On January 11th, 2025, soprano Adela Zaharia will perform for the first timeon the prestigious stage ofthe "Metropolitan" Opera in New York. The Romanian musician will embody the role of "Musetta" from Puccini's opera "La boheme". Adela Zaharia spoke to our colleague Ioana Țintea about the event.

Adela Zaharia, what does this debut mean for your artistic journey? Do you see it as the peakin your career, or rather a fresh start?

Actually, I think I view my New York debut as the natural next step in my career. I don't see it asthe peak by any means, there are so many things left to do, but I do not see it as a fresh start either...perhaps a fresh start withtheater itself, in the sense that we are starting a relationship. Otherwise, as I was saying, I view it as the natural continuation of the career I have built so far.

How did this collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera in New York come about?

Honestly, it's a long storybecause I received my first offer from the MET right after winning the Operalia Competition in 2017. So, I got the offer to debut at the MET right after that, but the management I was working with at the time thought that the circumstances weren't right, it wasn't the right title, it wasn't the right moment. And so, for about 2-3 years, there were constant discussions regarding the right repertoire, when and how I should do it. In the meantime, I had also changed management, and the new agency basically had to startthe whole discussion from scratch. And seeing how in our world of opera scheduling is done 4-5 years in advance, the time has now come for the appointment that was made years ago to occur and for the public to know about it.

The audience at the Metropolitan Opera is known for its high standards. How do you feel about these expectations?

Wherever I perform and no matter what I perform, I always try to present myself in the best way possible, to give all I have on stage, and to make an impression, the same way I do in any other theater I perform in.

My approach might not seem that interesting, but I think it'sa verygood way of going about things. It is something that I've done before, I have stood before demanding audiencesin Munich, Berlin, Paris, and, given that the performances have all gone well so far,I think New York is going to be the same.

In a previous interview with our station, you mentioned that the last time you took on the role of Musetta was in 2013. How does your current preparation process differ from your experience back then?

The last time I played Musetta I was in the opera studio of the Komische Opera Berlin; quite some time has gone by since then. Of course, my voice is almost completely different, the way I approach my experience on stage is entirely different. I have much more confidence, much more control over my voice, and I am convinced that I will be able to add new colors and layers to the role that I couldn't add before. Life experience, of course, is also a big part of it...So I'm convinced, especially considering that Puccini's music is one of my favorites, that it will be a great, enjoyable experience for me and for my voice.

So, I take it that personal perception of a role can change in time.

It can change from season to season. A lot of it depends on how you use your voice, the roles you played in that period, your mental state which also depends on your personal life...I think this is one of the most interesting aspects of it all, and this is why people keep coming back to the theater to see the same singers play the same roles time and time again, because each time there is a chance that the character might behave a little differently and, by the end, with the contribution of everyone involved in the show, you might have quite a different experience compared to the ones before.

What are the key elements in approaching this role? What do you imagine Musetta would be like today?

Musetta is a very complex woman. You can see that in the score, the way her character is written and how the music is written. She's a woman who goes through all the different mental states and shows two very different sides of her personality. In the beginning, she comes across as extroverted, exuberant, boisterous, shallow, materialistic, and I think this makes her appearance in the final act more interesting, when we see her true face, her human face. When, faced with tragedy, and confronted with the hardships they face, she gives up that spoiled and shallow part of herself and is affected by what's happening, she becomes warm, generous, she does everything in her power to make her friend Mimi's last moments comfortable and joyous.

Please tell us about the production! Is it a classical vision or does it align with modern tendencies?

It's a very classical production, famouseven, which belongs to Zeffirelli. Everything is on a monumental scale. The Metropolitan Opera is known for these types of productionswhich, unfortunately, are not often done in theaters. But this is just another reason whyI'm so glad to be a part of this production, to have this debut.

At the moment, I am in Berlin and I'm doing an extremely classical production of Lucia. But if I think about the productions I have been doing lately, classical ones are clearly in theminority.So whenever I have the opportunity to get closer to how that character was originally conceived andliterally get tostep inside that character, I think it is a special experience, and it brings you closer to the atmosphere of the period in which the opera was written.

After your debut on January 11th, 2025, on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, what is next on your agenda?

Immediately after that, a well-deserved, short holiday. That is how I always plan things, so that in the middle of a season I have a short break to recharge my batteries and return to the stage energized and healthy. And then, I'moff to Bucharest, where I will have the joy of performing in an opera ceremony at the Sala Radio.

Credit photo: Klaudia Taday