Of this success and her reputation in these roles, Voigt points to former voice teacher and coach, Paul.

“Jane's own background was in German music. She worked extensively on my German diction.

“My voice is larger than most; the color is very bright, so it naturally lends itself to a particular category of music that includes many German roles. My first successes happen to have been in German roles, so I think I became identified with that. I also have that sort of Nordic, Germanic look, being blond and blue-eyed, so that also had something to do with it.

Voigt had enjoyed success with Italian operas as well, garnering raves for her performances in Giuseppe Verdi's “Aida” and “Un Ballo in Maschera,” Giacomo Puccini's “Tosca,” and most recently, in Amilcare Ponchielli's “La Gioconda” in Barcelona last fall.

“As I'm getting older, I'm finding that I'm enjoying the Italian repertoire as much, as in some ways more, so I'm really excited about the opportunity to do both.”

This ability to do so is what she says will go towards maintaining and extending her career.

“In German music, especially Wagner — where the part lies vocally is more in the middle part of the voice - you have to have high notes, but it doesn't sit high all night. The orchestras are very large and it order to project the middle part of your voice over the orchestra requires a lot of strength. If you take on too much of that repertoire, you can sometimes lose the top and lose flexibility in the voice.

“Italian music sits a little bit higher and requires a little more lyricism, and this is important in terms of longevity in the voice. You try, during the course of your career, to plan things in such a way that you don't lose your voice prematurely. That's the key, and why I try to mix in as much Italian repertoire and do a lot of concert work, as opposed to being on an opera stage all the time.”   continue »