved violin teacher at 13, Sydney gravitated to drama, dance, and ultimately singing—“Through that found a voice teacher who introduced me to opera” (04:57).
  • First opera role: Pamina in "The Magic Flute" at age 16 (05:47).
  • “It's full circle being here, still singing Pamina all these years later” (05:48).

2. Mentors, Loss, and Legacy

• Sydney reflects on the passing of two formative voice teachers and the enduring influence mentors have had on her artistry (06:09).
• Notable quote: “When you lose these people, you really do start to reflect on how much of an imprint they had on you.”

3. Competition Circuit: Pros and Cons

• Sydney discusses the role of competitions like the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in launching her career:
  • “Competitions can be a huge help in getting a leg up into this career or just getting visibility…But I don’t think it’s the only path by any means” (06:48).
• Transitioned early to focusing on artistry over contests.

4. Contemporary Opera Adventures

• Early Interest & Breakthroughs
  • “I've always been interested in the contemporary opera scene” (08:06).
  • First contract: "Glory Denied" by Tom Cipullo; career highlight: Bess McNeil in "Breaking the Waves."
  • Describes the process of adapting film to opera: “You can be inspired by the source material, but they take on a life of their own when they're in operatic form” (08:56).

5. Working with Maestro James Conlon in a Landmark Season

• Maestro Conlon’s final season as LA Opera’s music director, with "The Magic Flute" as his capstone.
• Sydney’s admiration: “He’s a genius…There’s not so many conductors who are as picky as him that I don’t mind, because I know all his ideas are so rooted in such truth” (10:15).
• Notes on future collaborations with Conlon (11:20).

6. Performing in a Visually Innovative Production

• Barry Kosky/Suzanne Andrade’s 1920s silent-film-inspired production features extensive animation and physical challenges.
• No sense of “old hat”—still demanding even after prior Berlin runs (11:58).
• On singing with precise spatial cues and animation: “It’s the ultimate test as a performer because you have to conjure all of the emotions yourself and really create them from the void” (12:38).
• Technical demands highlighted, from stage blocking to syncing with projections (13:39).

7. The Art and Science of Singing Mozart

• “Pamina was the one that always felt like it stretched me out a little bit in both directions in the way that my voice liked to work from the very beginning” (15:12).
• On evolving technique and embracing more Mozart roles with experience and changes in her own voice (15:42).

8. Coaching, Technique, and Trust

• Importance of ongoing vocal coaching: “Our voices are in our bodies. They are very physical, changing day to day” (17:05).
• Advises young singers to try new coaches incrementally: “Try it 10% first. Don’t go 100% in…” (18:54).
• Emphasizes the need to trust instincts and listen to one’s own body (19:36).

9. Pamina: Artistic and Emotional Center

• “Pamina, for me, is a role that always takes me to my center. Technically, it's Mozart, so there's no hiding” (20:03).
• Sydney’s interpretation: “She’s…a gaping wound walking through this world, trying to navigate things. And it’s her goodness…that helps her prevail” (20:03).
• Priority on dramatic truth and character connection, rooted in her drama background.

10. Opera as Drama: Breaking the ‘Park and Bark’ Era

• Value of acting in opera: “I've always approached opera as first and foremost a dramatic art” (22:02).
• Notes opera's evolution: today’s audiences expect authentic characterization, influenced by contemporary film/TV (23:27, 24:42).

11. Adventurous Collaborations: Opera and Alt-Rock

• Collaboration with Billy Corgan ("A Night of Melancholy and Infinite Sadness," a Smashing Pumpkins anniversary project)
  • Highlights genre-melding and audience cross-pollination at Chicago Lyric Opera (26:26).
  • “We met each other on each other’s territories, basically…The result was amazing” (27:38).
  • Encourages opera audiences to embrace authentic, visceral reactions: “Don’t worry about clapping in the right places. Just feel what you feel and respond how you want to respond in the moment. And it’s your art form…” (28:50).

12. Modern Opera: Versatility and New Freedom

• Growing openness to cross-genre singing and experimentation (30:25).
• Anecdote about colleagues who balance metal and classical singing, emphasizing the absence of “rules” (31:19).

13. Vocal Health and Artistic Wellbeing

• Vocal health as routine: “I think it's wonderful when people approach it more as, okay, we are athletes…” (32:08).
• Stresses daily care, hydration, warmups, and the importance of reducing the stigma around vocal injury.

14. Music, Healing, and Child Development

• Observations of her 1-year-old daughter’s deep, emotional response to music:
  • “I started singing Ach, ich fühl’s...I looked over and she had a tear rolling down her face…” (34:03).
• Affirms the power of music on the developing brain.

