Joyce DiDonato on rejection, reinvention and finding her voice

Many of the greats of different fields will say that failure is a far better teacher than success. I whole-heartedly agree. When I was told, at 26, that I had nothing to offer as an artist, the question that haunted me was, ‘Why aren’t they seeing all that I have inside? Where am I going wrong?’ And rather than give up, I stubbornly concluded there must have been something blocking me from letting my expression and voice actually land with the listener, and so I set out to remove the mental/emotional blocks that were getting in my way. It was the greatest thing that could have happened to me and allowed me to find my own voice as a singer and not simply aim to be correct and accepted.

Where does your emotional honesty come from?

I can’t bear to lie to an audience. The public comes to concerts to be lifted up; to find relief that they are not alone in their suffering or despair; to marvel at an existence that eludes understanding. I have seen so often how music has truly comforted and transformed lives, so I want to be sure that if someone has entrusted their time and money to listen to me sing, that I give them all that I have in as transparent and honest a way as possible. It’s a real responsibility and a total privilege.

You’ve championed projects that push beyond traditional opera — what drives you to keep reimagining what classical music can be?

I’m endlessly curious and adventurous, and I love to surprise audiences. Opera and classical music deal with the absolute extremities of human emotion – it can handle a wide variety of interpretations, reinventions and presentations – as long as they are done honestly and with a fair amount of humility. We are usually dealing with genuine masterpieces in this field, and sometimes it’s highly effective to present them in a new light so we can experience them anew.

You’ve performed in some of the world’s great halls — is there a moment or performance that still feels like a turning point for you?

I remember the first season the [Metropolitan Opera in New York’s livestream] The Met: Live in HD was beamed via satellite around the world. I was able to tell my family and friends back home in Kansas City ‘hello’ during the intermission of The Barber of Seville – a moment that felt like a big breakthrough. In one performance I was able to sing for more people than in an entire season. And we all felt the love from around the world via messages and emails. That was a great collective moment for opera fans and for us artists on the stage. The other memory that I’ll never forget was breaking my leg on stage at the Royal Opera House – also for The Barber! It was an extraordinary cast and production and remains a great highlight of the will to have the show go on.

When you look back on your path from Kansas to the world’s stages, what do you think your younger self would make of all this?

She would be absolutely astonished. The mere fact that I get to sing for a living, and this career has taken me to New Zealand and Australia to sing for people that know me from recordings or opera seen via satellite from the Metropolitan Opera? She would never have believed it. The one thing she would recognise, however, is the hard work I have put in, and the genuine gratitude. I dare say she is having the time of her life alongside me.

Finally, what’s something that not many people know about you?

I would love to be a wildlife photographer.