When the soprano Asmik Grigorian took on the title role of Strauss’s “Salome” at the Salzburg Festival, in 2018, the summer event found a new reigning diva.
With a voice of lush power and a raw authenticity that shines through in every character, the Lithuanian artist has become one of today’s most sought operatic performers, in Vienna, currently her home city; London; Milan; and beyond.
But she has flouted conventions of stardom and challenged audiences’ expectations. Onstage, she pushes well-known characters to dramatic extremes; offstage, she often stares into the camera with a defiantly non-glamorous expression.
In August, she will return to Salzburg as Lady Macbeth in Krzysztof Warlikowski’s staging of Verdi’s “Macbeth,” first seen there in 2023. And on Aug. 24, with the pianist Hyung-ki Joo, she will present the comic recital “A Diva Is Born.”
The “Diva” show debuted in May of last year at the Vienna State Opera — where it will return this December — and was recently performed in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Grigorian was born and raised.
“My creative side needed to do something besides opera, recitals and concert repertoire,” the 44-year-old singer said by phone between rehearsals of Dvorak’s “Rusalka” in Barcelona, Spain. “I’ve been onstage for 20 years, and I wanted to see things from a different perspective.”
The show’s repertoire ranges from Bizet and Puccini to Lady Gaga and Sting, also including original arrangements and compositions by Joo, who is perhaps best known for his comedy acts with the violinist Aleksey Igudesman but has also collaborated with Billy Joel. “A Diva Is Born,” whose title is a riff on “A Star Is Born,” creates a semi-autobiographical narrative about Grigorian’s career in which Joo takes on a theatrical role.
For the pianist, every concert should include an element of magic and surprise, which he says is often missing in the classical music world.
“We conceived the show together with shared views about how the industry should change,” he said in an interview at a cafe in Vienna. “So many conventions and traditions are not relevant; even worse, they’re alienating audiences.”
He mentioned in particular an “arrogant elitism” surrounding the art form and praised Grigorian’s unpretentious disposition. He recalled that after meeting with the soprano in London — where she had just sung the title role of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at Covent Garden — she had departed for the subway with her suitcases rather than taking a private car, as would more typically be the case for a classical musician of her stature.
Joo said the singer was at once extremely rigorous with herself and willing to be vulnerable onstage. “She’s constantly wondering if she could have done better,” he said. “The show reveals this, and I think that’s what makes it powerful.”
Known for her extraordinary breath support, Grigorian in fact warms up backstage to pop numbers. But before she performed some of them publicly, she revisited her technique with the help of a coach. “I enjoyed discovering different colors,” she said, “which I actually use now when singing opera.”
Grigorian came to the profession with an inside perspective. Her mother is the soprano Irena Milkeviciute; her father, Gegham Grigorian, who died in 2016, was a tenor.
She dabbled with the idea of singing non-operatic music as a teenager (even running away from home) but felt the need to achieve on a higher level. Grigorian recalled the deep sense of accomplishment that followed her 2019 debut at La Scala in Milan, where her parents met: “I thought to myself, ‘Now I can do whatever I want.’”
Her repertoire includes Puccini, Wagner and Bellini. This past season, she sang the title role in Bellini’s “Norma” for the first time at the Theater an der Wien and made her house debut at the Paris Opera performing all three soprano roles in “Il Trittico,” Puccini’s trilogy of one-act operas.
The summer of her breakthrough in Salzburg in 2018 with Strauss “will always stay with me,” she said, “because it was a huge step.”
“I’m in a completely different place with my career and sometimes think that I do too much,” she continued. “Then I suddenly feel this huge sense of gratitude. What a privilege I was given, by the festival, the critics and the audience.”
As she returns to the role of Lady Macbeth this summer, she reflected that she has become increasingly at home in dramatic coloratura repertoire. “I always try to find the dark side of these very lyrical characters,” she said. “And in evil characters, I try to find the human side. Otherwise it becomes too flat.”
She added that, after two years, “I’m sure the audience will see a different performance because we have all grown and changed. I love working with Krzysztof. So I’m very curious to see what happens with our ‘Macbeth.’”
Grigorian also emphasized that, after decades of concern about theatrical standards in opera, it may be time to attend to musical quality in equal measure. “Because of the speed in which we live, there isn’t as much time to prepare the way people did years ago,” she said. “We have beautiful shows that look like a movie, but for my taste, we are missing something. Of course, wherever something is won, something is lost.”
In order to accommodate her demanding schedule, the soprano recently removed herself from social media (her website has a feed called AsmikSpace). “I still don’t have enough time,” she said. “I honestly don’t understand how and when people who are constantly posting live.”
As she finds herself scheduled to sing in different cities every month, she reflects on the importance of not sacrificing quality of life — even as she thrives on new challenges.
“That’s why I am trying to make some changes in my calendar,” she said. “I want to experience every single performance with full joy.”
The post A Soprano Who’s Ready for Tragedy and Comedy at the Salzburg Festival appeared first on New York Times.
