{"id":994,"date":"2000-09-04T12:38:57","date_gmt":"2000-09-04T12:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theduanewells.com\/?p=994"},"modified":"2018-07-29T03:23:42","modified_gmt":"2018-07-29T03:23:42","slug":"la-dolce-denyce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/la-dolce-denyce\/","title":{"rendered":"La Dolce Denyce"},"content":{"rendered":"

by <\/span>duane wells<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is not ordinary for an opera singer to experience a rise as meteoric as that of Denyce Graves, but, then again, there is nothing quite ordinary about the woman herself.\u00a0 No ordinary diva\u2026No ordinary mezzo-soprano\u2026No ordinary human being\u2026Denyce Graves is, in a word, extraordinary.\u00a0 An elegant and refined creature marked with stupefying vocal capabilities and disconcerting humility,Graves is dramatically reconstructing the face of divadom for the next century.\u00a0 Heralded by critics around the world as the definitive \u201cCarmen\u201d in Bizet\u2019s tale of a sexually-charged gypsy girl who is unable to love and lauded as one of the most gifted mezzo-sopranos on the opera circuit today, Denyce Graves stands squarely on the precipice of superstardom.<\/p>\n

Review after review from New York to Vienna now boldly proclaim what so many have known for a long time\u2026Denyce Graves is opera\u2019s brightest new star.\u00a0 USA Today has singled her out as one of \u201cthe singers most likely to be [an] operatic superstar of the 21st<\/sup> century\u201d and Glamour Magazine thought it fitting to name her one of 1997\u2019s 10 Women of the Year.\u00a0 Internationally-renowned tenor, Placido Domingo, has made her both his Carmen and Dalila of choice the world over, while BMG Classics\/RCA Red Seal has made her their choice for an exclusive recording contract that will produce beautiful music well into the next millennium.\u00a0 Oh and, just in case you were thinking of trying to book Ms. Graves for an engagement, you\u2019ll have lots of time to plan because she\u2019s planned recitals through 2002.\u00a0 Not bad for an awkward, skinny, unpopular little girl from one of the poorest neighborhoods in Washington,D.C.<\/p>\n

To understand the accolades that follow Denyce Graves as effortlessly as the trains of her well-crafted couture gowns, one need only hear that voice\u2026the lush, broad soprano that can soar to breathtaking heights or slip down to heart-wrenching depths you had not previously known existed.\u00a0 The sheer magnitude of her talent is mind-boggling, but what is even more mind-boggling is the woman behind the voice.\u00a0Graves, the woman is so much more than the sum of her talents or her success.\u00a0 She is one of those rare women whose arrival is as prescient as her journey.<\/p>\n

On the surface, Graves\u2019 story bears all the cliches that generally accompany a rags-to-riches story.\u00a0 Abandoned by her father before she was even a year old, raised by a strict single Pentecostal mother who forbade her children to listen to anything other than religious music, treated as an outcast by her peers because of her love of poetry and classical music, mentored by a concerned instructor who saw not only her talent, but her determination, so poor throughout her college years at Oberlin that she had to scrub pots and bathroom floors to survive, faced with a potentially career-ending thyroid problem at the very brink of being discovered and forced to give up singing for a while and become a secretary, Graves\u2019 ascension like a phoenix from the ash at the Houston Opera is nothing short of astonishing.\u00a0 That she also managed to catch the attention of Placido Domingo in the process only adds luster to the fairy tale.\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty amazing stuff to be sure.\u00a0 The stuff of which blockbuster movies-of-the-week are made.\u00a0 But what\u2019s more interesting about Graves is how, in spite of all that has befallen her in the ten years she\u2019s been in the business, she remains so grounded\u2026so pure.\u00a0 More specifically, how she has scaled the heights in an elite art form without becoming elitist herself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In person, Graves is striking in every way.\u00a0 Dressed simply in navy blue silk palazzo pants, a pale yellow cotton oxford and simple sandals, Graves exudes an innate elegance yet remains extremely approachable.\u00a0 While most certainly a diva, she is neither grand nor pretentious. Graves is a woman so down-to-earth that she interrupts our interview several times to encourage me to eat, even offering me some of her\u00a0Caesar\u00a0salad at one point (For the record, I was dieting).\u00a0\u00a0 Were it not for her mellifluous voice, rich with inflections of French, German and Italian (all of which she speaks), one would hardly think that Graves is the woman who, at the tender age of 34, has not only claimed Carmen<\/em> as her own, but wowed audiences around the world in a host of other roles.\u00a0 This is particularly significant because Graves thrives in a world where larger than life egos are not only standard, but expected (think Maria Callas).<\/p>\n