15. Preshow Rituals and Playlists

• Rituals: “Some days you wake up and you just feel, I'm in the zone…on those days…a little meditation, some light stretching, warming up in the shower” (35:21).
• On food: apples over bananas for vocal prep.
• Playlist: “Clair de Lune” (Debussy) for her baby—“it’s one of those pieces you just don’t get tired of” (37:08).
• Smashing Pumpkins’ "Melancholy" album as a go-to post-collaboration.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being born in a ghost town:
  “Born from a ghost town feels like the plot of an opera or something like that.” – Sydney (02:46)
• On taking artistic risks:
  “I feel lucky that I’m in an industry that now embraces people who go outside the norm…I think it’s connecting us to new audiences, which is a really positive thing.” – Sydney (26:45)
• On acting in opera:
  “I’ve always approached opera as first and foremost a dramatic art… the reason for opera is that we’re telling a story.” – Sydney (22:02)
• On vocal health:
  “We are athletes. If a basketball player injures themself…But somehow there’s this stigma with opera singers…The increased awareness [of vocal health] is wonderful.” – Sydney (32:08)
• On motherhood and lullabies:
  “The piece of music I’ve listened to thousands and thousands of times this year since my daughter was born is Clair de Lune by Debussy…you don’t get tired of it.” – Sydney (37:08)
• On audience energy in opera:
  “Just feel what you feel and respond how you want to respond in the moment…this is your opera house. So behave in it as you wish.” – Sydney (28:50)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:20 – Sydney describes life in Shasta, CA, and her family roots
• 03:45 – Early music education and first violin lessons at age two
• 05:47 – First opera role as Pamina at 16; the start of full-circle journey
• 06:48 – The role competitions played in launching her career
• 08:06 – Entry into contemporary opera and "Breaking the Waves"
• 10:15 – Working with Maestro Conlon and the special feeling in rehearsal
• 11:58 – Performing in the animated, 1920s-styled "Magic Flute" production
• 15:12 – On vocal suitability and the allure of Pamina
• 17:05 – The necessity of vocal coaches, even for major stars
• 20:03 – Artistic approach and emotional connection to Pamina
• 22:02 – The synergy between drama and singing in opera
• 26:26 – Joining Billy Corgan for an alt-rock/opera fusion project
• 32:08 – Artistic health: vocal care, injury, and wellbeing
• 34:03 – How music moves even the youngest listeners
• 35:21 – Preshow rituals, from stretching to shower-warmups
• 37:08 – Playlist picks: Debussy and Smashing Pumpkins

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Summary Takeaways

Sydney Mancasola’s vibrant career and candid reflections illuminate the intersection of tradition and innovation in opera today. From her beginnings in a "ghost town" to starring launches at iconic houses and embracing unexpected creative detours, Sydney exemplifies both respect for operatic craft and a fearless embrace of the new. Her warm insights on vocal training, the demands of acting, and the transformative energy of live performance will resonate with opera aficionados, performers, and newcomers alike.

For tickets and more information on LA Opera’s "The Magic Flute": laopera.org

Transcript

[Gail Eichenthal]

Foreign.

[Podcast Narrator]

Welcome to behind the Curtain, LA Opera's official podcast. Each week we dive deep into the creative process with the artists, creatives and scholars who bring opera to life. Get ready to decode the drama, dissect the music and hear the heart behind the high notes. From backstage laughs to history making moments, every opera starts with a story. Shimmering soprano Sydney Mancasola shares her pre show secrets, her Mozart favorites, and the joys of working with Maestro Conlon on LA Opera's upcoming production of the Magic Flute, all on this episode of behind the Curtain. Listen in as Sidney and our host Gail Eichenthal chat about tiny violins, larger than life voices, unexpected contemporary opera collaborations, and you'll even find out what's on Sydney's playlist these days. Enjoy this lively conversation and then get your tickets to the Magic [e-mail] hello

[Gail Eichenthal]

everyone and welcome to behind the Curtain. I'm your host Gail Eichenthal and on today's episode we're joined by the extraordinary American soprano Sidney Mancasola. Our Pamina in in the LA Opera production of the Magic Flute. It runs May 30 through June 21 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with [e-mail] she has been described as enchanting, radiant and glittering by Opera News. Sydney's credits include the Metropolitan Opera where she has performed Pamina Opera, Frankfurt, Paris Opera, Comicia Opera, Berlin, and many, many more companies. Welcome Sidney. So great to see you.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Thank you, Gail. It's nice to be here.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Now, we almost always begin these podcasts with our guests opera origin story, but in this case I have to start before that. You are, I believe, the first guest on behind the Curtain to be born in a ghost town, Shasta, California. I know your family eventually moved to Redding nearby, but do you remember this Gold Rush territory?

[Sydney Mancasola]

Of course. Actually, in fact, my family's home is still in Shasta. It's one of those towns that I think was part of the Gold rush. And then as the highways came in, it just became a little bit of a deserted place and there's some old relics of what the town used to be, but mostly it's just a really beautiful area of wilderness just outside Reading. And my family still lives there to this day. So yes, born from a ghost town feels like the plot of an opera or something like that.

[Gail Eichenthal]

It absolutely does. Something to think about.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Someone's got to write it.

