The search for that perfect note
The Irish Sunday Independent
14 October 2001
Ciara Dwyer meets rising opera star Rosa Lee Thomas, the LA soprano who
has
recently discovered the art of walking
ON A crisp autumnal day, Rosa Lee Thomas sits outside London's Angel tube
station looking more like a fragile French film star than a big bosomy
opera singer. Horror of horrors, the soprano is bare-necked. Not a scarf
in
sight. How dare she not live up to the stereotype. "I am so excited about
going to Limerick!" she says, referring to her forthcoming tour in Carmen
and Turandot. "Limerick?" I repeat, checking that I have heard her
correctly. "Just the name of the place," she twinkles, "My friends and
I
are always making up dirty limericks."
In the cafe, she orders a chunk of chocolate cake, relishing the sinful
calories. Some performers may treat their bodies like temples but this
soprano is a firm believer in indulgence and fun. She is delightfully down
to earth. Rosa Lee was born in Korea but grew up in Los Angeles. As she
speaks, her conversation is peppered with rising inflections and positive
LA sounds. There was no great operatic tradition in the Thomas household.
Rosa's grandfather had been a pop singer and had toured all over Korea
and
China. "I was only four or five. I told my mother that I wanted piano
lessons and then I took them. I played Beethoven, Mozart, Bach. That was
my
background in classical music."
Rosa's father was an accountant. When it was time for her to go to
university, she followed in his practical footsteps. "I started out as
a
business major. I was going to be sensible." Two things happened. Rosa
realised that business school did not bring out the best in her. "It was
just so beyond my grasp. I didn't understand anything. I am not a dumb
person, but it was something I just didn't get. One course in economics,
another in computer programming. It went, woosh, right over my head."
As a balance to her business studies, Rosa had joined the university's
choir. Her love of music began to take over. In the end, she was lured
from
doing a sensible business degree to studying music. Her new-found joy was
lost on her parents. "They were livid," she laughs. "I remember thinking
'I'm sure I can make a living doing something. I'll be a waitress. If not,
I'll just be a leech off my parents for the rest of my life."'
Rosa may have ditched business studies but her brain still works in
practical ways. As she talks about her route to becoming a soprano, it
is
clear that it was as much a process of elimination as anything else. "When
I was a little girl I always wanted to be an actress. But I didn't pursue
that. In Hollywood you have to be so beautiful. When I was in high school
I
thought about doing musical theatre. But I thought it was limiting, as
it's
very oriented towards type casting. There's South Pacific, The King and
I,
and later, Miss Saigon ... and that's it. I know there's some cross-casting
but in general you have to look the part. I didn't see myself cast as
Laurie in Oklahoma. Personally, I'm not sure if I could pull it off."
But seeing the Barber of Seville changed everything. "I loved it. My God,
you could act, you could sing, you could wear big frocks ... and [there
was] an orchestra. I was hooked. One performance and that was it. There
was
no going back." So, Rosa began on the long, bumpy road of training to
become an opera singer. "It was a gamble. A lot of people didn't believe
in
me. In fact, more people didn't believe in me than did. But I was so
convinced that I could do this and so convinced that I had to do this.
I
loved it. My voice teachers believed in me so intrinsically. They said
'Look, you just need to work on your craft. You can do it.' They believed
in me because I believed in it so fiercely. Sometimes the determination
is
more important than the actual raw talent."
Developing a career as an opera singer is a slow process. Rosa is still
introducing herself to the opera world, whilst working on her languages
Italian, German, French and keeping in good condition. Three and a half
years ago, she moved to London. It was a bit of a culture shock for her.
"People walk. In LA we drive everywhere. The minute I got here, I had to
give all my high-heeled shoes to Oxfam." Rosa oozes confidence. But this
is
as we talk in a café. Does she suffer from nerves while on stage?
"No, I
can't say I do," she says and laughs at her lack of human frailties.
And then, Rosa Lee Thomas licks the last spoon of her chocolate cake and
gets up to leave. She hands me her card. Complete with a photo, a website
(www.TheOperaSinger.com) and a catchy e-mail address La Divina. Nobody
could accuse this soprano of not giving it her best shot.
Vissi d'arte ... all for art.
Ellen Kent and Opera International present Bizet's Carmen and Puccini's
Turandot, Dublin, National Concert Hall, Monday Oct 15; Carmen, Tuesday
Oct
16; Turandot, Cork Opera House, Friday Oct 19; Carmen, Saturday Oct 20;
Turandot, Limerick University Concert Hall, Sunday Oct 21; Turandot, Monday
Oct 22; Carmen, Tuesday Oct 23.
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=42&si=577526&issue_id=5841