Future Classic Women Awards – Katerina Mina

Hello and welcome to Future Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on women's radio station, the program where we search for the most amazing new female artist on the classical panorama. Today on Future Classic Women Awards we have a very special guest. She is the winner of first edition of Future Classic Women Awards for the opera section. And our guest is Katerina Mina. Stefania, really happy to be with you again. Good morning, Katerina, how are you? I am fine, thank you. And thank you for having me on your program. Well, I'm so pleased to have you back. This is our third edition. I mean, that's incredible. So. And time flies, it really flies. I mean, it looks like yesterday when I met you for the first time and we had such a wonderful chat. So, you know, we're under not complete lockdown, but we're still working in remote and who knows for how long really. So I'd like to ask you, how was your lockdown? You know, the lockdown back in March, I think it was. You sort of feel that you're on the same boat with everyone, you know, and it's more. It was more of a survival thing and you go with the flow and you follow the instructions and you realize as a musician now that I lost my inspiration at some point. I couldn't sing, all of my engagements were cancelled and 2020 was a very important year for me in relation to my single. I was also signed up by a manager and just to see everything, how everything collapsed from just one day to the other. Even on the 5th of March, I traveled abroad for a concert and it was canceled the day before. So because the other artists could not travel from Israel, there was already a lockdown there then. Then I found myself going into waves with this, you know, around June I found some inspiration. But up until then, the only thing I could really do was yoga every morning online on Instagram or YouTube. And it just kept. Kept my frame of mind in a slightly better place. So that was the first lockdown and you feel okay, you're going along with everyone. But then as a musician you have hope. We all had hope that, you know, by the summer and things would have gone better and in the autumn we would go back to performing. And of course when this second wave came, the reality hits you again and you realize that as a musician or perform in, you know, working in the performing arts, it's just so devastating and terrible what is happening. Absolutely. So, I mean, we had so many people trying to cope with isolation as well, with losing all their job. I mean, it's a very. It's hard physically and mentally in particular, isn't it? Absolutely. Some people lost their dear friends as well, or family members, or they were sick themselves. And music, I have to say, was something that was keeping up the hope much alive, isn't it? Yeah. Sorry to interrupt. No, no, no. You just said exactly the right thing. Music is always going to be the one thing that's going to keep the. The hope and the better frame of mind and everything, you know, nurturing the soul. But at the same time, in these difficult times, the musicians are the last ones to be thought of by the governments. You know what I mean? Maybe not every government, but. And here, here in this country, I found it extremely difficult to cope and still do. I had to find job unrelated to music to survive the crisis is most of the musicians I know. Yeah. And you were lucky you found the job. I mean, so many people, they just couldn't find their normal job, let alone, of course, musicians. I mean, I was talking last week with Vivian Westw and we had a nice program about the importance of opera for social impact and social movement as well. And that was on the wave of this great debate from the Rethink, Reskill, reboot comments on ITV by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak. And that was something that was making everyone very angry, very desperate, feeling them to feel evil, even more alone, if that's possible. And what you're saying right now, the fact that you had to find a different job, I mean, we didn't need, in a way, Rishi Sunak to tell us that we needed to rethink, isn't it? Yes, it's a matter of surviving. Otherwise, how do I pay my bills and how do I get food? And in my case, I, you know, my family is in a different country. Yeah. I'm on my own here. I had to go through that lockdown on my own. And when the second wave came, you know, you find yourself feeling very frustrated. You want to go against this, you think, oh, I can't be doing this again. But then again, you know, you have to go back to being part of that, that wave. And I do miss my family a lot. And the biggest worry is actually, you know, with this national lockdown and the traveling restrictions, God forbidden, if anything happens to my family, I won't be able to jump on the plane immediately and go. The whole thing is, you know, so unprecedented. Yeah. And just to see how the whole world was not ready for a pandemic, you know, in our days. Yes, it's big, big question really it is. But there is one thing actually that is positive in all this traumatic really situation is that the social media has been attacked so much in the past, you know, for creating fake news, for creating fake relationship, for creating, you know, a fake reality. And then it actually turn out as a savior in a way from our isolation, isn't it? Absolutely, I agree. And if, yeah, if you, I suppose if you are in the performing arts, you had to. We all have to be prominent on social media, promoting ourselves, our art, not waiting for others to do it. And