When asked how she maintains her footing in the heady world of opera, Denyce is quick and blunt with her response.\u00a0 \u201cFor me, it\u2019s conscious,\u201d she says without missing a beat.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s also home training.\u00a0 My mom used to always teach us to respect everybody.\u00a0 David [her husband] and I have embraced the ideology that each person\u2019s spiritual path is as glorious as the next.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter what you do in your life.\u00a0 Each being here has equal value.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a very sensitive person,\u201d she continues.\u00a0 \u201cAnd my feelings are hurt very easily.\u00a0 I really have no tolerance when people are mean and rude and that really hurts me as a person\u2026I take issue when people are unkind.\u00a0 This business has traditionally had the air of elitism.\u00a0 I\u2019m opposed to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not quite the kind of attitude that one would expect from a woman who has performed at the White House twice and enthralled scores of wealthy opera patrons around the globe, but Graves, along with her husband of the last 7 years, David Perry, is crafting a bold new model for a career in opera.\u00a0 A model which borrows heavily from successful models in popular music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been entrepreneurial for many years now,\u201d she says proudly.\u00a0 \u201cSome years ago, I was complaining to my husband about how unfair things were and he said to me, `Denyce, you\u2019re either going to complain about it or you\u2019re going to do something to change it.\u2019\u00a0 That\u2019s when Carmen Productions was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Carmen Productions, the production company formed by Denyce and her husband, has,\u00a0thus far, produced Denyce Graves: A Cathedral Christmas<\/em>, which\u00a0 airs annually on PBS and Black Entertainment Television, and Angels Watching Over Me<\/em>, a recording of spirituals co-produced with NPR Classics.\u00a0 In the works is Portrait of an American Diva<\/em>, a documentary about the singer\u2019s life as well as an autobiographical book chronicling Graves\u2019 rise to operatic stardom.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne has to become business-minded,\u201d Graves offers.\u00a0 \u201cBecause of that we decided to stretch outside the opera circle.\u00a0 After the success of The Three Tenors<\/em> [Pavarotti, Domingo, Carreras] and with some of the pop artists starting to do classical things, we thought why don\u2019t we try to break out of this mold and go broader.\u00a0 That is where the movie, the book and all these irons that we have in the fire began.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fully aware of the vagaries of instant notoriety and fame, Graves acknowledges the challenges that lie ahead of her. \u201cOne has to also think\u2026that there will come a day when the phone will stop ringing and you have to prepare for that.\u00a0 Those are the kinds of things they don\u2019t teach in the conservatory.\u00a0 There\u2019s always another beautiful, bright mezzo around the corner, so you have to stay on top of it.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I have so much respect for [Placido] Domingo and those guys because they have been doing it for thirty years at a high level of excellence.\u00a0 That\u2019s what makes someone great.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a hard-fought climb to the top of her profession,Gravesis clearly intent upon staying there.\u00a0 \u201cWe are working all the time and always trying to move forward.\u201d\u00a0 She says with a laugh when I question her about her hectic schedule.\u00a0 \u201cI see that there\u2019s a tremendous amount of work to be done and there is so much that I want to do.\u00a0 I don\u2019t really feel that I\u2019ve arrived.\u00a0 I feel that I\u2019m en route.\u00a0 I\u2019m still working my way there\u2026I think the work is ongoing and I\u2019m definitely a work in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

