This interview was originally recorded on May 24th, 2022. 
The Oral History Project is supported by the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation. 

Diana Soviero, soprano

Soprano Diana Soviero sang for more than 40 years on the world’s leading stages, earning a reputation an incisive singing actress, particularly in verismo repertoire. In the past decade, she has dedicated herself to teaching, serving as a voice faculty member of Mannes School of Music and giving masterclasses across the country

Transcript

Marc: 

Diana Soviero, thank you so much for being with me today, to contribute to our oral history project, as we document opera over the last half century. It's been a fantastic set of conversations and I'm so glad to include you in it. 

Diana Soviero: 

Thank you. I'm honored to be here. 

Marc: 

We'll have fun here, but I'm not gonna spare you, as I ask everybody the same first question, which is who brought you to your first opera? 

Diana Soviero: 

My family - my father, my mother. I think I was nine years old, and I went to see Tosca with (Renata) Tebaldi and (Franco) Corelli, and we were up in the peanut gallery, and I had this long ponytail and I kept leaning over to try to get on the stage. And my father kept pulling my ponytail back and said, "If you don't stop it, Diana, you're gonna fall over". And I wanted to be on there so bad, and after I got that feeling, my father and mother took me, and we used to stand outside in line. And one evening we were going to see (I think it was) Aida with (Leontyne) Price and Corelli, and all of a sudden a limo pulls up and out comes, Franco Corelli, and he waved to us - we were in line waiting - and he had boxes of pastries, and he passed out pastries to us, because we were in line in the cold. We were waiting to get in. He was so gentil, unbelievable, but that's how I got to the theater. 

Marc: 

And from that first Tosca (with a very good cast) did opera take hold? Was it something that took a hold of you, and then went to see it? And it galvanized you as wanting opera? 

Diana Soviero: 

Definitely. My family were immigrants. My father was an immigrant, coming in from Italy. He was born in the United States, but everybody, my grandfather...My great-grandfather, Pietro was first viola for Mascagni, and music was in my family's blood. One day, I was in my living room at the piano, and my father put on The Met broadcast and it was Rigoletto, and I started singing and my father said, "Boy, that soprano on the broadcast sounds like you". And I said, "Dad, it is me. I'm singing with the soprano". He says, "You what? Are you serious? Do you wanna do this?" And then we went backstage after the Tosca with Tebaldi, and we were allowed at that time to go backstage, and we waited in line to see Renata Tebaldi, and we got in to see her and she saw me and said to me, "Young lady, young lady, what do you wanna be when you grow up?" I said, "I wanna be just like you". And she kissed me on the cheek, and she said, (sing-song voice) "You have a lot of work to do" - just like that. And I said, "I know, I know". And that was it. That was the kiss of Tebaldi. And years after every performance, I would go backstage to try to get in to see her, and she just was the inspiration for me to go forward. 

Marc: 

Wow. And so beautiful. Now I sang along with the radio too, but no one ever told me that I should pursue opera. So who's the first person who said, "You know, Diana, you really have the talent". 

Diana Soviero: 

