\n<\/p>\n
It helped, Davidsen said, when the Met\u2019s orchestra \u2014 led by Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin, its music director \u2014 joined the cast in rehearsals. \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t think that it takes 70 more musicians,\u201d she added, \u201cbut they really help concentrate the way I sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin and Davidsen have worked together since 2019, when she sang a concert \u201cFidelio\u201d with him in Montreal. This \u201cForza\u201d is their first staged collaboration. He called her \u201cthe dream singer,\u201d not only because of her voice, but also because of \u201cthe million shades that she\u2019s finding in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
What sets her apart from other sopranos, he said, is \u201creally the combination of all those qualities in the service of every style.\u201d And she is attuned and devoted to the specific sounds, and demands, of every composer she comes across, he added.<\/p>\n
For now, the composers Davidsen is most comfortable with are from the German repertoire. But, as the \u201cForza\u201d opening nears, she is confident about Italian opera, too. She also feels lucky, as a star singer offered roles without an audition, that she has the opportunity to sing Leonora on a stage like the Met\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there are more obvious choices for this role,\u201d she said, \u201cso I really appreciate that they still want me to do it\u201d; many singers wouldn\u2019t get the chance, and \u201cthey become those one-role singers. If we\u2019re able to trust other singers, then maybe the variety will be bigger as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s especially important, she added, because she is aware that some won\u2019t like her Leonora, or her Tosca next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fully stand by the fact that this is my take on them,\u201d Davidsen said. \u201cAnd if it doesn\u2019t work, it doesn\u2019t work. Then you go and see the next Tosca. It\u2019s OK for me that it\u2019s not for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n