And what work it is.\u00a0 Determined to give her very best, Graves spends at least five months, and often more, preparing for a new role going through what she describes as a \u201cpainstaking and arduous process\u201d.\u00a0 Given her propensity to take on new roles that will boldly expand her rapidly growing repertoire, this is certainly an almost constant exercise for Graves, who seems to have something akin to fearlessness when it comes to taking on new roles.\u00a0 However, while she is fearless,Gravesis also cautious not to push herself too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not panicky.\u00a0 I don\u2019t feel like I have to try to do everything.\u00a0 I learn the material when I learn the material and perform it when the time is right.\u00a0 When it\u2019s right for the voice and when it\u2019s right for me.\u00a0 I have had lots of offers to do Verdi and Wagner and we say \u2018No\u2026No\u2026No\u2026Not right now.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 She says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>At a point when her career couldn\u2019t get much hotter,Graves has the carriage and confidence of woman who\u2019s been through hell and walked out the other side with a story to tell.\u00a0 However, despite all of her present success and the seemingly endless stream of offers,Graves continues to see her share of pitfalls and challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day I\u2019m challenged,\u201d She offers as she gingerly cuts into her grilled chicken breast. \u201cSo often you stand alone\u2026So many times you will find that you have to stand alone against conductors, against directors, against the establishment, against what people perceive as what they want to see you doing or what other people think you should be doing\u2026all of that stuff can work it\u2019s way in and become poisonous or cancerous on some levels.\u00a0 It really takes knowing your instrument, having a good relationship with a voice teacher or coach and just going for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis particular profession is steeped in protocol and tradition.\u00a0 It is not the wish of everyone that I work with and everyone that I have to work with that I\u2019m there.\u00a0 That\u2019s for sure!\u00a0 In fact, there are those who work very hard to prevent any good from happening,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

In order to deal with those who work against her,Graves reaches back to the spirituality that was such a part of her formative years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother used to say to me, `Whenever something bad happens to you, that\u2019s just Satan getting in the way, trying to stop something good from happening, that\u2019s all.\u00a0 Just know that something good is about to happen and that Satan is trying to block that.\u2019\u00a0 That has been the source of a lot of my strength.\u00a0 I also get a lot of strength from the women that have come before me.\u00a0 I\u2019m here because of the blood of those women.\u00a0 I acknowledge that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The time is drawing nigh for Graves\u2019 rehearsal with the Los Angeles Opera where she will, once again, join Placido Domingo for several performances of Samson and Dalila<\/em>.\u00a0 As our interview winds down, I ask her what she would want people to say about her at the end of the day.\u00a0 Being the homegrown diva that she is, she says, after the briefest of pauses, \u201cThat I\u2019m a good person who values life and who appreciates life.\u201d\u00a0 Period.<\/p>\n

Not even a mention of her dominating the role of Carmen, not that she was the pre-eminent mezzo-soprano of her day, not even that she was a spectacularly gifted singer whose voice changed people\u2019s lives with its majesty.\u00a0 Just \u201ca good person\u201d.\u00a0 True to form, Denyce Graves further illustrates with this final remark that she is the woman next door, with the voice and generosity of spirit that is larger than life.\u00a0 A true diva for the new millennium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by duane wells It is not ordinary for an opera singer to experience a rise as meteoric as that of Denyce Graves, but, then again, there is nothing quite ordinary about the woman herself.\u00a0 No ordinary diva\u2026No ordinary mezzo-soprano\u2026No ordinary human being\u2026Denyce Graves is, in a word, extraordinary.\u00a0 An elegant and refined creature marked with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88889,"featured_media":1002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1590,1588],"tags":[1133,1143,1147,1597,1598],"class_list":["post-994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","category-culture","tag-entertainment","tag-interview","tag-music","tag-classical","tag-denyce-graves"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88889"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=994"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1004,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/994\/revisions\/1004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theduanewells.com\/staging3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}