I think it was my first voice teacher. I was 13 years old at prep school at Juilliard. I was very fortunate because when I was young at 13 years old, I said to my father, "I wanna be a singer, but you know, I have to play the piano". And my father said, "What?" So I said, "Yeah, I wanna take piano lessons". And that's how I got into Juilliard: I was piano minor to get into Juilliard. My voice teacher was Florence Berggren, who was the assistant of the chair of the voice department, Marion Freschel, who was the guru of gurus at Juilliard. And I started to sing with Florence and I started, of course, on all the Lieder. Every book... I had to learn the Marchesi Vocalises, the Lutgen. Oi, yoi, yoi. No one sang in my day. We only had exercises. And one day I memorized everything and I'll tell you why...after. I memorized everything, and one day she said to me, "If you continue like this, you know, some day you could have your wish come true. You could become a singer, you know?" And I think it was that indication that made me work so hard. And, I have to interject this, and I'll make it as short as I can. When I was a child, I had a few things that were not correct. I had attention deficit disorder that was not diagnosed, and I was dyslexic. And when I was in school as young kid, I knew the answers to everything, but when I wrote it down, my teachers noticed that it was not right. And my mother went to school and my mother didn't know - we didn't know dyslexia and attention, whatever. I was very high-strung as a child, of course: what else is new? And I was so embarrassed that someone would discover that I was making mistakes, that I memorized everything. I worked from an orchestra score my whole life, and knew the instruments that were accompanying me and everything, that when I had my first orchestra reading with a conductor, I closed the book. The conductor was shocked, and I said, "It's okay, maestro; I'm ready". And that's why when I give master classes, I tell the kids, "I became whatever I was in the opera world, but I had problems, as a child. I had to work so hard to have people know that I could get up and sing without making a mistake. Well...(uses hands to signal dubiety...) 

Marc: 

And isn't it the case that sometimes the problems force us to be better than we would otherwise have been. 

Diana Soviero: 

Yes, yes, yes. 

Marc: 

Remarkable. So you had a teacher when you were young at Juilliard say, "You know, Diana, if you keep working like this, you might be able to be a singer". When did YOU think 'I really could do this'? 

Diana Soviero: 

Okay. I know when. I think it was in 1964. (Now I have to be careful, 'cause I may make a mistake). I was 22, 'cause I'm 80 years old now. 

Marc: 

I wanna look as beautiful as you do when I'm 80. 

Diana Soviero: 

Yeah; right. With no surgery, but just hard work. Anyway, my piano teacher, who was Martin Rich, who was the associate conductor of The Metropolitan Opera back then. He was working with Florence Berggren, my teacher at Juilliard, and he said to me one day, "You know, there's a competition with the West Coast Symphony Orchestra in Sarasota, and they're looking for young kids", and I was 22 at that age. I said, "Oh my, I'll be so nervous". "Diana, just sing; relax, sing". So I sang the Sandman aria from you know what? (Hansel and Gretel). And I got the prize, and I was told I was the winner of the competition. And when I heard the applause...I have to interject this, Marc: After the concert, my father and mother drove down to Sarasota with me. They were so excited. And my father, the next morning is looking in the paper for the review. He thought I'd get a review. So all of a sudden I said, "Daddy, Ma, I didn't get any review". My father opens the center of the newspaper, and the center of the newspaper said, 'Move over Maestro, we love Diana'. 

Marc: 

Wow. 

Diana Soviero: 

That was it; to answer your question. I heard that applause. And I said to my parents, "Oh boy, I have a lot of work to do, huh, Mom". She said, "Yes, you do. Yes, you do". 

Marc: 

That's fabulous. That is fabulous. 

Diana Soviero: 

Yeah. I heard the applause. That was it. 

Marc: 

So there we are. Sarasota; a prize. Confidence... 

Diana Soviero: 

Confidence came later, but the nerves? I'd just forgotten I sang. 

Marc: 

So we're looking at Chautauqua in 1969 as Mimì. You know, a wonderful little opera company that has been a place where young talent is discovered and nurtured for decades. How did you get to Chautauqua? 

Diana Soviero: 

Very, very strange. Again, Martin Rich, the conductor, was playing one day and I was singing 'Mi chiamano Mimì'. I was, oh my gosh. I was like 27 around there at that age, and he said to my teacher, "You know, I'm conducting Bohème at Chautauqua", and Florence looked at him and she said to him, "What are you talking about?"...like giving him the eye, you know, like, don't you dare... And he said, "I want Diana to sing her first Mimì". And Florence said, "She's too young; she's too young". Now, I'm telling you the age...27... They were nervous that I was singing Bohème, okay? So maestro looked at her and said, "Florence, I'm conducting; she'll be fine". And that was the opening of it. And then after that I had performances, performances, performances. Grew up there practically all the time. I sang Pagliacci. Jerry Hadley and I did Faust together - that was his first performance, so we grew up together, all of us. We were all at Chautauqua. Oh my God. Karan Armstrong - all of us, we were there. We're all the same age. And her I am announcing my age, like an idiot. But anyway... 