I agree. And it at least perhaps has taught us more the importance of communicating through the social media. And of course the other thing is that, thank God, we also have the technology to be able to communicate with our families on the camera, on video. What would it be if I couldn't see my mother and my father and my family on the phone? I mean, or your friends? I think it would be back like in the middle age, you know, the dark times. That's exactly what it would have been if we were back a thousand years ago. Yes. We would have just write a letter and hope it would reach. But you know, today, give it to the pigeon and send them over. On one hand we are thankful for the technology. On the other hand, we realize that it takes a lot more to deal and live with a pandemic even in 2020. And how much of all those comforts we had, we have to sacrifice. And that is difficult. And in relation to the social media, let's not forget that not everybody is good with the devices. They're older people. I do feel for the older people because most of them have to isolate on their own. Yeah. Either in a home care or place or at home. Those in home care houses, they're not allowed to have visitors. You know, the children, for example, they can Visit them for 15 minutes. I know it's something, but better than nothing. But I'm saying we have had to sacrifice a lot. Yeah. Well, the first piece that we're gonna listen to, it's from one of my favorite operas by Verdi's La Forza del Destino, the Force of Destiny, the strength of destiny. And the aria that you're gonna sing is Pace Pace mu Dio. Yes. Let's listen. Sa. Sa. Jesus. Sa. Sam. Kijunja. So beautiful. And this was from La Forto del Destino by Verdi. Pace Pace New deal with Katerina Mina with the wonderful Royal Philharmonicon. So how, I mean, why did you choose this piece to start our interview today? The main reason for this piece apart from the fact that I also love it. I find it extremely powerful because it does. It is, on one hand the power of destiny, but on the other hand, it starts with the word pace. It is a prayer, you know, within that very difficult context. And anything, any repertoire that's a prayer goes well with my being. But I also chose it because it will be part of my program in this one artist shows that are coming up and I'm launching, hopefully, if we don't go into a national lockdown, if we don't, then the shows are going ahead. And that is on the 24th of November. The first one is on the 23rd of November. It's Monday 23rd. It's at Crazy Cox in Soho. It's a wonderful cabaret right next to Cadillac. Wonderful place. I love it so much. Yes. Yes. And, you know, they haven't. There's a very different type of. Type of performing they show there. But they have been doing two shows every day at the moment since they reopened, with, of course, less capacity than normal, half of the capacity. And they have been selling out. But it is the first time they're doing opera. And they loved the idea when I send them my video recordings, because it is this new concept of playing the piano and singing at the same time. Opera, which I didn't know I could do. But during the previous lockdown when I couldn't sing, I found myself going back to practicing the piano because, you know, I was a concert pianist when I started at the Gils Hall School of Music and Drama. Wow. And it's so difficult. I mean, it's very difficult to play the piano, it's very difficult to sing, let alone doing the two things together. I mean, how are you gonna do that? I know. I mean, here I come again, coming out quite in a heroic way, you know, with myself maybe wanting to pass on the message that we can still do something as musicians in these difficult times. But, you know, none of these venues, because there's a second venue I'll talk about in a minute, would get opera singers to perform because it's not safe. It's not Covid safe. When you stand and project the voice to the audience, you're spitting, you are sending. You're working with the respiratory system and the mouse. And therefore, now me behaving in this case as a pianist, because I will be sitting playing and singing, it just gave them that incentive to say, yes, we want to, you know, to have you perform this program. So I'm happy about this. But it does, of course, mean that I Spend endless hours of practicing. And it is more piano at the moment. And then I have. And then I find the way to put together the singing with it. So I behave a lot more like a pianist lately. Wow. Very interesting. Because the way you play is different than the way you sing a melody. So when you, you know, after. You know that when you are playing with the pianist, you are the one dictating what needs to be done. In this case, you will have the piano side of yourself dictating the opiate what to do. And somehow this has also helped my voice get more grounded. I mean, it's unbelievable. I don't know whether it was an inner thing that had to come out, but it is such passion. I discovered this inner passion when I started playing the piano and adding the voice to it. For me, that was perhaps the only positive, you know, thing during the lockdown that I discovered. Well, in a way is really La Forza del destino. You know, you cannot fight your destiny of being a performer, of being an opera singer. And that's giving you a new way of being an opera singer on the line of rebooting and reskilling in a way. So you're taking back your skills as a pianist and you're adding them to yourself as a singer, allowing you to have a one woman show. That is gonna be fantastic. I hope I can make