Nadine Sierra is one of the most in-demand sopranos in the business right now. Her new album on Deutsche Grammophon, Made for Opera, is a beautiful expression of the role opera has played in her life, and in more ways than one.
Her interest in opera was sparked by a VHS tape of a Franco Zeffirelli production of La bohème as a child; she also got a lot of inspiration to sing from her grandmother, whose experiences informed the roles Sierra selected for this album.
One of them, Donizetti’s Lucia, is her current project—she’s performing the title role in the Met’s new production of Lucia di Lammermoor.
Both the production and the album offer ways to think about these characters in a modern context, and I got a chance to talk with her on the phone about them.
The Metropolitan Opera presents Donizetti's Lucia di Lamermoor in person through Saturday, May 21st, which is also the day you can hear it on WRTI 90.1 with host Debra Lew Harder at 1 PM.
