An extraordinary singer/actress speaking honestly and fascinatingly about her art and her approach to what she does. An appreciative word is due to Charles Rose for asking the right questions and turning this filmed interview into a proper conversation ; she seems very comfortable with him.
It's funny she shaded Joan Sutherland for "not being an actress" when actually she was an intelligent performer who didn't overact and expressed through her voice reaching to the last seat in the theater, with absolute technical mastery. That's why she lasted till the end in great shape. It makes sense to have seen Dessay end up with vocal nodules and a cut short career as she attempted to follow in the footsteps of Maria Callas. The difference is that Maria Callas was a phenomenon.
I applaud Dessay for giving such in-depth, eloquent and sometimes even brutally honest answers in this interview, even when the interview wasn't really good.* The things she said about opera probably offended some people who work in the industry, but I agree with them; and everybody needs a good-faith stomping on the toes once in a while to keep up the good work.
Thank GOODNESS "The others" "The ears" discover this world class talent... OR... I... we'd be missing out on one of my/our favorite sopranos OF ALL TIME!
Her life story is interesting. I guess every musician has a story to tell. Mine was hilarious. When I was a child I liked to perform, so we would make theatrical performances for parents in the hood. Then you get on a professional stage and play or sing for your audience. Then someone notices that this kid is very talented and so they either take you or not. I always thought of myself as overly untalented, so was very pessimistic. But to sing and perform at the same time like her is hard. It mainly involves lots of emotions. You can see many opera singers tear up during their performances.