Marc: 

How fabulous. Those relationships. I mean, with teachers, with the coaches who believe in you, who make some connections for you, it's just a story I hear again and again. How the interested teacher picks up a phone or says, "I want you to take this next step". And then, soon thereafter, you're at New York City Opera. 1973, you make your debut at City Opera at just such a moment in that company's history. It was a hotbed of the best American talent. 

Diana Soviero: 

Everybody was so talented. Oh my, I was one of many. You and I can go down the list of Carol Neblett, Maralin Niska, (Ricky) Enrico Di Giuseppe, Sam (Samuel Ramey): classy, all of us. We were all there. All there at the time when Maestro Rudel trained us. We weren't allowed to...oh my gosh. If I can tell you all the stuff...You know, then, a lot of the operas were done in English. So we had to have perfect diction, and he would just go like this (hand hooked behind ear), "What did you say? What did you say?" And we had to enunciate and we couldn't look to the left; we couldn't look to the right. The City Opera, you know, was built originally for ballet. So the acoustics were sometimes... 

Marc: 

...always a problem, always a problem. 

Diana Soviero: 

And we all had to have voices that projected, in those days. But Julius took care of us. Oh my goodness. Amazing. I have stories that go back...in performance...unbelievable. 

Marc: 

And of course at that time, there were many fewer opera companies in the United States, and of course with City Opera doing 10, 20 titles a year, you could do multiple roles and just build your repertoire and live in New York in those old City Opera days. 

Diana Soviero: 

American. We were the American opera company at that time. You know, one night we did Traviata. I did Violetta, and at The Met, they had Traviata. So the critics would go, "Well tonight, we'll hear what's going on over at City Opera, and then we'll go to The Met to see what's happening over there". I was there for 10 years, I think at City Opera. 

Marc: 

Yeah. And of course, with Beverly (Sills) there, they were amazing years. 

Diana Soviero: 

Well, Beverly was my mentor, really. Because when she took over, I was ready to leave to go to Europe. And she said to me, "You're not going anywhere yet, dear". So I said, "Why?" And she said, "Because you're gonna do the new production of Pearl Fishers, ha, ha". And I said, "What?" So that's where Jerry, Diana, Dominic Cossa...so we did the new production. And after that we did - oh my gosh, I'm trying to think of all the other stuff we did - and then I went off to Europe for almost six years or whatever. And then every year, I sang in a different opera company. I was very fortunate. Every year...one year I would be at La Scala. Then I would be in Berlin; I would be in Hamburg; then in Barcelona, and then in Argentina and then come back, so I was lucky in those days, because we were not - how can I say this? (There were) not as many singers as we have today. So we all were placed by our agents in an area where they had (contacts). CAMI...I was with CAMI for a long time. And we had about, I would say, eight or nine sopranos that I had to...and then I was cover of the year sometimes, and I would say, "Oh, I have to cover...". Thank goodness that I covered, 'cause every time I covered, I sang the opening night. Every time I covered Pagliaci at the City Opera, I sang. 

Marc: 

You know, I think we have to launch an investigation here. 

Diana Soviero: 

Even The Met - my debut wasn't scheduled. I was covering Cecilia Gasdia, and I had done the production with Bernard (Uzan) in Montreal. And I did the Romeo and Juliet (with the Potion aria), and when Plácido (Domingo) conducted his first performance, it was with me singing Juliette. And I had the rehearsal with Alfredo Kraus, and he didn't know me. So we started to sing 'Ange adorable'...(she marks), and we got to the section... and he turned to me, and he went, "I'll see you tonight". So I had to be approved by the king. 

