A remarkable mezzo

After a paucity of singing stars for most of the year, Prague is blessed to have two outstanding vocalists visiting over the next month, starting this week with an appearance by American opera star Denyce Graves at the State Opera. A fluid and remarkably versatile mezzo-soprano, Graves should provide an interesting counterpoint to Nino Machaidze, the Georgian soprano just starting to make major waves in Europe, who will be here in early January.

Graves, 45, has carved out a career well beyond the opera stage, singing at major American events such as the memorial service for the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., in September 2001, the Bush-Cheney inauguration in January 2005, the state funeral for former President Gerald Ford in January 2007 and a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in Washington in April 2008. And her personal life rivals that of any character she's played onstage.

The product of a single-family home in a dicey Washington neighborhood, Graves was told throughout her 17-year marriage that she could never conceive. After the marriage broke up, she got pregnant and, in 2004, delivered a baby girl - not long after the baby's father ended their relationship. In the summer of 2006, she sat down on a plane next to a transplant surgeon from Johns Hopkins, and their conversation blossomed into a romance that culminated in three wedding ceremonies this past summer - one for family only, another in Kenya, then a public, five-day extravaganza in Washington.

"I am very happy in my life now," Graves says in a group interview that she did for Czech media. "I just got married to a wonderful man, I have a beautiful, healthy daughter, and I am singing better than ever. Life is beautiful!"

From an audience perspective, life with Graves has been beautiful ever since she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 1995-96 season in the title role of Carmen. That, along with a star turn as Dalila in Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila during the 1997-98 season, propelled her to international stardom and performances on major stages around the world, from London to Milan to Buenos Aires. Though she spends considerable time abroad, Graves has maintained a busy schedule on smaller stages in the United States, in places like Dallas, Detroit, Kansas City and Oberlin, Ohio, where she studied at the conservatory and, in 1998, was awarded an honorary doctorate.

Graves has developed an impressive repertoire well beyond her signature roles, singing in operas by Verdi, Bartók, Offenbach, Massenet and Bellini. Her recitals have been equally wide-ranging, covering Handel, Mahler, Mussorgsky, Ravel and Gershwin. Nor is she afraid to tackle new works, such as Richard Danielpour's Margaret Garner, which she premiered with the Michigan Opera Theater in 2005.

Graves' program in Prague reflects her versatility. In the first half, she will sing arias from operas by Cilea, Saint-Saens, Gluck, Purcell and Donizetti. The second half is devoted mostly to American show tunes and spirituals with titles that sound tailor-made for Graves: "Give Me Jesus," "Every Time I Feel the Spirit" and "The Joint is Really Jumpin' Down at Carnegie Hall."

"Spirituals are the first songs I ever heard," says Graves, who has come a long way from being a wide-eyed child in church. "Given my background as a very shy and uncomfortable person and a religious young girl, that made it very difficult for me to journey toward becoming a singing actress. Initially, I had to push myself very hard. But that process has been very helpful to me, and I have been growing and stretching ever since."

International stardom doesn't seem to have changed who Graves really is at heart. "There is a lot of 'noise' surrounding this type of work, and I cannot afford to get swept up in the chaos," she says. "I am much more concerned with being a good mother and a good wife and keeping my family healthy and happy and whole."

Graves will have excellent musical support here, with accompaniment by the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Slovak conductor Rastislav Štúr and interludes provided by an outstanding Italian flute player, Massimo Mercelli.

How does Graves feel about her debut performance in Prague? "I've wanted to come for years and am thrilled that I finally have the opportunity," she says. "Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I am so excited!"

The feeling is mutual. This will be a sweet early holiday treat.

Frank Kuznik can be reached at
fkuznik@praguepost.com