Masada heroics for rising star
WHEN 26-year-old mezzo-soprano Na’amah Goldman was asked to understudy the principal role in Carmen, staged by the Israeli Opera at Masada in June, she knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime.
The outdoor opera featuring 450 performers, including 32 Spanish flamenco dancers, and 3000 lavish costumes attracted more than 50,000 fans to the series of five performances.
Little did Goldman realise that there was plenty of drama to come that would put her career in the spotlight.
At the general rehearsal on the night before the premiere, the star of the production, Nancy Fabiola Herrera – who has performed the title role of Carmen all over the world – chose to preserve her voice for the four-hour premiere and handed the role to her understudy, Italian mezzo-soprano Anna Malavasi.
Unfortunately, Malavasi fell ill and with a few hours’ notice, Goldman was asked to step in.
“The management suddenly realised that they didn’t have a Carmen and I was called in at the last minute,” Goldman recalled last week during a month-long visit to Australia as the winner of the inaugural Israel-Melbourne Opera Studio Exchange Prize.
“Being on stage at Masada was very exciting, stressful, amazing, unbelievable. It’s hard to describe my feelings.
“I was assigned the understudy role only two weeks earlier, so I had been learning it musically but had not participated in any rehearsals on stage, just sitting on the side watching. I had never worked with the maestro [conductor Daniel Oren] or with the orchestra, so it was hard to prepare for a main role.”
Despite the lack of preparation, Goldman rallied to give a fine performance. Then, at the grand premiere the following evening, Goldman again came to the rescue when Herrera could not continue as Carmen after performing the first two acts.
“During the main break she came backstage and said she did not feel well and could not do the second half, so the management called me in for the rest of the premiere,” she explained.
“I was sitting with the audience enjoying the show until I got the call to go on stage. The interval was extended so that I could get my hair, make-up and costume done.”
While Goldman was not required for the remaining performances of Carmen, she admitted it was a case of being thrown into the deep end.
“The performances at Masada have become a great event in the opera world, not just for the Israel Opera.”
Opera at Masada has become a tradition since Nabucco was staged in 2010, followed by Aida. Next year’s opera will be Turandot.
Goldman has spent the past two years working full time with the opera studio for young singers at the Israel Opera, but will now embark on a freelance career while continuing to be a member of the ensemble at the Israel Opera.
While Goldman has always been a talented musician and played the piano, it was only while serving in the Israeli Army that she became a singer.
“I took some voice lessons and found that I really related to singing and really loved it. It opened a new world to me and that has become my main direction.”
Goldman is thrilled to have won the exchange prize provided by The Opera Studio Melbourne, an independent, post-graduate training studio attracting singers from around the world.
“I was told about two months ago that I was the lucky winner,” said Goldman. “It is an amazing opportunity to work outside your own country and meet colleagues from other countries. You get new perspectives on performances.”
Earlier this year, Melbourne tenor Eric Ferrer spent three weeks in Tel Aviv as the other winner of the Israel-Melbourne Opera Studio Exchange Prize, performing with the Israeli Opera Studio’s young artists.
Goldman appeared in two community gala concerts at Caulfield Hebrew Congregation’s Sukiert Hall, where she joined other singers performing opera and music favourites.
Last week she performed in the Melbourne Opera Studio’s production of Ned Rorem’s Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters under the control of visiting American director Mary Birnbaum.
“This is my first visit to Australia, but I’m sure it wont be my last time here,” added Goldman.
REPORT by Danny Gocs
PHOTO of Israeli opera singer Na’amah Goldman by Lochlan Tangas
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