Marc: 

Oh my goodness. 

Diana Soviero: 

By the king. And then I have to tell you this briefly. I was on stage...so nervous... my debut, and he pushed me forward, (whispering) "Diana, sing out. It's your debutant". I was trying to sing to him in the love duet. "No, Diana, Diana, sing fuori; canta fuori". Oh. A jewel. 

Marc: 

What a great colleague. 

Diana Soviero: 

Amazing. What a performance that was. And afterwards, I don't know if my reviews were that great; I don't think they were that great, but I got a five year contract after it, so when I came in on no rehearsal, they figured, "All right, welcome to the club". 

Marc: 

...she knows what she's doing. But you had this incredible grounding. You had done years of role after role at City Opera, companies around the world. So you were just ready. 

Diana Soviero: 

Ready wasn't the word, because...Do you know the story of my debut at The Metropolitan Opera? 

Marc: 

No. 

Diana Soviero: 

About my dad? 

Marc: 

No. 

Diana Soviero: 

Are you ready? 

Marc: 

Sure. 

Diana Soviero: 

I was a student at Juilliard and I got a call from my Dean to come down to Lincoln Center, and I arrived on the subway and my father was in the theater and he was chosen with the company, Mario Catani and company, to do all the ornamental plastering in The Metropolitan Opera, Avery Fisher, City Opera, blah, blah, blah. And I came off the subway into that hole that was going to be The Metropolitan Opera. And I arrived and I couldn't find my father 'cause he was in this plastering outfit. And he said to me, "Put on that helmet, the hard hat, and stand over there where I put that barrel and I want you to sing something". And I said, "Dad, I'm embarrassed. You have all these people watching. I'm not singing". He said, "Diana, just sing la la la la la"... I said, "OK. (sings) 'Un bel di, vedremo'"...I sang Madam Butterfly. After I finished, he said to me, "Come over here; look on the floor. That's called the prompter's box. You just sang and were the first person to sing at Lincoln Center in The Metropolitan Opera. My daughter". And I said, "Oh great, Dad. Bye, I'll see you tonight". It didn't dawn on me for anything. Afterwards, when I made my Met debut, my father was not alive, and Joe Volpe walked me out, and he said, "Diana, you have tears in your eyes". I said, "Yeah, I do". I said, "My father's dream came true". And he said, "Di, what about yours?" And I said, "Well, mine too". But you wanna know the irony of life? The place was so packed. It was full to the brim. There was a seat empty next to my Mom. Talk about (sings 'spirit' music). Can you believe that? So as you say, there was a close feeling of my debut with The Metropolitan Opera. And I worked from a child to however old I was to make that happen. But the work was...I can't even tell you...I never slept. My mother used to bring my dinner to the piano. I had to do it right. 

Marc: 

I'm gonna wanna get to that in a minute, about some of the advice that you would give to singers today - so we'll get there. But following the chronology just a little bit. 1979, you are the second person to win The Richard Tucker Award. It's a brand new program, that Barry (Tucker) had forged. 1978 was the first one, to Rocky (Rockwell) Blake. So what did that mean to you - 1979, this Richard Tucker Award? 

Diana Soviero: 

And to be the first woman to win it. Because I know that, when I had spoken to Mrs. Tucker (to Sara), she had said originally, he wanted it for tenors. 

Marc: 

Oh, interesting. 

Diana Soviero: 

He wanted the tenors, I guess, to have that. And then I remember back then, 'cause I remember Beverly mentioning this to me. She said, "Diana. Tito Capobianco, Julius: we all said no, we want Diana to get it". And when that happened, it turned my whole life around. 

Marc: 

How so? 

Diana Soviero: 

Well, I got noticed by everybody, because in those days, I didn't have publicity. So that was publicity. Big, big publicity to be attached to the Tuckers. I mean, come on, that was big time. It still is. 

