Boston
Singers' Resource News Bulletin, October
13, 2004
Well-known
to Boston North Shore audiences for her work in opera and in recitals,
Mezzo-Soprano, Diana Jacklin is also developing an international reputation,
principally in Spain. As the founder of the North Shore Vocal Institute
she brings both vocal technique and a wealth of performance techniques
to the classroom.
An opera singer, recitalist
and educator, mezzo-soprano Diana Jacklin has performed in concert halls
throughout New England and in Europe to critical acclaim. Her opera credits
include the Mother in Menotti's 'Amahl and the Night Visitors', Katisha
in Gilbert and Sullivan's 'The Mikado', The Witch in Humperdinck's 'Hansel
und Gretel', Florence Pike in Britten's 'Albert Herring', Prince Orlofsky
in Strauss' 'Die Fledermaus' and Zweite and Dritte Dame in Mozart's 'The
Magic Flute'. She created the role of Molly Bloom in the 1999 world premiere
of 'Ulysses' by Roger Rudenstein, based on the work by James Joyce.
Ms Jacklin performs regularly with the Boston Lyric Opera. She has performed
as a soloist with the Boston Academy of Music, Opera in the Ozarks, Raylynmor
Opera, Operafest! of NH, Longwood Opera, Cape Ann Symphony, New Bedford
Symphony, Salem Philharmonic, Paul Madore Chorale, Polymnia Chorale, and
The Arcadia Players. Internationally, she has sung at the 1996 AIMS Festival
in Graz, Austria, served as an Artist-in-residence for the Asociacion
Cultural CODA in June, 2001, and has appeared to great acclaim in Spain
at the 2002 and 2003 International Music Festival of Jimena de la Frontera.
Ms Jacklin has been a teacher on Boston's North Shore and in the greater
Cape Ann area for many years and also has a voice studio in Boston. Recently
she established the North Shore Vocal Institute which offers young artists
opportunities to develop repertoire and to perform. Her own recital work
has been supported by grants from The St. Botolph Club Foundation and
the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She holds a degree from the Eastman
School of Music and makes her home in Essex, MA.
Joe Stroup: You have a very active recital career and you appear
in so many different venues here on Boston's North Shore. How do you make
it all happen? How do you choose your programs?
Diana Jacklin: Yes, it's true. I'm always in preparation for recitals
and I try to do at least one new recital per season with two different
venues for each. Initially, it was a struggle because, I mean, it's expensive
to produce a recital, with the advertising, the hall rental and the accompanist.
Plus, at first, people don't know you. So, to get people interested, I
had to be a little creative. For instance, I might go to a church service
and I'd just sing in the service, the hymns, and people would hear me
and start talking to me. And I'd say I'd love to do a concert here. That's
how it got rolling. Then, too, I applied for several grants. Fortunately,
I was awarded a grant from the St. Botolph Club Foundation in 2001. That
gave me the capital to produce two recitals in Manchester, MA, and at
Longy School (in Cambridge). From that point, things have become easier.
Now, more and more, people are asking me if I want to do something in
their space.
My programs really depend on the audience that I'll be performing for.
For instance, in this country I like to start and end with songs sung
in English and, especially at the end, I'll finish with a set that may
include Gershwin or Sondheim or Weill. You know, something 'fun' or a
bit lighter. Also, what I like to do is to take some of the music from
a previous program and add one or two new sets to it for a later program,
so the songs are always evolving and I get to perform them more than just
once or twice.
Now, in contrast, I'm preparing for some upcoming concerts in Spain and
the audience there is, of course, Spanish. So, I'm working on some Spanish
and Gypsy-type music; da Falla, the Rodrigo 'Four Love Songs', a Carmen
aria and the Brahms' 'Zegeunerlieder'.
JS: You've sung in Spain before. How did you discover the International
Music Festival in Jimena de la Frontera?
