The world-famous soprano Jessica Pratt will gift the Bulgarian audience with an exceptional and unusual concert this evening. On the Sofia Opera stage, under maestro Daniel Oren’s conductorship, she will perform five of the most complex madness scenes in opera literature.
Performing the madness scene from “Lucia di Lammermoor” is a singing feat in and of itself: it’s a whole twenty minutes during which vocal hardships come one after another, like waves. Just imagine adding four more similar scenes to this one. Jessica Pratt will perform them one after the other: a demonstration of unique singing mastery. Even though madness scenes are more or less compulsory for bel canto operas, they’re very different from one another, the differences being in said opera composer’s biographies.
Jessica Pratt, opera singer: “In fact, Donizetti has composed the most operas with madness scenes. He had syphilis and went mad himself. He began composing these scenes when he was afflicted with the disease and I believe he studied through them what was happening in his own mind. Actually, the way he composes the madness scenes is very realistic. Bellini himself suffered from depression and his madness scenes are more closely connected to severe depression.”
The bel canto repertoire is very daunting for singers because it requires an incredible vocal virtuosity. Jessica Pratt has her own secrets as to how she remains brave enough to perform these roles. She says it’s like riding a horse: even if you fall, you have to immediately get back on; only then can you overcome your fears.