Marc: 

It's interesting that, even for you who had been singing for a few years, and singing real roles, getting New York Times reviews for your work, that still getting an award really does make a difference. 

Diana Soviero: 

No kidding. And now we have so many fabulous (competitions). Oh my goodness. Operalia and we have all these other big, big competitions. The Met Competition...wait, I have to tell you. I auditioned for The Met Competition. I didn't even get to the semifinals. 

Marc: 

Good to know; don't give up. 

Diana Soviero: 

My teacher said to me, "Diana, how did you sing?" And I said, "I think I sang, okay". She said, "Well, did they say anything to you?" I said, "Well, they told me I was over-confident". You know what she did? She applauded. She said, "Someday, you'll be there, kiddo. It'll be fine. A little confidence doesn't hurt anybody". 

Marc: 

It's funny, because we've been talking about working with Alfredo Kraus in French repertoire. But if I think about your career, as a supreme Butterfly, but the verismo roles and you are very much associated with one another artistically, and here you are with great Italian heritage. Is it because the verismo just spoke to you culturally? Or is there something about the music, about the characters that really captured your imagination? 

Diana Soviero: 

I think I was attached to the verismo repertoire because I was so involved in the text of everything I sang, and I - how do I say this? - I liked props... The more difficult somebody said the production was, the more I wanted to do it. I carried the Butterfly score for years. And one time I said to my teacher, "Can I sing a little bit Butterfly?" "Diana, put that away". "But I...". "Put that away". "Okay". Two years later, (I) brought the score. "What?" "Put it away". One time she said, "All right, let's sing it". And then I broke down right before the duet with Suzuki. Two years passed, I brought it again. And Madam (Marinka) Gurewich, who I then went to. Now, Florence was Gurewich's assistant. So you can imagine. So I went right with the same technique right up. No fooling around. And she said, "By the way, did you bring that Butterfly?" And I said, "It's right in my briefcase". So she said, "Let's hear it". I finished 'Va. Gioca, gioca' before the death scene. I looked up. She was in tears. My pianist was a disaster, and she closed the book and looked at me, and she said, "Diana, it's time for you to sing Butterfly, because this time you made me cry. You didn't". And that was the rule in those days for the verismo repertoire, because verismo means true life. And I chose characters that were so real because I loved acting. I loved to create, because I think, and I say this very humbly but yet proudly, that I had no problem in my vocal technique. I mean, if I wanted to sing verismo, I sang verismo and I was a soprano. I had high notes, I had low notes and I considered myself a soprano. And after I realized that, I stayed with the verismo, people would say, "Oh, you're a spinto" So I'm a spinto. And I considered myself lyrico spinto, because I could sing Juliette and Gilda and all these roles. And then the verismo repertoire. 

Marc: 

And Violetta, which was a real signature role for you. 

Diana Soviero: 

That's another role; very difficult role. But I studied it. I was on tour with Boris Goldovsky. I was 21 years old singing La Traviata on the bus. We'd get off; we'd do our staging in the gas station. We'd go to the high school. He had the piano, we'd have our dresses on. We had no costumes, and we would sing with the piano. I had 22 performances of Traviata before I even knew I was alive. 

Marc: 

And in my conversation with Sherrill Milnes, he talks about the years with Boris Goldovsky, and just how important it was to do some of his signature roles a hundred times, because it was in the 50th that you began to play with it and make it your own. He speaks so fondly of those Goldovsky years. 

Diana Soviero: 

Well, that was our training. I didn't have the fabulous world that singers have today - that they have all these apprentice programs and all this. I had none of that. I was on tour with this famous man. And we used that as an opportunity to grow as performers. And then when we went on stage, oh my God. It was like...I didn't even think about it. I just enjoyed myself. 

Marc: 

Did you study acting, because you were just a superb actress? Is it something you studied, or did it come naturally to you through the music and the text? 

