Tamara Wilson and Guiseppi Verdi were meant for each other.
When she made her role debut as “Aida” with Opera Australia a year ago, she was only 26. She followed that success last fall in her Washington National Opera debut as Alice Ford in the composer’s rollicking “Falstaff” and her Canadian Opera Company debut soon afterward as Amelia Grimaldi in his “Simon Boccanegra.”
With her return to WNO this week, she cements her reputation as the next great Verdi soprano, this time as Amelia in his tragic “Un Ballo in Maschera” based on the murder of Swedish King Gustavus III at a masked ball. Earlier this summer, she sang the Verdi “Requiem” at the Oregon Bach festival, proving to be as adept at concertizing as emoting.
As if those achievements were not astonishing for one so young, this season she also sang Elettre in Mozart’s “Idomeneo” with COC and made her Los Angeles Opera debut as the first lady in “Die Zauberfoete.” She returns there this season as Miss Jessel in Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw” before her German debut at Oper Frankfurt as Ada in concert performances of Wagner’s “Die Feen” to be recorded by Oehms Classics.
“Verdi’s music is sublime and fits me like a glove,” she said. “I especially love the ‘Ballo’” score with its high tessitura and contrasting low parts. It’s so visceral. This opera isn’t done so much as his others and needs a hefty tenor.”
The production has such a tenor in Italian Salvatore Licitra, a WNO veteran renowned for his fine lyric qualities. His King Gustavus III and Wilson’s Amelia are secret lovers, unbeknown to his best friend, Amelia’s husband. Both share their roles with others for two performances during the run, Wilson with Susan Neves and Licitra with American tenor Frank Porretta.
Wilson, an unabashed Chicago Cubs fan, is delighted that Washington’s baseball stadium is the site of the Free Opera in the Outfield event. The Sunday afternoon performance will be simulcast on large screens at Nationals Park to more than 20,000, many viewing a professional opera for the first time. Because Wilson missed the opportunity growing up to hear artists sing without microphones, she hopes the experience inspires youngsters to learn more about the art and related disciplines.
By the time she graduated from high school, Wilson was a veteran of method-acting classes and 11 school and community musical comedy productions. She might have gone in that direction or followed her other love, biochemistry, had she not been introduced to Bach, Handel and Mozart. A scholarship from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory sealed the deal.
“When I first heard Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’ I got chills,” she said. “Then I heard Verdi’s ‘Il Trovatore’ and became voracious. I’ve been very lucky to have good teachers, especially Barbara Honn, a professor of voice at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory. She retires soon and I’ve been invited to sing at the concert planned for her.
“After becoming a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, I didn’t do anything on stage the first season, just sat and watched the professionals at work. From them, I learned how to be a professional and concentrate on acting. When I attend an opera or concert, I want to be transported to another place.”
