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She’s performed all over the world, and now mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke is returning to College Station, where she grew up, to sing with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. I sat down with her for a Zoom call while she was on location in upstate New York for the first fully staged American production of Ernest Chausson’s opera Le Roi Arthus (King Arthur), for which she appeared in the leading role as Guinevere (Genièvre). The following is an edited excerpt from our conversation. —Ellen Ritscher Sackett
IN How’s it going?
SC Lately I have just been feeling really grateful to have a wonderful job, you know, coming out of the pandemic and then a feature role like this, which is so fun. My voice type, mezzo-soprano, so rarely gets to be the leading lady so playing Guinevere has been a treat.
IN You have a wide range, wider than a typical mezzo, yes?
SC I have a pretty big range and have sung some soprano roles and contralto ones, but I am clearly a mezzo and I like to stay on the staff. I think that’s also a reason I've done a lot of contemporary music. So many composers want the words to really be heard and understood, and it tends to help when you’re not too high or too low.
IN Is there other repertoire you’d like to sing?
SC Well I would love to do more traditional repertoire. That has been the general goal of the last few years. Many singers have a handful of roles that they repeat and take around the world. That just hasn't been me. Every season tends to include 20 to 30 different projects, usually many new pieces to digest. As a result I have to really manage my time. And since I'm a mom too, I have to watch my energy because there's only so much of it.
IN How do you keep up with all that repertoire?
SC I’m honestly so grateful for my piano background because I can play the accompaniment and get a sense of the full picture. I started piano when I was 5. Kearby Gordon and then Linda Rundell from B/CS were my teachers. I adored piano and got pretty serious about it, so eventually choosing voice over piano — it was kind
of a big moment. But in terms of learning lots of repertoire, I’ve been able to learn by playing, often without singing. Typically when I’m on a job, I’m learning one thing as I warm up and then performing another which also helps with my pace.
IN In addition to opera, you are an accomplished recitalist.
SC It's the hardest of all the genres, actually. It’s the most singing, the most memorization and the most work in terms of preparation. It's also so exposed. You can't hide behind anything. Some of my most favorite experiences were recitals because it just feels like the epitome of what we love about music. It's healing, transformative and spontaneous. It really is the universal language. I think something about singing in that intimate environment, where it feels like everyone is in your living room, is really the best.
IN Were you born in the B/CS area?
SC I was born in California and then my parents got dual professorships at Texas A&M, so we moved there when I was 4. Basically, my whole childhood was in College Station.
IN When did you start to take voice lessons?
SC Kearby Gordon in College Station was my teacher for voice, but I started pretty late, just the last couple of years of high school. At the time, someone said to me, you should try to get into Rice [University]. And I was like, I won't get into Rice — no way. So I went on a whim. I just thought that would never happen.
IN But you ended up going to Rice . . .
SC . . . I luckily got into Rice and went there for my undergrad. I recall saying to my voice teacher there Kathleen Kaun that I wanted to sound ‘like those girls — like the soprano the Queen of the Night (in The Magic Flute).’ Kathy said to me: “it's good to be unique. It's good to be different.” And I remember that was a light bulb moment for me, like, “oh, it is? It's good to be different!” She had told me I had a special timbre and I remember thinking, what is that word? What is timbre? I had to figure that out. But so far, she was right. It’s good to be different.
IN What was it like for you at Rice?
SC It felt like the red carpet rolled out. It’s not that I didn’t work hard. But the doors
just kept opening. I kept getting these wonderful opportunities to shine and grow. I got this specialized attention and that was a wonderful benefit of going to a smaller school.
IN You then did graduate work at The Juilliard School.
SC Same thing. I never imagined that would happen. There are quite a bit of rounds to get into the master’s program there, and it was all very surreal. I think one of the reasons that I got in is because I never imagined I would. I just wasn’t very nervous. New York ended up being important for me then and afterwards, because in the classical business, it’s helpful to make your mark in New York.
IN What was your big break?
SC Someone said we want you to come sing for [the Metropolitan Opera music director] James Levine. And I thought, OK. I remember I wasn’t nervous (again) because I thought this is never going to happen, so here we go. Then after the audition, I was doing my finals at Juilliard. I looked down into my purse and my phone was ringing. It was the Met! I started running down the halls at Juilliard — I couldn’t believe it! They had accepted me into the young artist program.
IN I understand your husband, Kelly Markgraf, is a fine baritone. Do you sing together?
SC I wish we sang together more. It doesn't happen often enough. Actually, in College Station, he's performed several times. . . . most recently was Carmina Burana. We met in New York. I was leaving Juilliard just as he came in. I was across the street as a young artist at the Metropolitan Opera and he was at Juilliard. We met at a sushi restaurant.
IN Is he from Texas?
SC He's from Wisconsin. Actually, he was the one to choose Texas. Once finishing our programs in New York, we were traveling singers for 14 months and went from job to job. Then I was singing in Chicago, and I thought Chicago is a great town and Wisconsin is not far away. So we lived there for four years, had our first daughter, and then thought, what's the point of spending all this rent when we're not even here? Let's live closer to family and at the time my parents were really available to help. Kelly said, let's move to Texas and so we moved to Texas happily eight years ago.