Diana Soviero: 

I never had an acting lesson in my life. My father would put lights in the garage and make a stage for me, for my family. So I acted for my family and my friends and blah, blah, blah. But I was very fortunate, to have had a vivid imagination, because I remember...don't forget...I'm married 40 years with Bernard, who was my director for 40 years. I mean, so every first role that I did, he did with me in Montreal, and he ran the company. So those productions, he would say, "Uh, uh, not yet; not yet. Okay. Now. Now give it Di, but save it right here. You're doing too much. Your concentration's all over. No, no, no, no, no. Now you need to focus. Now you need to..." I'll say I had no discipline, until he gave me discipline. I mean, Beverly stopped me one day. She says, "Okay, who are you working with? With her - you know how she was - who are you working with?" And I told her who it was. And she said, "Well, keep it up, girl, you look fantastic", because she was there backstage with me for Traviata. And she said, "Wow, you know the role, huh, kiddo?" I said, "Yes, I try. I try". 

Marc: 

And it helps to have a great stage director at home with you, giving you those pointers, on stage and as you developed. Role models. You mentioned Beverly as a mentor, someone you talked to, but whether they were mentors or not, were there people whose careers you admired, whose artistry you wanted to find? Who were they? 

Diana Soviero: 

I admired so much Teresa Stratas. 

Marc: 

Oh yes. 

Diana Soviero: 

We're very good friends, and we watched each other work together on stage. She was doing the Suor Angelica, as I was doing Suor Angelica. And let's not forget Beverly, who helped me in my career. Tebaldi, as I said, and of course, Maria Callas. I mean, I listened and watched everybody. Montserrat Caballé, how to sing piano? I would ask my teacher and she'd say, "Diana, the first three years, no mezzo forte. Nothing; no forte. Sing piano, piano, piano, and then eventualmente, bla. Then you can crescendo, 'cause any idiot can sing loud. And I go, "What?" "Yes. But to make filo di voce? Ahhhhhh", she'd go. "You have to know the dynamics, in singing. The conductors will love you, but if you do not - (waves finger in a negative fashion). 

Marc: 

And those are incredible role models, of course...colleagues from whom you could learn and talk to. It's just fabulous to hear the friendships that you developed through your career. 

Diana Soviero: 

Well, I worked a lot with Carlo Bergonzi. I can go on. I was so lucky, my goodness. (Piero) Cappuccilli and Leo Nucci and Corelli and everybody - to be able to work with these people, and Alfredo Kraus, of course, and may he rest in peace, Marcello Giordani, who I loved so much working with. And so many of my colleagues have now passed away. And, it's just so sad to know that they're not here anymore. 

Marc: 

We've been talking here about all of the inherited repertoire, the wonderful works that we have from Europe, but you've also sung some new opera. 

Diana Soviero: 

Oh yeah. 

Marc: 

Tobias Picker, Jake Heggie. And given your incredible preparation, as you've described it, do you prepare differently for new works that haven't been recorded, that don't have a performance practice, or do you prepare just the same way? 

Diana Soviero: 

Two answers. I prepare, yes, vocally the same way, dramatically the same way, but I am privileged to have had a live Tobias and Jake. I could not talk to Verdi. I could not talk to Giacomo Puccini. I had them to talk to while they were writing, and they wrote for my voice. I know Tobias did because of my role in Thérèse Raquin, but Jake Heggie already had the production (with) Frederica von Stade (who) did the mother in Dead Man Walking, so he knew the roles. 

Marc: 

And it must just be such an incredible experience to realize Giuseppina Strepponi may have talked to Verdi, but you got to talk to a composer about your voice and how it works for you. 