it because it's gonna be absolutely gorgeous. But you know, and sorry to interrupt, but the La Forza, this aria was the first piece I started working on in this way. So I don't know why. I just. I don't think about these things. I just go and sit and go along with what I feel with the flow. But interesting. It was the first one I recorded with the video to show to people. Wow. Wow. Now I'm gonna ask you about our next piece. That is La Mammamorta. We used this piece on our previous interview with Vivian Iwitt just last week because we were talking about the impact of opera on the social movement. So it's from the. Andrea Chenier on the. During the French Revolution. And this is one of my favorite aria ever. And we listened to my very favorite version. And now guess which version is this. Well, which one would be your favorite version? Let's see if it's the same. Yeah. You know, is difficult with arias like this. I don't have one version that I like. I remember listening to kallas with this and thinking that this is my favorite version. Yes, that's the one I chose. Oh, okay. That's the one I chose well, you know, I grew up. When I was a little girl, there was this wonderful TV show in Italy, it's La More Undarto. And it was playing. It was from a musicologist who was playing on the fact that when you're singing, it was La Mora is for which I'm aiming to. And was translated, would sound like Lamore is the. You know, the one that the Indian news. Oh, my gosh. How do you call it? Oh, I'll check it. I'll check. Anyway, it was a mistake in the translation, so people would sing it singing the. The wrong word that sounded like that one. And so he would. He would go through the various areas and tell us about operas. And so that was Maria Callas and all her drama as a woman herself, not just as an artist. Yes. That's so very romantic, isn't it? Yes. And so very powerful. Such a strong woman as well. I know. And with so much inner passion and inner love. Not just for the singing, you know, it goes further. This is the passion as a woman. Absolutely. And that's what we can see with you. Your strength, your power as an artist and as a woman, you know, with everything that, like in Farza d', Intestina, anything that is thrown at you, you can overcome it and win over it, isn't it? So I think that's the main characteristic of a performer and of a soprano in particular. Yeah. Depending on the type of the soprano also, because, you know, you have to have a more dramatic voice to be able to sustain that passion and drama through the voice. That's why there are different categories. And it goes with the character also of the soprano, with the build of the body, with the temperament. So different types of sopranos and other. Not just the soprano voice, but the other types of voices, they behave differently, you know. Absolutely. So I want to ask you, do you. What would you say is the area the most represent? You say. Sorry, what was the question again? What would be, you know, talking about the characters and talking about the strength. What would be the area that you think would represent. Yes. Yourself, as, you know, interestingly enough, this particular aria, La Mamma Morta, I think it has everything in it that could describe my whole being because it is that power of what we call love. It could call Goddess of Love, in this case, in this area, you know, there's the reference of love that's. That's. That's taking you through every difficulty and taking you through to the other end, just so that you can see the light at the End of the table tunnel. And so I think if we talk about an area that represents my character, this is probably the one, because it entails so many things in it. And the character comes out of this dark place in a powerful way. Through the power of love. Through the power of love. Indeed. I am love. That's the most beautiful line of all of it. So let's listen to La Mama Morta from Andrea Cheney with Caterina Mina. Ra. Sa. Ra. How beautiful I am. Love your soul. So this was from Andrea Chenier, composed by Umberto Giordano with Caterina Mina and the Philharmonic Orchestra. Now, Caterina, I would like you to explain to the audience the difference between playing yourself with the piano in front of a small audience and playing instead, singing with a full orchestra behind you in front of a theater full of people. Oh, my God. I think. Well, I think the most stressful one for me at the moment is the first one, because, you know, I haven't done this before. It's a new thing. It's a new and. But it's just so powerful. I want to go ahead with it, but it's just playing the piano and singing at the same time. It's an incredibly huge multitask, mental work first that I've got to just. It almost feels as if I'm dividing my brain into two and I'm behaving. Half of me as a pianist and then the other half as a singer. Everything as a singer has to. To continue to be what it would be if I would be standing up with the orchestra behind me and projecting. It's not like I'm going to compromise on something, you know, as a singer. Now, they're two completely different things. I mean, I just. I find the first one very powerful. And perhaps it's because of where we are with the virus, the situation. The fact that we cannot have the normal rehearsals, concerts with orchestras or even small ensembles is just such a problem at the moment. There are no auditions going on. So I suppose it's the only thing that carries me forward as a musician, enabling me to stay inspired and not to give up completely at this difficult moment. My art, it is the only