[Gail Eichenthal]

So there's of course Mount Shasta and the lake and beautiful forests.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yes. I grew up, luckily in an area that just has remarkable natural beauty and Everyone thinks of Southern California, which I'm growing to love, the more I work here at LA Opera, as having, you know, these beaches and palm trees and incredible scenery. But Northern California is much more known for its rivers and lakes, and it's a different kind of place, but very inspiring for anyone who loves nature.

[Gail Eichenthal]

But not so much a hotbed of opera.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Not so much? Not so much how?

[Gail Eichenthal]

Let's get to that opera origin story. So when did you discover the world of opera?

[Sydney Mancasola]

My story with classical music really began as a violinist. It was something that I was exposed to at a very young age. I was lucky enough to have lessons from the age of two. I had an older sister who was taking lessons, and I think I was clamoring for it very early on. You know, want to do everything sister

[Gail Eichenthal]

does, and there's a violin for somebody age two.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Oh, it's the. They're very cute. They're just teeny, tiny little things. But, yeah, they make them. I think they call them like a 18 or something like that. Tiny little violins. And I had a wonderful teacher who was just so gentle and knew how to, you know, do it for someone that, let's be honest, it was sort of before I had most of my speech ability. I was learning this language of music and classical music. And really, definitely before I could read or write at some level, before my speech had fully developed, I was learning the language of classical music. So classical music has been with me forever, as far as I'm concerned. I can't remember a time before it. And then opera kind of came at this transition moment for me. I was studying then with a different teacher who was. Actually had come to my hometown from Russia. We just got very lucky that they kind of planted themselves in Northern California. And he had studied at the Moscow Conservatory, and he was this fabulous violinist. And then he tragically passed when I was about 13 years old. And I struggled to find another teacher at the time that I connected to and wanted to study with. And perhaps it also happened at a time when I was changing. You know, I was becoming a little teenager, and I was really interested in the dramatic arts and pursuing dance and drama. When I didn't find the violin teaching I was looking for, I started to kind of shift my focus into the dramatic arts. And through that found a voice teacher who introduced me to opera. And although writing was definitely not a hotbed of opera there, strangely enough. And it almost feels like somehow meant to be that this existed. And just very surprising in a way, that this existed in a small town. Right. In California. But there was a couple that had moved kind of from the Bay Area who had experience in opera and were starting some programs for young. The youth. Young adults in opera and teaching voice lessons and doing intensive opera workshops in the summer and actually staging full operas. So I sang my first opera, which was the Magic Flute. I think at about the age of 16, I sang Pamina.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Oh, my goodness.

[Sydney Mancasola]

So it's full circle being here, still singing Pamina all these years later. And I feel very lucky that even in this small town of Redding, California, I had a very rich arts education. And I think I was lucky in that capacity. But I don't take it for granted.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Were your teachers back then able to enjoy the progress of your career?

[Sydney Mancasola]

I hope so, yeah. I mean, I keep in touch as much as I can with my teachers of my past. My first voice teacher, Robert Waterbury, actually just passed this year. And so there was a big celebration for him of his life. And I sort of followed it virtually, of course, because I was. And actually both of my voice teachers passed. My college voice teacher also passed this year. When you lose these people, you really do start to reflect on how much of an imprint they had on you.

[Gail Eichenthal]

And then you became a very successful competitor in some of these huge competitions. The Met and more. Is that a path that you would recommend for a young singer? Needless to say, it's very competitive.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Literally. Yeah. I think there's definitely. The competitions can be a huge help in getting a leg up into this career or just getting the visibility. I don't think it's the only path by any means. I know plenty of successful singers who never competed in these competitions. And at one point I kind of decided I was done competing. There were more to do, and I could have pursued the Operalia, which has to do with L. A Opera. And there were many more visible competitions. But for me, at one point I decided, you know, I really want to focus more on my artistry and really starting my career and stepping away from them. But I'm grateful for the visibility that I had through those competitions. And it definitely was a help in getting launched and getting management and all the things that can be tricky at the early stages of an operatic career.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Absolutely. So in a relatively short time as a professional singer, you've enjoyed a very wide range of roles. Pamina, as you mentioned, started at age 16. Eugen Verdi, and got a lot of attention for Breaking the Waves, the Missi Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek, phenomenally successful modern opera based on the Lars von Trier film so how did you suddenly get into that? Or had you been doing some contemporary all the while?

[Sydney Mancasola]

I've always been interested in the contemporary opera scene. One of my first contracts was a contemporary opera called Glory Denied by Tom Chap. And I was always drawn to contemporary music. I was looking for contemporary art songs when I was in school and learning contemporary arias. It's something I just have always been fascinated by. And then I was lucky enough to get hooked up with the role of Bess McNeil in this breaking the Waves and got to perform it kind of all over the world for a few seasons. Sadly, the one here at LA Opera was cancelled during the pandemic. And I still hope that someday they bring it back because it's a phenomenal piece of opera and theater and just challenged me so much as a performer. Obviously the role comes from has this filmic history and Emily Watson gives the most beautiful, subtle, moving performance. And so I was daunted taking on a role like that. I remember feeling very insecure about it, but, you know, entered into it arms open, heart open, and found that like many adaptations of these films for contemporary opera, you can be inspired by the source material, but they take on a life of their own when they're in operatic form. Particularly an opera like Breaking the Waves, which, the film version, there's almost. There's very little text. So how does that translate to a song narrative art form and it has to transform. And part of, I think what makes an adaptation successful is how much you can embrace the change as well as trying to honor the source material and figure out exactly what is this within the context of this, you know, this art form.

