Flicka

If you are an opera buff, you will know who the title refers to, and after observing the sold out Master Class she gave at the San Francisco Conservatory which began at 7:30 p.m. on April 12, 2011. By the end of the session, it was close to 10:15 p.m., we felt like we knew her well enough to call her by her nickname. She is a lady that has had an amazing opera career and exudes a warmth that goes directly against the stereotype of diva.

We watched in amazement as Frederica von Stade coached singers on stage, with a devoted opera audience of 150-200 people in attendance. The master class agenda indicated that five singers and one alternate would be coached. As each one came to center stage, graced with one grand piano and one collaborative keyboardist, Kristin Pankonin, they sang their selected aria for Flicka and for us. The selections were by well-known dead composers Handel, Mozart, Gounod and Menotti, plus one by Steward Wallace, still living.

German never sounded so beautiful as when Kelsey Harris sang "Ach, ichs Fuhl's" from Die Zauberflote. Each time we heard the natural instrument these fine artists, we wondered what Flicka could possibly improve? Her coaching style was incredibly warm and supportive, always staring with a genuine compliment. Her recurring theme for the night was to encourage each singer to employ the tool of "singing softly", not only to protect their voice, so they too can have as long and successful career, but to engage the audience with emotional complexity of a role presentation.

As a special guest, Flicka's good friend, mezzo-soprano Zheng Cao, came to the stage to lend her counsel to Yang Hai who sang "She Wanted the Mink". Cao debuted this in the role of Ruth and Liu Ling in the SF Opera world premier of The Bonesetter's Daughter in 2008. Ms. Cao will be a guest on honor at LVO's 20th Anniversary Celebration event on January 28, 2012.

Mezzo-soprano Sara Couden, who was Mamma Lucia in LVO's fall 2009 production of Cavalleria Rusticana was the alternate, and even thought the hour was late, Flicka allowed her to sing her electrifying rendition of "I Am Afraid" from Menotti's The Medium.