January 15-21, 2004

art

On the Rise

Moore, moore!: AVA soprano Latonia Moore will appear in several national and international projects this year -- with no end in sight.

From AVA to Dresden, Latonia Moore's on the brink of an impressive career.

by David Shengold

Fourth-year Academy of Vocal Arts soprano Latonia Moore has already made her mark internationally. She's on a new Deutsche Grammophon CD of Mahler's Second. This spring she joined the Opera Company as a crowd-pleasing Despina in Mozart's Così fan tutte, and she's featured in this month's issue of Opera News. In March the Houston native will bring her rich lyric voice and endearing stage presence to La Bohéme's Mimì in Dresden. This month she sings the heroine Fidelia in AVA's concert staging (and local premiere) of Puccini's highly enjoyable second opera, Edgar (1889), a slightly daffy medieval story with powerful, romantic music. Catch Edgar -- and Latonia Moore -- while you can!

City Paper: What was your road to classical singing and AVA?

Latonia Moore: I started singing classical music in junior high, but I didn't start in opera until I went to college at the University of North Texas as a jazz major. We were required to study classical voice, and in my first lesson, my teacher suggested that I try opera; I joined the opera chorus that semester and was hooked. I studied in Texas for two more years, but after my teacher died, I left for Philadelphia to study privately with my current teacher, Bill Schuman. I did a few competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. I won that and was offered a position in their young artist studio. Around the same time, my teacher suggested I audition for The Academy of Vocal Arts. I made the decision to come to the resident artist program at AVA because here you are considered an artist, not an apprentice. My peak experiences at AVA have been with Maestro Christofer Macatsoris doing the title role in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia and Marguerite in Gounod's Faust.

CP: How did you as a Texan adjust to living in Philadelphia?

LM: Ahh … Philly … It's cool, but there is just one thing that I cannot stand: Snow!!!

CP: What kinds of roles attract you?

LM: My dream roles are Tosca and Turandot, but as far as repertoire I sing now, I love to do Mimì (Puccini being one of my favorite opera composers) and Marguerite in Faust.

CP: Do you have any special thoughts on Fidelia in Edgar?

LM: Well, the characters in Edgar are all tortured in some way, generally by lust, but Fidelia seems to be portrayed as the pinnacle of goodness. She's a "good girl" all right. If I had to play a "bad girl," the one of choice would be Turandot … or Carmen.

CP: What's it feel like suddenly being able to stroll into Tower Records and buy a Deutsche Grammophon CD of yourself?

LM: It's cool to see; it kinda makes me feel like I've gotten my foot in the door, but at the same time, I can't wait till the day I see my own album in there!

CP: Are there any singers that you particularly admire?

LM: [American soprano] Rosa Ponselle, because her voice was seamless. … It was like true silk.

CP: What do you do for fun outside of singing?

LM: I like to go to the movies, listen to The Beatles, OutKast and BjÖrk, and I'm really into astronomy and astrology. I know, kinda corny, but true.

CP: What's next on your agenda?

LM: A Verdi concert at Carnegie Hall, Mimì in Dresden in March, Mahler symphonies at Kennedy Center and in Paris in late April, and Micaéla in Carmen with Dallas Opera.

CP: Any thought of a crossover album?

LM: I wouldn't want to do that, but I would love to do a straight, big-band jazz album one day, like Ella!

Latonia Moore performs in Edgar, Wed., Jan. 21 and Fri., Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m., Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St.; Sat., Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m., Centennial Hall, The Haverford School, 450 Lancaster Ave., Haverford, $35-$80, 215-735-1685.