Diana Soviero: 

I know. I would say, "Get that oboe outta my passaggio", and he'd go, "What?" "Get that oboe outta my passaggio". In fact, talking about Giacamo Puccini, his granddaughter became a very good friend of my family. And they gave me...it was was (Arturo) Toscanini's granddaughter, Emanuela Castelbarco, and Biki, Puccini's step granddaughter gave me my opening night party at La Scala after my debut with José Carreras and Cappuccilli and Maestro (Giuseppe) Patanè conducting. It was a night to remember. And afterwards...I had lunch with her, and she said, "Diana, vieni qua, come into the room where Papa did the original Butterfly score". And I went, (intake of breath) "You're going to let me look at that". And she said, "Look at his writings all on top". And in the Italian, it was "Sing this, if you can". It was the entrata, the entrance. And I said, "That son of a gun. He knew how difficult that was to sing. But, I have some beautiful gifts from the family and from Toscanini's family. So I was very, very fortunate in my career. And I wish it to so many young singers that they have the joy of this work that we've been doing, and your help with opera and everything, Marc. Everyone loves you so much. And all the work you've done for opera, nobody has done that. Thank you for that. 

Marc: 

It is a team, team effort. Well, but you're talking about your wish for young singers, and here you are now, emerging as just one of the very important voice teachers. Did you have to learn how to be a teacher? Did it come naturally to you? 

Diana Soviero: 

It happened one day. I was singing Pagliacci at The Met, and I looked to my left and Piero Cappuccilli was throwing things at me in the Commedia, and I looked to my downstage left, and I see all these young people standing in the wings and in Italian, quietly, I said to Piero, "Be careful, don't throw the stool, there's kids over there". And he goes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah". So afterwards, I told the stage manager, I said, "Why are those young people standing there? They could get hurt". "Oh, well, Gail Robinson said, it's okay", because Gail was in charge of the Linderman Program then. And afterwards, she came to the dressing room and she said, "Diana, I told the kids. I'm so sorry to distract you on stage. But I told them to watch you work as an actress, as a singer, blah, blah, blah, so they learn". And she said, "By the way, did you ever do a master class?" And I went, "No". And she said, "Well, I'm asking you to do it". So I saw Maestro (James) Levine and I said, "A masterclass, I don't know what to do". He said, "Di, do you know what's right? Do you know if it's wrong?" "Of course, Maestro" "So tell them". So I did the masterclass. From the masterclass, the Linderman kids, then the private students happened, and blah, blah, blah. Now, 50 kids in my studio, blah, blah, blah. In fact, I just did a masterclass yesterday afternoon for four hours, 

Marc: 

Because, when I interviewed Christine Goerke, Christine really gives you credit for helping her through her vocal problems that she was having and finding this second vocal career as a dramatic soprano. But when I hear your story, you obviously had such a grounding in technique. When you start talking about Vaccai and Marchesi, and all of that stuff, that you had a technique - and draw on that technique - as a voice teacher. 

Diana Soviero: 

Oh yeah, definitely. And to get back to Christine. Christine is so talented. All I had to do Marc, was to reestablish the technique. That's all. And she worked so hard and for a singer like myself, to actually try to hear another person's...I don't wanna say problem, 'cause I don't call it a problem. It was like a vocal misunderstanding. And to try to find students now that are mezzos and they're really sopranos or vice versa is to find out where they can find in the passaggio how to send the air, which direction to send the air, what to use, where the diaphragm helps. What does the diaphragm do? What is appoggia? What is appoggiare in Italian? What is legato? What is an acciacatura? And the kids look at me, they go "What?" But I had to know all that. And to teach today. I have a lot of Asian singers...I have an assistant and I have a secretary to help me, because I have somebody that sits with me, if the singer doesn't speak English very well. So I have a translator that stays with me, because I had to learn Mandarin and I had to learn a little Korean to work. I didn't want them to feel uncomfortable. And it's very difficult, but I love it. And it's our job. All my colleagues, Carol Vaness...we're all teaching, and we've all had fabulous techniques in our day. We all didn't go into vocal trauma and everything to be teaching. And to answer your question, is it hard to (teach)? No, no. It's not difficult to teach. 

