From Colombia to Milan
We continue to introduce you to the singers who will receive their diplomas at La Scala on November 8 at the end of the specialization course for opera singers: today we find out more about Andrea Niño, a Colombian mezzo-soprano engaged in La Cenerentola for Children.
Andrea, in La Cenerentola for Children you play the protagonist. But how close do you feel to the character?
Sometimes I feel very close to Angelina, Rossini's Cinderella; however, I have a more explosive personality and much less submissive. I would never have her patience to put up with everything.
How did this experience go?
I had already debuted the full part in Spain. So at the beginning of this adventure for the “Great Operas for Little Ones” project, I was a bit uncomfortable with the cuts made to the score so that it would be suitable for little ones. Eventually, however, I saw that it is wonderful how this reduction was designed for children; it really works very well and they are a fantastic audience.
There are so many countries where it is not possible to create this closeness to young people, not because of any real impediments but just because there is a belief that the opera is aimed and intended only for a certain kind of audience-usually not so young but very wealthy. Instead, it is essential to educate the audience early so that they are audiences for a long time.
I would like to see such adaptations in my country as well.
You come from Colombia. How much is European cultured music heard there?
Colombia obviously has a strong tropical music tradition, while opera-as a genre to be enjoyed-is not as widespread. However, my country boasts a large number of opera singers: in Bogotá alone, which is my city, there are 500!
Every year the number of people interested in this genre grows and together the competitiveness grows: they all hope, of course, to make a career. This climate is very fruitful, the desire for classical music increases, and ideas are born for projects to bring the public closer together. Universities are working hard to produce festivals. There is a very important one called Ópera al Parque, during which works created by conservatories and universities are staged. Participating in this festival is very important, for us Colombian opera singers, because it is an opportunity to debut roles and gain experience. For me, participating in it is crucial to get to the level required by the La Scala Academy.
In short, Colombia is on the right track to open up totally to this genre, I feel it.
But how did you decide on this career?
I've never been a lover of reggaeton or salsa, our more typical genres; I don't have a tropical soul, let's say, but instead I'm an avid rocker and I especially love symphonic metal. I really love when heavy metal blends with classical music, a valuable combination. My favorite band is Nightwish, which I have been listening to for many years; the first time I heard them I was enchanted.
I was already studying piano and singing in the choir in different genres - Latin American music, jazz and folk. Then I started, almost for fun, to imitate the singer and found and experimented with a “comfortable” technique, suitable for my vocal cords. Listening to her, I felt pleasure in my soul. But by imitating her, the pleasure also became physical, that is, I felt comfortable, my voice was fine and everything came naturally to me. That's how I approached opera.
I went to a Colombian maestro who proposed my first opera arias and opened a world to me. So I decided, also advised by him, to present myself at the Conservatorio de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia and from there it all started. Thanks to my conservatory studies I then won the most important competitions in my country and a scholarship for a master's degree at Liceu, my springboard to Europe. Then, again, Domingo's Opera Studio in Valencia and eventually La Scala. I never thought I would make it this far!
The first time at La Scala was on the occasion of our competition. What did you feel?
Of course I came in nervous, tense. Competitions are always stressful, and singing at La Scala is not every day. You feel a certain weight, double in my case as a foreigner.
But when I was there, on the stage, in front of the hall, I wanted to cancel everything.
I told myself that it didn't matter that there was a competition or that there was a jury, the only thing of value was being at La Scala and enjoying the moment. I really think I sang like never before or since, that I gave my best because I was able to erase all the context from my head. And then a kind of disruptive artistic instinct came out. I knew that if it didn't go well I would be in trouble even with my residence permit and that maybe I would have to leave Italy and Europe, losing the chance to perfect myself in the cradle of opera. I'm not saying it was really the only opportunity, but I certainly wouldn't have had many more. So I gave two hundred percent and inside I felt I had to “eat” the jury.
And in the end it was a national success, not just a personal one, because I am absolutely the first Colombian singer to be admitted to this, which is not just any academy, it is a legendary institution!
Would you recommend the same thing, that is, estrangement, to those who want to attempt this competition?
I would say first of all to arrive at the rehearsals with the repertoire that suits your voice but also your age, and then to check the Scala Season. Often people enter the competition without thinking about the scheduling of performances and then what they will have to perform for two years.
Here, I would say this and arm yourself with peace of mind, to really enjoy the moment.
Now that you are at the end of your time at the Academy, do you think the two-year course reflected your expectations well?
I'll be honest: a judgment in relation to my expectations is difficult, because this two-year course was “ruined” by the health emergency. So my path here was very different from that of other singers I knew who attended this school previously. My classmates and I went a year without productions; we missed this big slice of experience. I obviously would have liked to be engaged in theater and have the audience.
But I can just as sincerely say that not a single second of our time was wasted even under these adverse circumstances. I have learned a lot, I have grown in these two years, and I am glad to be here.
And then the quality of the teaching is very high, really first class! We are surrounded by absolute professionals who help us become better singers, better musicians, and better artists, and they all have a level we have never experienced before in academic settings. Also, let's not forget the flip side, a silver lining: the pandemic and lockdown provided an opportunity to study calmly and thus to put more roles into the repertoire, precisely because they were free from the pressing pace of rehearsals and performances.
And to also devote himself to Italian, the language of music....
Yes! Here we study Italian with a very good teacher, Alessia Benenti, one of my favorites. The lessons are very important, because they really allow us to learn how to speak the Italian language, not just daily grammar exercises. So we understand better the lyrics we have to sing, and by knowing better the correct pronunciation, we can also modify our way of singing and make it more suitable.
Besides, as you say, Italian is really the language of music. Right now, for example, I am in Germany for a full version of Cinderella at the Bonn Theater, with Leonardo Muscato, the director who just brought Il barbiere di Siviglia to La Scala. All the artists involved communicate in Italian. Other colleagues who are involved in the German area also told me that the first language used in rehearsals is Italian. So it is really essential for us to learn it.
What role would you like to tackle and on what stage?
Thanks to the Academy I have been able to prepare five roles over the past two years, but the one I really want to play is that of Rosina. And then, another dream role, but one for which I have to wait until my voice is more mature, is that of Charlotte, Werther's muse. This is a character I have right in my heart and if it were up to me, the way I feel, I would sing it today. But I trust my teachers, who have told me that I still need time before tackling this heavier repertoire. Besides, although I am quite impulsive and passionate, I wouldn't do something that could ruin my voice just on my whim.
Singing is also about being patient!
Instead, a theater in particular, as a landing point, I never thought of. I am not a very ambitious person in that sense. I just like to make quality music with real professionals who also have strong people skills and are able to create a warm environment, obviously with a financial return so that I can live off the music. I don't think it's important where you sing, to be a good musician, but it's important to do it well at a high level, and there are wonderful artists even outside the circle of the big halls.
Being a singer, you certainly have a quirk: confess which one.
Ah yes, I am really manic about rehearsal and warming up! I have a very particular routine that my speech therapist recommended and that takes me at least forty-five minutes, not to sing everything in voice but to bring the voice to wake up slowly.
I also love to read texts that talk about the physiology of the throat and the vocal cords, I want to know everything about how they work - also because they are extremely delicate and a singer has to know how to take care of them.
Then I have another madness: I always analyze how people talk. When I talk to someone I instinctively think about how they are using their voice, their breathing, their mouth, their nose... and then I describe everything to my boyfriend!
