Meet our artist of the week, Metropolitan Opera Mezzo Soprano Maya Lahyani! Come hear Maya who will be featured in MusicTalks’ upcoming concert Debussy and the Moon @Interface on October 24th!
We sat down with Maya to get to know her a little bit better and this is what we learned:
MT: What was your first exposure to classical music/opera? Do you come from a musical family?
Maya: I come form a very musical family, but no one is a professional musician. My grandparents loved classical music and frequently attended concerts. They had the same seats at the Israeli Philharmonic for almost 30 years, and classical music was played at their home (which neighbored ours) all the time. I started singing at elementary school and after a couple of years music became a very important part of my life. We began searching for the right place for me to learn and grow, and I ended up in a professional Children Choir, were I first sang classical music. I sang with that choir for 7 years, performing all over Israel and in festivals and competitions abroad. It was my introduction to the life of a professional musician and I knew I was hooked for life. Opera came to my life much later, when I heard Carmen for the first time as a teenager in concert at the Israeli Philharmonic with my grandmother. The IVAI Summer Opera Program in Israel was where I first saw fully staged productions and Master Classes. That program became very important in my development and career later on, as I spent many summers there; working, performing, and learning.
MT: What is your favorite role to perform and which role do you dream to perform?
Maya: At the moment, Carmen is my favorite role to perform. The music is fantastic and so satisfying to sing, the story is timeless and dramatic, and Carmen is such an interesting character to ‘put on’ and explore. I always say that working on Carmen is a little like therapy… You really have to dig deep inside yourself. I always try to find new things about her, my own version of who she is to me at the moment, and for a few hours really BE her. There’s something very cathartic about it. I also get to be very active on stage (dance, run, fight, and die), which makes the performance challenging but extremely fun and rewarding.
I have many dream roles and I’ll be so very happy and honored if I get to sing and perform all of them in the future. Dalila (Samson et Dalila), and Amneris (Aïda) are very high on my list.
MT: Tell us about your experience working with dancers and any other interesting collaborations
Maya: I had the great fortune of collaborating with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and I’m thrilled to join them again next month in a new World Premier – which will be our third collaboration. Working with dancers is such a different experience; so inspiring, enriching, and eye opening. Alonzo King is one of the most incredible human beings I have ever met. Being around him, creating with him and his fantastic dancers is truly a gift. As a classical musician we are often told what’s ‘wrong’ with us, what we need to fix. There’s no right and wrong when you work with Alonzo, there’s only fully committed or not. If you’re fully present, engaged, committed – you’re never wrong. That was a revaluation to me as a performer and a very important lesson as an artist. I get so much energy working with LINES Ballet and I often feel that it brings very different things out of me as a performer. It’s like being given a whole different color palette as a painter.
MT: What is the main difference for you in performing an opera and a song cycle?
Maya: Singing a song cycle and performing a role in an Opera are very different in some ways and quite the same in others. The preparation is similar, I start with the text and story and add the music and try to learn everything I can about the piece/composer/time. The main different is in the performance. Opera takes so many people to put on, you’re one part of a highly complicated machine. Singing a song cycle is very intimate, you and a pianist have to cultivate your artistic connection and create a whole story, a whole world in a much shorter time and without a set, costumes, effects, and full orchestra. It’s much more immediate but takes more imagination.
In both opera and song cycle I must create a character, and I try to engage with the audience and take them on a journey. In a song cycle I might be more than one character, and I’m often the story teller. Another important aspect is that opera is performed in large venues, while performing a song cycle is usually done in smaller spaces. The audience is closer and there’s something very intimate about it. I can see and feel them much more, and their reactions and energy become part of my performance and experience.
MT: Which non musical elements do you draw your inspiration from?
Maya: I draw inspiration from so many things! I’m an explorer and I’m extremely curious. I think all my experiences cultivate me as a performer. I travel a lot, and I believe that seeing the world and experiencing different places and different people is highly inspiring. I often take very long walks, I try to explore new places, sights, take in different cultures, different views. I like observing people, learn what makes us different, or special. I ask questions! I consume a lot of art (living in New York City makes it easy). I love reading books. I spend nice amount of time every year with my family in Israel and I try to remember what it was like being a kid; the excitement in discovering new things, throwing yourself completely into something new, the happiness and satisfaction of achieving things, big or small. I try to remember to enjoy my path.
