Among Voigt's greatest fan is her younger brother, Kevin, who used to tag along with his big sis in that '74 Pinto to her various singing engagements. “Even then, I thought I was pretty cool to be 'with the singer,'” he says.

“As an adult, it's even more overwhelming to be backstage in some opera house in Europe listening to my sister sing these beautiful pieces. To this day, when I hear the ovations Debbie receives in various houses the world over, I just cry during her curtain calls.”

Last summmer, Voigt made her Hollywood Bowl debut, where she sang Wagner and Puccini, as well as Loewe and Lerner's “I Have Danced All Night” from “My Fair Lady.” When Hollywood Bowl Orchestra maestro John Mauceri introduced her, he presented her as Debbie Voigt.

Asked about the seemingly informal intro, she says, “The funny thing about that is, it's legally not Deborah. It's Debbie Joy Voigt, and about the time I started entering those contests at Cal State Fullerton, I thought, ‘Well, Debbie Joy Voigt sounds like she's going to be appearing at the Grand Ole Opry instead of grand opera, so I changed it to Deborah. All my friends call me Debbie. Even I had a preconceived idea of what opera was at that time.”

Not that she's opposed to Nashville; in fact, Voigt's musical taste runs the gamut. “It's kind of what ever comes across the radio. I've been on a big Norah Jones kick, because she reminds me so much of Karen Carpenter. I was an enormous Karen Carpenter fan. I could sing you any Carpeneter song backwards or forwards, and I just adore her.”   continue »