[Gail Eichenthal]

It sounds amazing and I certainly hope you and the opera come to do it at LA Opera in Los Angeles in the future. We are in a very important period, important moment in the history of the company. It's the 40th season and James Conlon's final season as music director after a brilliant 20 year career as Richard Seaver music director. And here's the Magic Flute, his choice for the final opera of his tenure. And I imagine in the rehearsal process there must be kind of a special vibe.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Definitely. I mean, I am lucky enough to have worked with Maestro Conlon before. Both we've done concert before and we also got to work on Pelleas and Melisandre a few seasons ago, which was just, I mean, a highlight of my career. Definitely. He's a genius and he's such a phenomenal musician. And there's not so many conductors who are as picky as him that I don't mind, you know, because I know all of his ideas are so rooted in such truth. And he, you know, he cares about the text, but he also understands the form of the music so well. And so he's just someone that I always feel just so open to in the room because I know he's going to lift my performance with his ideas and his. And I think everyone else in the cast was. Probably feels the same way. And so it's really an honor to be part of this final chapter for him here. But I do have to say I'm lucky enough to have two other contracts with Master Colin in the future. So I know this is by no means the end of his career, just the closing of this chapter here as the music director. And I think he'll go on to make lots and lots of music all over the world, I'm sure.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Symphonic music, operatic music, chamber music, choral music. Yeah, he's going to be.

[Sydney Mancasola]

As the world's still busy as he wants. Exactly.

[Gail Eichenthal]

And then some. Well, the company introduced this production, very special production created by Barry Koski and Suzanne Andrade, with a real 1920s vibe. And there are some special challenges because you're working all the while with silent film inspired animation. And I wondered, you've done this production before in Berlin. What are the special challenges? Is it all old hat by now for you?

[Sydney Mancasola]

Absolutely not. It's not old hat. I mean, it helps to have the experience in the production, definitely. I think it also really helps to have an experience with the role that you're singing within the production. Because, you know, as performers, we rely quite often on the physical environment that we're in. We love, you know, a set piece that really brings us into the world or, you know, the. The relationship with the character. Even. Even no set, but the relationship with the character that you're standing on stage with, or that sense of the 3D ness that helps bring us and root us into world and into character. And in this piece, we have none of that. I mean, you're really staring out into a blank audience. You have some sense that there's these lights being projected onto you. It's actually quite bright in your eyes and you have to create everything from your imagination. So in a way, it's the ultimate test as a performer because you have to conjure all of the emotions yourself and really create them from the void. So, I mean, I love a challenge. I think it's an exciting one and I think it's proven that this production is a very enjoyable one. For the audience. So, you know, you're doing it to a good end as well, you know? You know, you're not just doing it for. For something that's not appreciated. And so it's always a little easier to take on a challenge when you know that it's a worthy cause.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Yeah, the company has brought it back a number of times, and it's always sold out. And, you know, it's an incredible opera to bring a child to for the first time. Or even somebody in your life who doesn't think they like opera. I've done that a couple of times over the years when they bring it back, and it's just absolutely enchanting. Do you have to time your performance to the animation because it is running at the same time, or is that just something Maestro Conlon has to deal with?

[Sydney Mancasola]

No, luckily, it's kind of a combination. There's things that happen in the animation, and I think the way that they've cued the animation is that they're just a series of a huge amount of cues. So there's actually someone. The work is really on the technical stuff because there's someone who's watching us and trying to time with ourselves speech specific things that are happening in the animation that we need to interact with. And then there's things that we have to, you know, place. We have to make sure that we're in the exact right place for the animation with our bodies a lot of the time strapped to a wall, which changes your physicality as a singer. Your feet are quite close together on these little platforms. You know, we like to have our feet underneath us. So there's a lot of physical challenges to this piece. Not just for us, for the technical team, for Meister Conlon as well, who has to be aware of all these, you know, moving parts. And so it's like most theater. It's always a little bit of a miracle. But it all comes together, isn't it?

