by Samantha Spaccasi
From the time she was able to speak, Lauren Eberwein sang. “I was the kid in the corner singing her thoughts to herself, or dancing around the playground writing my own musicals in my head, narrating my life through song,” the mezzo-soprano said in an email. Eberwein will be featured in Kurt Weill songs in the first of her three ChamberFest Cleveland programs tonight, June 16, at 6:30 and 8:30 at the Bop Stop.
Though music was always a part of the Canadian-American singer’s childhood, she didn’t start formal classical vocal training until her late teens. After her family moved to Saint Paul, she joined a youth opera choir through Minnesota Opera’s Project Opera. Eberwein continued her studies with Mikael Eliasen at the Curtis Institute of Music. “He saw something in me, invested in my development, and presented me with countless opportunities to learn and create,” she said. “My career really began at Curtis. I performed as a soloist with a few orchestras in the area, and made my North American operatic debut at Opera Philadelphia during my final year at school.” In the email, Eberwein expressed gratitude for her alma mater. “I wouldn’t be the artist I am today without it. Artistically and musically speaking, Curtis raised me,” she said.
For the singer, who is a member of the Canadian Opera Company’s Studio Ensemble, opera is a fascinating art form. “As an interpreter, you can never be bored,” she said. “It’s truly an all-encompassing and interdisciplinary art form, combining all of the theatrical arts.”
As much as she loves opera, performing at ChamberFest gives her the opportunity to switch artistic gears. During her first summer in residence at the Marlboro Music Festival, Eberwein was invited to perform at ChamberFest, but had to cancel her appearance last year for health reasons. She said that she’s “thrilled and thankful to be here this summer,” as chamber music is a passion of hers. “It’s a joyously collaborative art form, and for a singer, it’s such a treat,” she said. “It’s intimate, full of adventure, and we get to let our interpretive intelligence loose. In the chamber music world, I am able to explore the music and create with total freedom.”
The singer is most excited to undertake Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments on June 20, where she will perform the piece twice alongside violinists Alexi Kenney and Yura Lee, with visuals created by filmmaker Kasumi. She will exhibit her Sprechstimme skills during Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire on June 26.
Eberwein also had some advice for younger musicians: “Don’t wait for someone to tell you how to create. Be your own artist. Follow your own compass and trust your intuition. Make the music because you love it, just remember to share the love.”
Published on ClevelandClassical.com June 16, 2017.
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