Marc: 

And obviously, you find a whole different set of rewards in it; rewards different from performing, but you find it fulfilling. 

Diana Soviero: 

Oh, when my kids...I have about 18 of my students at The Metropolitan Opera...I don't go and I don't vocalize anybody. I don't do that stuff. But when I say that, I go - and one of them wore my costume. I almost fainted. She said, (hysterical) "Diana, I was crying. I was in your costume". I go, "Never mind me. It's your turn now. Create your name in that costume. It's your turn now. I did my job. You're there. Now it's time for you to create that name in that costume". "Okay. Okay". But I'm proud of everybody, even the kids that are not at The Met. If they really work...I cry when I'm teaching sometimes, because I get so emotional when they do something and they go "Miss Soviero, I did it. I did it". But I know. It's fabulous. 

Marc: 

Studying at Juilliard as an early teenager and continuing with your hard work, you were prepared for every step you took. How do you feel about the readiness of the singers you hear these days in competitions and master classes? Are you buoyed by the talent? Do you fret over the lack of preparation? What are your feelings about the new generation of singers? 

Diana Soviero: 

Okay, here we go. I feel, and this is my opinion, that today's preparation is not as strong as ours was. And when I say ours, (I mean) people that were in my generation, because (and I say this, and I don't mean anything negative about it, but it is in the way), we didn't have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. I had the Juilliard library. I didn't have Nico Castel's books. I had to translate everything myself. And that's how I remembered. I didn't have a tape recorder. I was in the stone age. So I had to pay attention. I didn't have a video camera. So I didn't know what I looked like. I had to trust people when I auditioned, because years ago...my mother made my clothes anyway. So I would have, in those days, we had very plain black dress, jewel neck line, long sleeves, below the knee. We all came in. I remember our teachers telling us, "Not too much showing. We have to sell the instrument". But that's how we were raised. Now, today I ask my stepdaughter, Bernard's daughter, Vanessa, who you know, I'm sure - Vanessa Uzan. And I said, "Vanessa, do you have an idea what it is?" She said, "Diana, it's easy to know". I said, "Well, tell me". She said, "It's point and click. Everything's in front of them immediately. So they feel maybe they don't have to work as hard". But I do have students that work like crazy. And in my opinion, they'll make it. But the ones that don't - I don't wanna say don't care, because they care...but it's not hungry enough. I don't think it's hungry enough to do it. 

Marc: 

Well, that gets into my final question, which is, of course you are asked for advice all the time and there must be a core to your advice, a central theme to the advice you give. Clearly hard work is part of that. What else is there? 

Diana Soviero: 

I have three words when I give advice. Are you ready? Listen, react and study. Because if you react, you are listening, because you are reacting to an action. But if you're committing an action, you're committing the character. The character's not there. You're not even listening to the question that you were asked. You're not listening to the music that the composer wrote. You're doing your own shtick. Noooooo. No way. No way. I remember my teacher saying, "Well, you just lost a close friend". I said, "Who died?" She said, "The oboist". I said "The oboist? I don't know him, or her". "I know. But the way you just took the breath in the middle of the phrase that he or she was accompanying you, you held the phrase longer. He couldn't. You made an enemy, Diana. Pay attention to the instrument that is accompanying you. Violinists can rebow; oboists and flutists cannot". And I went "Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding". I better look at that orchestra score again. So listen, react and study. The trittico. 

Marc: 

Yes. The trittico. Diana Soviero, it is a joy to speak with you, and every time I do talk to you, I come away so enlivened by your energy, your commitment. You're remarkable. It's a pleasure to speak with you today. Thank you for being with us. And let's just hope we can see one another in person easily soon. 

Diana Soviero: 

I hope so. My spaghetti dinner is always here. 

Marc: 

Thank you. And congratulations for all the great work you're doing.