[Gail Eichenthal]

Yes. And it does so brilliantly. And those of you who are listening who haven't seen this production of the Magic Flute, it's a must. LA Opera.org is where you'll find the tickets. So somebody figured out that you were going to be a great Pamina when you were 16. I've heard in interviews that you tend to be very picky about what Mozart roles you'll play. And of course, Mozart is probably the most transparent of composers for either opera or piano or orchestra. Pamina is something that you gravitated toward very early. How do you feel about those Mozart. Other Mozart roles now.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yeah. I think that it's interesting that you asked me now how I feel, because I think that interview might have been a little older. I actually feel like I'm entering my Mozart era a little bit. And I think part of the reason I was cautious about which ones to take on early is I. I had a voice that sat quite high from the very beginning, and I felt very comfortable in roles that used the full range, you know, up to E or E flat. And most Mozart roles just don't have. Don't use that range. He wrote in a much more conservative register for the soprano voice. And a lot of the voice, the lighter roles actually sit quite low, like Susanna, like Despina, like Cerlina. And Pamina was the one that always felt like it stretched me out a little bit in both directions in the way that my voice liked to work from the very beginning. She. The tessitur of it just felt just right. And now that my voice is changing, I had a baby, maybe it's getting a little deeper, a little richer. Certain roles are starting to feel really great. And I did Susanna this season, and it felt so different than it would have, you know, 10 years ago. And I'm enjoying exploring new roles. I'm definitely looking into Dona Anna and I got to. To sing a Fiordi Ligi a few seasons ago and maybe eventually Countess as well. Although I'm quite happy to sing Susanna for now. I'll be here doing that next season again, which I'm overjoyed to be back in LA again next season. So, yeah, I'm enjoying Mozart more and more the older I get and the more I think my voice is sort of growing into that register.

[Gail Eichenthal]

I remember interviewing a major star of the opera stage some years ago, and I was very surprised at that time to hear that she's still working with a vocal coach. And I wondered, you know, you don't hear about violinists in the LA Philharmonic working with a violin coach. Is it because the voice keeps changing that you need to kind of check in? Do you yourself work with someone?

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yes, certainly. That's part of it. And there have been periods of my career that I've had fewer people on my team, so to speak. And then you maybe do feel a change or you feel a shift, or you're taking on new roles and you feel the need to reconnect to teachers or maybe a new teacher. Maybe you need new ears or someone who knows your voice from the past. Our voices are in our bodies. They are very physical. Changing day to day thing, I always say, you know, I have to relearn how to sing every single day. You wake up and you figure out what the voice is doing on that day. You know, now as a new mom, you know, you get less sleep. You're. There's all these phys, you know, you go through all these physical, hormonal changes as a woman, and you have to keep your technique moving with the bouncing ball kind of. So it's very useful to have ears outside our body and people to track the progress over time to make sure that we're still able to sound our best with the changes and the changes. What I've learned over time is the changes can be good. They don't have to be bad changes, they can be good changes. But that still might require a slightly different technical approach as you age and

[Gail Eichenthal]

change and you're learning new roles all the time. And that presents different vocal challenges.

[Sydney Mancasola]

I feel very lucky to have sung in a huge amount of different styles. It's been just how my career has come together. Many people focus more on just bel canto or, you know, more Mozart and Handel, but I've really sung a little bit of everything. Part of what I think has helped me through that has been, you know, really having to focus on my technique because of all these changes. And when you go from singing a contemporary opera to the next, you know, the very next project as Mozart or the very next project is Handel, you're going to have to use your technique to get you back into that, you know, that kind of style of singing. And yeah, you just get to add little things to your toolbox in that way.

[Gail Eichenthal]

How do you choose a coach? That would seem to be a very important decision.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yes, important. And always feels a little vulnerable and risky actually, to open yourself up to someone new. And if you get the wrong advice or the wrong person, if it's not a good match, you can kind of go down the wrong path as well. So I always give the advice to young singers. You know, when you start with someone new, try it 10% first. Don't go 100% in and then say, oh, suddenly I've tied myself in knots and I can't get back to my center. Try 10%. If that feels good, try another 10%. I think often we try to do back flips to try to change everything, but often it's just that small incremental change that we need to know whether or not we need to keep going in that direction.

[Gail Eichenthal]

So check it out first before. Yeah. Believing everything you hear.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yeah. And trust your instincts. If you leave a lesson and think, oh, you know, I feel more tired than when I started, something's telling you something, maybe that's not the right fit at that time and try someone else. So, yeah, it's one of those trial and error things. You have to try people out. But I think sometimes life has a way of kind of shuffling you in the right directions and connecting you with the right people. Maybe that's my spirituality coming through. But I do believe that.

[Gail Eichenthal]

What do you hear about what you need to do for Pamena?

[Sydney Mancasola]

Pamina, for me is a role that always takes me to my center. Technically, it's Mozart, so there's no hiding. You have to sing in a very clean way. The clarity of both the vocal production and the text has to be very precise. But I love the role because it really gives you a lot of different types of vocalism. You use the range from top to bottom. And she's very emotionally connected as well. And I've always connected better with characters that are very emotionally connected. I think Pamina is a wide open human being. She's very vulnerable. I think she's a little traumatized. She's grown up in a difficult environment. The world she's living in clearly has a lot of turmoil in it. And I think she's absorbing a lot of that as a young person. And I think she desperately wants connection, which is why I think we see her so quickly light up with this idea of this prince who's come, you know, and she's seeking that connection. She wants love. I think she's a very pure soul. And you see over and over again in the opera, when people ask her things, she just answers with. With a huge amount of frankness, even when it's dangerous, even when it's challenging. And she says straight to Papageno, you know what he says? What are we gonna do to get out of this situation we're in with Zoroastro and the Queen? And she says, we're gonna tell the truth. And she has a lot of resolve about that. So for me, she's just that character who's. She's. She's wide open. She's like a gaping wound walking through this world, trying to navigate things. And it's her goodness, I think, that helps her sort of prevail through her challenges. And. And it's a joy every time I get to play the role. I just love it.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Your insight into the role is fascinating because it makes it clear that singing opera is as much about acting and delving into a character's soul than it is about singing. And it's hard enough to sing. So is acting part of what you're working on, or is it come naturally as you sing?