thing I have, to be honest. And yes, I think when I stand up and eventually I perform normally as a singer, I might find it like a piece of cake, you know what I mean? When you do something that's so much more difficult and challenging than going back to doing your thing that you've always known and was stressful because of everything that it entails, then perhaps you find. I mean, I'll find it a lot easier, I think. I do hope that also my voice will behave in a similar way when I sit on the piano and will indeed be more grounded in that way. For some reason, and I don't know whether it's a spiritual thing, I am. I must be channeling energy both from Mother Earth and from heaven, and especially from Mother Earth, a lot more as a pianist. I mean, this is what I experience, which has balanced everything off so nicely. Well, there is something that I noticed, you know, there is not much difference when you are on stage or when you are sitting in the audience. So I think when I'm sitting in the audience in the theater, for example, I just. I think the last opera I went to see was exactly Andre Chenier. And exactly on this aria, I remember, I couldn't contain myself. I had to cry. There was nothing I could do about it. Although I know the aria. I heard it million times. But in that moment, that was an energy that was coming from the whole theater, so not just from the performer in that moment singing. She was fantastic. So Bran, of course, and the orchestra, et cetera, but also everyone else watching it. So it creates such a magic energy, really, that is making everyone being one thing. Yes, I know. Feeling the same in the same moment and in a way unifying the personal experience of everyone. Now, of course, none of us was in the middle of a revolution, of a French revolution. Luckily, not many of us had the mother dying. But it's that feeling, isn't it? It's that moment and, you know, when the aria at a certain point changes from minor to major and it goes, you know, I'm love. And suddenly it's like a bright sunshine coming through the dark of the. Of the concert hall. You can't stop it, isn't it? Totally. But that is the incredible thing with this area, how it changes the character finds the way to get through this incredibly difficult, dark moment through the power of love. And that just is incredible. How could someone write, you know, first of all is the libretto and then, of course, the music that goes with it. Yeah. Was it. Did you see the version at the Royal Opera House? Yes, that's the Right. With Ratwanowski. Yes. Oh, my gosh, she was incredible. Yes. She was just like, what is this? And that cello. I mean, that cello, I'm sure he loves it. Every time he has the power to introduce this area. I mean, if you had. I mean, there is another thing I want to ask you. You know, I'm myself a Concert pianist. And I love being a concert pianist and at the same time I'm crazy about opera. But I never made the leap to do opera myself. So I stayed true to being a pianist. It is never late though. I have an idea for you in a minute. Please continue. Tell me. You know, when I was younger, I just finished the conservatoire and my teacher was trying to push me into an opera. They said I would be a perfect violet. I was like, yes. And you know, coming from a little. And in that moment there was this wonderful TIBU series again. Tivu. It's so important sometimes, you know, people explaining you Opera, our program as well, you know, we talk about opera, we talk about music through the vision of the performers, through the vision. So it's really an incredible way to understand music, although it's speaks by himself. But, you know, I had. My life was already in the direction of being a pianist. So how did you make this change? Yes, very. I mean, it's useful right now. Yeah. My life was also a pianist because I, at the age of four, I started the classical ballet. At the age of six I studied the classical, playing the piano. And it was never a situation that I would do anything else. And when I came to audition, I auditioned as a pianist. I mean, I entered the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a pianist. But at the age of 16 I joined the choir in Cyprus and of course my conservatoire there. And the chorus master made a phone call to my mother to say that I had a very good voice and that she had to consider seriously sending me for private lessons to develop my voice. At the time, I myself wasn't into this a lot, you know, I was a very late beginner as a singer. The piano was the main thing for me. And then when I auditioned, though funnily enough, I wasn't behaving as a pianist, I was wearing this long orange dress in my auditions in London and huge scarf around my neck. And I would never forget, as I was coming down the staircase of the Guildhall after my audition, I was stopped by two different guys who asked me if I am an opera singer. Yeah, I don't think we're very different, isn't it? Yes. And in any case, I was a very good pianist. And I remember finishing my first year with an A minus as a pianist. And then what happened in the second year? My teacher at the time, I prefer not to mention the name, she's Russian. She then gave me an incredibly difficult repertoire to prepare for my second year. And I wasn't ready for That I don't think mentally I was ready for studying a piece like the Schumann's. Very difficult, Extremely difficult. That also requires. Requires, you know, a certain type of growth, you know, and maturity as a person. I was only 19 and I know that for concert pianists that's already too late. But no, nice is