A Conversation with Amanda Forsythe, Part 1

Abstract

A Conversation with Amanda Forsythe, Part 1 Leslie Holmes (bio) THE VOCAL POINT Soprano Amanda Forsythe, who specializes in Baroque and early Classical music, has performed around the world. She has been highly praised by Opera News for her "light and luster" and "wonderful agility and silvery top notes." She has sung with over 16 early music groups, plus opera companies such as Covent Garden, Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich), Die Komische Oper (Berlin), and the Rossini Festival in Pesaro. Amanda has been a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, The New York Philharmonic, among others. Of her performance of Jemmy in Guillaume Tell, one critic wrote, "the best singing of this crucial part I've ever encountered." Her recent solo CD of Handel arias has received wide critical acclaim. Click for larger view View full resolution Amanda Forsythe Leslie Holmes: Talking with Amanda Forsythe, May 18, 2022—my sister's birthday. You are in the midst of an amazing career and I'm so happy for you, because of it. Covid has certainly not been helpful, I'm sure. Amanda Forsythe: No. Actually, the pandemic has been hard for careers, but, I think, for my mental health it was a reprieve from a very busy time. The two years previous, 2018 and 2019, I'd been traveling a lot, working a lot. This, sort of, forced vacation ended up being a great thing for me. I'd moved houses recently … I'd gotten a divorce … so it gave me some time to be in my new space. The most wonderful thing was being able to spend time with my kids, who were home schooling for a year. LH: They must be about 10 and … AF: 10 and 12. Two boys, fourth grade and sixth grade, very different interests, but both musical. LH: That's nice. AF: Yeah, they both recently have taken an interest [in music]. They've been taking piano lessons since they were little kids, but neither of them really had any great affection for the piano. Then, we enrolled my older son in the Handel and Haydn Youth Chorus, which he's been doing this year. So, he's developed an [End Page 255] interest in singing. Also, through his public school they do instruments. He's started the violin at school. Sarah Darling, a local treasure, has been giving him violin lessons. He's doing well. Actually, both my kids are doing a production of Pirates of Penzance. This is supposed to be about me, and I'm telling you about my kids. [laughs] LH: But you see, this is the kind of thing that people love to read in the Journal. It is such human interest, instead of about technique or kinds of music. The readers love those items, too, but they really enjoy having some intimate ideas about who singers really are in their personal lives. It's very important to hear about your children. AF: They are a very important and influential part of my career and my decision making. I would have also liked to be in Pirates, but you had to be in the eighth grade or younger. [laughs] LH: Mabel is a wonderful role. I performed it when my husband was in medical school. AF: Yeah, I would love to sing that. Actually, my son wanted to sing Mabel, but he got cast as the Major General. LH: She [Mabel] walks on stage and says something like, "Yes. 'Tis Mabel," with lots of roulades. It is quite an entrance. When you were growing up did you play an instrument? AF: I played the piano, and I still play the piano fairly badly, but enough that I can read through music that I'm learning. Actually, I think playing the piano badly has, somehow, helped my memorization process. Because I really have to stop and stumble, and figure everything out, I go much more slowly and, somehow, this lodges it into my brain. That's my theory, anyway. I think people who are very good sight-readers have a hard time memorizing. LH: Yes, I did. I could sight...