[Sydney Mancasola]

Well, it's interesting because we talked about my origin story, and one thing I left out was that before I found opera, when I was sort of moving away from classical violin, I was very much looking at going to acting school. So it was the dramatic arts that kind of led me to opera. I loved theater in every form. And when I found opera, I was like, oh, okay, classical music from violin, dramatic arts, bingo. Like, this is everything I love put together. And I've always approached opera as first and foremost a dramatic art. I think maybe it's because I came from violin and that was one thing that was classical music. But I just think of opera as the. You know, the reason for opera is that we're telling a story, is that there's a narrative, and otherwise it's a concert, you know, otherwise it's a. It's a symphonic piece really, with using the voice as an instrument. What transforms it is the narrative and are these characters. And I think the way we can touch our audience is through these stories and through these characters. So first and foremost, we have to. To put these people out there on display. And the best way to do that is to get inside them and try to really live them and tell their stories.

[Gail Eichenthal]

But it's a different discipline altogether than the technique of singing. And certainly not everyone can do both. And when I was growing up, you know, there was a phrase park and bark. Some of our most famous singers of all time were famously not acting much.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Definitely, you know, a lot can be said with the voice too. So I have a lot of respect for the singers of the past, even of the park and park era, because some of those singers, they said so much with their voices. And I still say there are singers today that maybe they don't have the greatest dramatic chops. But if the voice is connected intentionally and they can stand there and do very little, and I'm somehow transported on their journey, and maybe that that's the power of the human voice is that if there's meaning in the sound, whatever you're seeing, you're kind of feeling the story and the meaning as well. But I think luckily, fortunately, we're in an age of opera. And just look at media in general, look at how realistic film and TV has gotten. Our art form is following suit and needs to follow suit in that the audience really needs to see something that they can buy and that they, that will take them on that journey. And I think that we absolutely sometimes underestimate that in, in our business, that the average opera goer today may not have a huge amount of experience in opera, but they know good theater, they know good storytelling. And so if we can connect with them on that plane, we can bring them into our world.

[Gail Eichenthal]

I find it very interesting that over time it has become much more central to a great opera production to have verisimilitude about the plot where you can believe that the singer is that character. And that has really changed in the last 50 years.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yeah, and there are some, there are some singers today that I think are phenomenal actors. And you know, you made a good point, which is they're different disciplines and we get some amount of acting training as a part of the traditional path. If you've done a conservatory or we get some amount of it and then we learn a lot of it on stage, to be totally honest. And it's, it's trial and error. And I think some people probably just have more of an inkling towards it. But I, I myself have always thought, oh God, I would love to just take a year and study Meisner or take a year and do some kind of specific theater program. And I've certainly read a lot about it and I watch film and I try to watch theatre. And you can learn a lot through that as well, I think. But I think we all wish we were equipped with more tools just because it's such a huge part of what we do on a daily basis.

[Gail Eichenthal]