nice not to. No, no, no, no. There is the piece. No, no, no. It's the piece that is just a very strong. I recorded that piece later on, but that was way after I finished all day concerts. Yeah. And I was very well prepared. And I knew it was difficult. So crazy to give it to you at 19. And I did have it. I did have a nervous breakdown, sadly during that year. But then I. When I started the Guild hall, my second study was the same. So at the same time I was doing second study the singing. And my teacher, my singing teacher in the second year said to me, look, you have a very good instrument. This is the time where you need to make the decision what do you want to do? Want to be a pianist or a singer? And just how everything worked in that I could just. I had such a blackout with the piano in relation to that piece. And then I auditioned and entered. I was accepted to enter the third year Singers. So that change, it was like a blessing disguise. So for me, going back to playing the piano is a little bit more tricky than playing people think. I did have a nervous breakdown as a pianist and I could not play at all for many years. I only started playing for my students, my singing students. And that was different because it's an accompaniment. It's during the lesson. I didn't have the pressure. Yeah. So for me, this is a major thing that I've been able to overcome after so many years. The issue of being unable to play because of the breakdown I had. And it was a serious thing at the time of the Guild Faloso. And they tried to deal with it in the best possible way, but it was what it was. So this is how I changed a bit like the phoenix who come back from the ashes, isn't it? From the ashes of this nervous breakdown, you became a wonderful Phoenix opera singer. So. Yes, wonderful, wonderful. Well, let's listen now to the song Love by Stephen Stephan Hodel. And then you're gonna tell us something about this wonderful song. Okay. Summer night and so breathing the sun. The sound of the ocean and the light of the sheep. On the horizon. A gentle warm breeze. Lives. Their eyes become one. And at that moment time stops. How beautiful this was. Love by Stephen Hodel with Katerina Mina and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Katerina, would you like to tell us something about this song? Yes. Can you hear me, Stefania? Yes, I can. Yes. Okay. So this song, it's written on the music of. It is written on my poetry. So this is one of 46 poems that were published in my first poetic collection called Eros. And the collection came out just before the lockdown, so at least we were able to have it published. And I just wanted to say that I began to write poetry following my divorce in 2011 as I embarked on this soulful journey to discover the meaning of true love. So again, we go back to exactly what we were talking before, and it was a very challenging and. And thrilling at the same time. Seven year journey with my writing in which I experienced so many different feelings of, you know, from immense sadness to happiness to desperation to fulfillment to satisfaction. Writing became for me a fabulous way of treating my depression at the time and releasing deeply intense emotions. And it was an incredible blessing against, for me to have finally discovered the meaning of true love at the end of that extraordinary journey and to be able to put it into words. Some of the poems are put into music and I feel nice about this. Well, the song is fantastic. It's really beautiful and the words are even more touching. So where can we buy your book? You can get it online on the editor's website. And if people type in Eros, Eros, and then my name, Katerina Mina, they will find it online and they'll be able to download it or buy a physical copy of it, but they can also get in touch with me directly through my webpage so we can have a signed copy then. I really would like that. Beautiful. Now, to finish our interview today, we're gonna listen to your wonderful version of Tosca Visidarte. Thank. You. Sam. Sa. Sam. Ra. Sam. And this was Visidarte from Tosca by Puccini with Caterina Mina and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Caterina Visidarte. I think that's your slogan. What do you think? Yes, I think so. Yes, I left it last. It's just one of my most favorite pieces, Another Prayer. And you know, Puccini, I think eventually did not want it in the score, did you? That's incredible. No, but that's the truth. But anyway, I'm just so thankful we had our. Our conversation today. Very, very interesting subjects. And thank you for having me on your program. Well, thank you. I mean, it's always a joy. Listen to you, listening to you singing and definitely, you know, listening your opinion on opera and your life is so inspiring, both as an artist, as a person. So thank you so much for being with us on the third edition of Future Classic Women Awards. If you have any questions that you would like to ask to our guest or nomination for our Future Classic Women awards, please email presentersomensradiostation.com or tweet us @womensradiostn. Again, a big thanks to our guest opera singer and winner of our first edition of Future Classic Women Awards, Katerina Mina, for the great chat and the beautiful music plate today. You've been listening to Future Classic Men Awards on women's radio station Live every day at 10am and 10pm London time. And if you would like to listen to it again or catch up on our previous programs, you can head to my presenter page. Stefania Passamonte Future Classic Women Awards on womensradiostation.com thank you for listening.