IN We are looking forward to your performance with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra.
SC So am I! I love Marcelo Bussiki. He is this, you know, beautiful soul and a wonderful conductor. And he always loves to do something I would love to do which is so special. The music I’m singing in October — it's called the Nights of Summer by Berlioz— it's one of the most substantial pieces for my voice type in the symphonic rep, almost 40 minutes of music, which is a wonderful treat for the singer. I love these songs and I've known them a long time, and best of all, it’s a joy to make music at home in College Station. It’s unlike anything else because I'm still in touch with that kid — me, you know? So it's meaningful and just feels like there's a lot of love in the room. And you know, there's nothing like having your parents in the audience.
IN Tell us a little about your parents.
SC I got really lucky in that department. I have not only amazing parents, but amazing siblings, and we’re all in really close touch. We actually genuinely love each other’s company, and my parents are the kind that — and if you met them once, you’d know exactly what I mean — they’re so exuberant about everything! They have a love of life and they also really get what we do. And appreciate what we do. They also know how hard it is. I think a lot of people don’t understand what the life of a
performer is. And my parents were just very sympathetic to that. When I was at Juilliard and I hadn’t gotten that call from the Met yet, I remember my dad saying to me, “We’re going to be behind you in this dream as long as you want to pursue it.” He said, “Just so you know, we are going to back this train.” It was huge.
My dad is a classical geek. When I was in the womb, classical music was blasting in my house — and I really mean blasting! I have memories of falling asleep to classical music still playing. That was just in my air, you know? And my mom has a beautiful voice and a strong singing voice. I have a sister who is a theater professor and also an author of her technique on acting. She’s a tremendous resource. I work on scripts with her. And my brother is also incredibly supportive.
I was going to the opera and the symphony from the time I could walk. UT Austin Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the symphony, BVSO — everything that my parents could reach, they took us to, and I didn't think that was unique. I didn't know other kids didn't go to classical music, and then you learn, oh, this is special to see so much art! I also never thought I would be a singer. Definitely not. I was a chubby kid. I was shy in choir. I remember feeling my voice stuck out in choir. At that point I didn’t know it was good to be different.
I honestly would not be a singer if it weren't for my parents. If we're told that our voice is valuable and that we have something to share, then we share it. But if no one applauds us and no one acknowledges our voice, we silence ourselves. It’s interesting because I never wanted to be a performer and it was always out of joy that I did it. Luckily the joy is still there.
IN You have two young children of your own. How do you manage when you are on the road?
SC Well I am very lucky to have a great partner. When I am on the road, my husband typically mans the fort. But I try to have only 30% of the year that we're not together. So 30%, they're traveling with me, and then 30% I'm home. In the summer we’re always together, and holidays. There are so many things in this career that connect to the schedule. You have a lot to balance. It’s always a work in progress. I hit a wall every few years usually from taking on too much, or I simply don't realize my limitations. It took me a while to have the bravery to say no. I often try to encourage young singers or young musicians in that regard, because you feel so pressured in the beginning to say yes to every opportunity, understandably. But we also need to have lives and take care of ourselves. I've said before that being an artist makes me a better mom and being a mom makes me a better artist. There’s divine joy in both and they feed off of one another.
IN Why do you think you’ve been so successful?
SC In my masterclasses I share what I call Sasha Spiels. They are my theories on why I've been successful. And one of them is gratitude. Energetically speaking, because we are flesh instruments, what we think literally resonates. So, what goes into our head goes out of our mouths. If we're thinking, thank you for being here, thank you for this piece. Thank you for this moment — you know, what we think comes through. The added benefit is that it not only shifts the way we sing, it shifts the way we see the world.
About Sasha Cooke
Two-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has been called a “luminous standout” (The New York Times) and “equal parts poise, radiance and elegant directness” (Opera News). She is sought after by the world’s leading orchestras, opera companies, and chamber music ensembles for her versatile repertoire. Cooke has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Gran Teatre del
www.stephaniegirard.com
Liceu, among others, and with over 70 symphony orchestras worldwide under leading conductors including Harry Bicket, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Mark Elder, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Riccardo Muti,, Michael Tilson Thomas and Edo de Waart. In the 2021-2022 season, Ms. Cooke returns to the Metropolitan Opera for her role debut as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and appears with the symphony orchestras of Boston, Houston, Detroit, Oregon, Minnesota, Los Angeles and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and recital appearances in Baltimore, San Francisco and Tucson. Her recordings can be found on the Hyperion, BIS, Chandos, Naxos, Pentatone, Bridge Records, Yarlung, GPR Records, and Sono Luminus labels. For more information visit www.sashacooke.com.
On The Program
Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture Berlioz: Summer Nights Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1 in F minor, Op.10
When: Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021 | 5 to 7 p.m.
Rudder Auditorium, 401 Joe Routt Blvd., College Station
Call (979) 696-6100 for tickets or visit bvso.org.