You have some very interesting productions ahead of you. And one upcoming project of yours, the Millennials on the LA Opera Connect staff insisted that I ask you about the alt rock commission by Billy Corgan entitled A Night of Melancholy and Infinite Sadness. A celebration of the 30th anniversary of Corgan' groundbreaking album, as many young people who are listening well know. Frontman and founder of Smashing Pumpkins. Wow, that's a long way from Magic Flute. And I know you've done it once and it's going to come back.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yes, we're planning a really exciting European tour in some incredible cities for this autumn, which is going to be announced very shortly. I think by the time this podcast up they will probably be public information and it's really awesome. I mean, I wasn't joking when I said I'd do a variety of stuff and this is probably on the extreme of the other end. And I'll be honest, when this project came up, there was a part of Me that said, oh, this is very unknown. This isn't just contemporary opera. This isn't, you know, what is this going to be like? And it felt a little risky. But I feel lucky that I'm in an industry that now embraces people who go outside the norm. I don't think that was always the case. And I think it's one way that our industry has changed for the good is that it's starting to really embrace artists who maybe have a different side to them, maybe sing a different kind of music or, you know, like to do a bit of musical theater or, you know, are more experimental, partially because I think it's connecting us to new audiences, which is a really positive thing. And when we did this phenomenal concept of concerts at Chicago Lyric Opera this season, I mean, first of all, there's nothing unserious about the music that we created. It was. It's really cool the way that this alt rock album and Billy Corgan with his unique style of vocalism and his artistry combined with opera. And you just. You can't imagine what that's going to be like until you're experiencing it. And I certainly couldn't until I was in it. But everyone involved really dove in, luckily, and just said, we're going to do this, and we're going to give it everything. We're not going to sort of half straddle the line. Try to make this. We met each other on each other's territories, basically. We came to Billy and Rock, and he came to us in opera, and we said, okay, how can we really put these things together? And the result was amazing in that the Chicago Lyric Opera was full of about, I would say, two thirds at least, Smashing Pumpkin fans, Die Hard fans, and maybe one third opera goers. So we already brought a whole new audience into the Opera House. And the response they had to this music, which, you know, Die Hard Rock fans could have said, what the heck have you just done with our stuff? You know? But they just were on their feet screaming, absolutely there. The entire performance. Just the energy was incredible, like, unlike anything I've ever felt. And it really got me dreaming about opera. I was like, wow, how can we encourage our audience to allow themselves to have these visceral reactions to what we do? Because I think sometimes our audience feels like they have to be polite or they have to do the right thing and clap at the right time. And it was very clear with these concerts that that was out the window and people were going to respond to the music exactly as they wanted to. Respond in the moment. And it was thrilling for everyone, for us and for the audience to experience that and only increased the energy of the show and the performance. So I guess that's maybe my little plug for opera audiences to not worry about clapping in the right places. Just feel what you feel and respond how you want to respond in the moment. And it's your art form, it's your, this is your, you know, your opera house. So behave in it as you wish

[Gail Eichenthal]

and wear what you wish and wear

[Sydney Mancasola]

what you wish and you know, like what you like and dislike what you dislike and be, be loud and proud about it, because that's what art's about. It's not about being polite.

[Gail Eichenthal]

It occurs to me there's a parallel in the dance world where back in the day I remember, you know, you were either a ballet dancer or you were a jazz dancer or you were doing pop. Now there's jazz in major ballet companies and so forth and so on. Twyla Tharp and all kinds of fabulous pop ballets. It seems like there has been a loosening also in your world. I think it was originally thought, it was long ago thought that your voice couldn't accommodate both that you were gonna wreck your opera voice if you did popular music. And that doesn't seem to be as judgmental a situation.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yeah, I mean, I think opera singers are being asked to do all sorts of things that opera singers to the past maybe weren't asked to do. And it's just, it's a different world and it's a different environment. And so we, we have to adapt and change. And I'm sure there are things that maybe there's a trade off maybe there in some ways, you know, we're, we're not able to build our careers in this in the same way that they were in the past, you know, thinking very carefully certain roles and, and following all the steps. But I think what we've lost in that capacity we've maybe gained in a freedom seems to be okay so far. People seem to be surviving it. I mean, I work with one mezzo soprano last season who sings metal. She's like a mezzo. Her name is Marina Viotti and she sings metal music when she's not singing opera. And you would think how in the heck. But she says, you know, learning to do that really taught me a lot about my vocal technique because I had to figure out a way to do it healthfully and, and so there's no rules. That's what I say.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Hallelujah. Yeah. I think of Kelly O', Hara, 20 winning Broadway star who's done Mozart.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yeah, she did Mozart and she did the contemporary opera at the Met a few seasons ago that I was a part of. And she's absolutely phenomenal. You would think, oh, you know, she's not. She has some classical voice train, let's be honest. But I mean, the way her voice carried in the Met was just gorgeous. So.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Well, vocal demands in both worlds, opera, rock, metal. And I think it's really phenomenal that LA opera. The company prides itself on being a leader in the field of arts and health research. And in fact, we have, coming up June 12, the big arts and health summit that the company does every year. Have you noticed a greater emphasis on protecting voices in the world of opera?

[Sydney Mancasola]

Vocal health has always gone hand in hand with opera singing. We are human beings. I mean, there's stories throughout history about singers losing their voice or having vocal health crises. And I think it's wonderful when people approach it more as, okay, we are athletes, we are athletes. So just the way that basketball player is an athlete, if a basketball player injures themself, you don't think, oh, he must have played wrong on that day. But somehow there's this stigma with opera singers that if an opera singer gets injured, maybe they've done something wrong. So I think the increased awareness that vocal health is a part of our job, it is an every single day part of our job. We wake up, we have to hydrate enough, we need to sing our scales, we need to warm our voice up before we rehearse. And there's all these ways warm them down after we rehearse. We need to sleep enough, we need to eat appropriately. Are there allergies? This time of the year is horrible. It's a constant thing that we're doing. It's just a huge part of probably maybe 50% of what we do is just keeping our voice in shape. Health and singing, I think, are two things that just can't be separated. But certainly for me, I think it's beautiful that just to think about music and the arts and what healing they do on a kind of down low level every day. I mean, I think we all use the arts to decompress, to digest our experience as humans. I think that's the goal of art is to give people a place, a safe haven to go to when they need something other than their day to day. They need something to help them understand their humanity, to stop doing and just start being for a few moments and seeing how that sits with Them?