JD: Yes, I've been going to Spain off and on since 1998. Jimena
is an amazing, magical place and a well-kept secret so far. I found out
about the festival, really, by chance. It's a funny story. A friend and
I were in Seville in 1998 for the New Year's holiday. This was before
the festival had gotten started. Her parents lived in this village south
of the city so we had planned to visit. Now there happened to be a chorus
there who was going to do the Vivaldi 'Gloria' but their soprano had run
off to Gibraltar. So my friend told them she was traveling with this American
singer. Would I fill in for her? Of course, I said yes. I happened to
have packed this black, velvet dress and a dramatic velvet cape - and
the church where the concert was held was freezing. So, it was just perfect;
totally meant to be.
What was also remarkable, for me, about the town was how much it connected
with a project I was working on at the time. The village, Jimena de la
Frontera, is in the Andalucia district of Spain and there's a lot of Moorish
influence in the architecture. I was preparing for the premier, that September
(1999), of a new opera by Roger Rudenstein which was based on James Joyce's
'Ulysses'. My character was Molly Bloom. Molly has a major monologue in
the book and Roger has written a 30- to 40- minute aria for her at the
end of the opera. In it, she sings about her vacation in southern Spain,
with all these Moorish references. It was so wild to realize I was actually
there at that time.
Since that first year I've gone back a few times and each year the musical
life of the town has continued to grow. I was invited to be their Artist-in-Residence
during the summer of 2001. I quickly picked up some Spanish and was teaching
voice in Spanish. Then, in 2002, they began the International Festival.
The town has attracted a lot of ex-patriot Europeans, particularly British.
They have lent their support to the growth of this festival. The town
was recently able to build a recital hall and, unbelievably, just in the
last three years they have acquired five or six beautiful grand pianos.
JS: And in addition to the recitals, you've started a new school.
How is that going?
JD: It's called the North Shore Vocal Institute. The faculty includes
(pianist and BSR member) Karen Gahagen, (pianist and vocal coach) Elaine
Smith-Purcell and myself. I decided to start it because there's nothing
like it, really, on the North Shore. We offer a performing experience
for students to help them to develop repertoire for auditions and competitions.
The program includes sight-reading and ear-training classes, and performance
workshops. My husband (percussionist Christian Brancoveanu) has helped,
too, and has taught German classes. At the moment we have all high-school
age students. But some of my former students, who went on to study voice
in college, want to come back next summer, so we'll be developing a college-level
program.
JS: You've always been a teacher? What makes you good at it?
DJ: I've always enjoyed teaching, whether it was music or something
else. I think I'm good at it because a good teacher has to have a good
rapport with people. They need to be able to find out what it is the student
is coming to them for; what kind of direction the student sees herself
or himself going in. Then to have the imagination to help them get there
and even to a place that they never knew they could get to or didn't consider.
Also, having an ear for where you can hear their voice, their sound, going.
Another reason I teach, and also why I wanted to start the Vocal Institute,
was because sometimes in the big music schools it's hard to get as much
vocal training as you might want; there's all the emphasis on academics
and on pursuing advanced degrees. And, so often, the chance to do any
performing, any major work, is reserved for those advanced degree candidates.
Also, I think it's so important to help a young person develop a strong
interest in their art. When I was young there were so many really musically
talented kids who were going to give up their instrument and pursue something
else in college. I thought it was so sad that, early on, they were giving
up a really big part of themselves. I was so pleased that, this last year,
all of my seniors went into music at college; two with scholarships.
JS: Congratulations on that particular success. What projects are
you working on right now? When will we hear you next?
DJ: In November I'll be performing music by Respighi and Butterworth
with the Lafayette String Quartet in Essex. (see below). I've recently
started teaching at Salem State College. Also, I'm currently learning
the Composer role to Richard Strauss's 'Ariadne auf Naxos'. In addition,
I'm pursuing funding for the Vocal Institute and scholarship money for
the students. It's a pretty full plate right now.
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Diana Jacklin will perform 'Il Tramonto' (based on Shelley's poem 'The
Sunset') by Ottorino Respighi and 'Love Blows as the Wind Blows' (poems
by William Ernest Henley) by George Butterworth with the Lafayette String
Quartet on Sunday, November 7, at 4:00 at the Essex Universalist Church,
56 Main Street, Essex, MA.
For more information about the North Shore Vocal Institute, contact
Diana Jacklin at 978-768-3252.
For information about Jimena de la Frontera and the International Music
Festival go to www.andalucia.com/jimena/home.htm