[Gail Eichenthal]

Absolutely. And we find every year of the summit, we have neuroscientists on the panel, and they talk about how the structure of children's brains can be influenced by music education when they're very young.

[Sydney Mancasola]

I believe that totally. I mean, watching my daughter, who's now 1, and her connection with music is just incredible. I mean, she's so attuned to it and has been from the very first day. And actually, I sang Pamina when she was. When I was quite pregnant. So it's one of the operas that she's heard a lot. And the other day I was practicing, and she hears me sing all the time. And I started singing Akikfjuhls, and this is the first time I've sung the piece since I had her. I looked over and she had a tear rolling down her face, and I just was like, oh, wow. Was she just responding? It wasn't the singing, because she hears me sing all the time. I think she was responding to the feeling of the music. And to see that her little sweet face just looking at me, like, kind of feeling the emotion, I just. It was phenomenal. But she's. She's so attuned to music. I mean, she has these little music books, and the first thing she wants to do in the morning is open them up and start to play. You know, she can control them, and she wants to start playing her music, and she dances. And it's just, you see with kids how connected we are to music. I mean, it's just obvious.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Will she be studying violin at age 2?

[Sydney Mancasola]

If she wants to.

[Gail Eichenthal]

If you don't mind my asking, do you have a particular ritual to help you feel you're ready for an operatic performance? A lot of performers mention bananas.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Yeah, I think the science behind that is that bananas have naturally occurring beta blockers, which is why a lot of performers like banana. For some reason, I don't like the way bananas make me feel when I sing. I'm much more likely to be chewing on an apple before I sing. And I think, you know, whether it's science or pseudoscience, the apples are supposed to help us regulate our ph. So that can be good for phlegm levels and things like that. Before performance. I have a few things. I mean, I think some days you wake up and you just feel, I'm in the zone, I'm ready to go. But on those days that you need a little more coercing, I definitely have been known to do a little meditation, to do some light stretching in my dressing room. I Love warming up in the shower. And no longer, no matter how long I do this job, I can't get away from that. It's a little bit of a crutch. I just love warming up in the shower. Something about the warm water and the spa like, experience just helps me feel like my voice is free. So that's one of my little rituals.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Good acoustics, I would say.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Good acoustics. Yeah, you sound your best in the shower. It's just a good way to start the day. So, yeah, I do a little bit of warming up in the morning. And, you know, I make sure I eat healthfully nowadays with my daughter. Most of it goes out the window, let's be honest. And I'm lucky If I have 15 minutes to get my head screwed on straight before I go on stage. But the beauty of that is that when you have a kid, you also just get a lot of perspective about what you're doing. And I think it opens your heart up and it expands you in a way that makes you kind of always more ready for this job. And so I think what you lose, you also gain a lot. So, yeah, those are some of the little things that I do.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing that. Well, I know you have to get to rehearsal for the Magic Flute. And a closing question that we like to ask our behind the curtain guests. Is there a particular song that's stuck in your head these days? Be it classical, Smashing Pumpkins or whatever? What's on your playlist right now?

[Sydney Mancasola]

Well, I definitely have the Smashing Pumpkin album Melancholy on Loop since I did that project. But the piece of music I've listened to thousands and thousands of times this year since my daughter was born is Clair de Lune by Debussy because it's on her lullaby album. And every time we do a nap or every time we do a bedtime, I put it on and it's the first piece that plays. And I can highly recommend it to any new moms who are trying to come up with lullabies for their kids, because luckily, it's one of those pieces you just don't get tired of. And that's the main thing you need when you're thinking of a lullaby album, because you're going to hear those songs over and over and over again.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Not Baby Beluga?

[Sydney Mancasola]

No. God, no. Not the Wheels on the Bus.

[Gail Eichenthal]

That's a beautiful piece of advice. Sydney Mancasola, what a joy to talk to you. Our Pamina in the current production at LA Opera. Thanks for being here.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Thank you for having me.

[Gail Eichenthal]

I want to mention again that Magic Flute runs May 30 to June 21. Tickets at La Opera at Act Fast because this thing always sells out. We love to see it again. Thanks.

[Sydney Mancasola]

Thank you.

[Podcast Narrator]

Does your baby love music as much as Sydney's does? LA Opera's Bambino, an Opera for Babies, is going on tour. A critically acclaimed opera created especially for babies ages 6 to 18 months and their caregivers, Bambino is a 40 minute show about a young bird learning how to fly. Crafted to nurture early childhood development and strengthen caregiver bonds through music, sensory exploration and interactive storytelling, Bambino is coming to a library or childhood development center near you this June. [e-mail] Bambino get your tickets to the Magic Flute at laopera.org don't forget to like, comment and subscribe to buy behind the Curtain wherever you listen to podcasts and share this episode with your friends on your favorite social media. Did you know that as a nonprofit, LA Opera relies on charitable donations from arts lovers just like you? Learn more about how your support brings our stage to [e-mail] donate we can't wait to see you at the opera.

[Gail Eichenthal]

Sam.