140 ALISON ENGLAND

DIVAS AND SUPERSTARS

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DIVA ALISON ENGLAND

Alison England

Q: What an Opera Diva does in Paris when she is not working? Alison: This Opera Diva teaches! Yes, I teach voice classes at a place called Harmonic Studio and private students as well! We really tackle the basics of singing; breathing, placement, tone, ease etc.... and I have constructed these classes for actors, dancers, and beginners! We dance; we move; we work hard! I also love the park and walk in it to ponder deeper questions and to study spiritually every day. This is my foundation and support for sure! And I try to cook dinner for my honey! (He is the REAL cook in the family). Q: Which part of Paris, do you live in? Alison: I live in the 19ere, next to a park called Parc Buttes Chaumont! A gorgeous man-made park that has a lake, ducks, waterfalls, bridges, caves (it's like Disneyland) and such FABULOUS clean air! When you climb to the top of the park you can see Montmartre, Sacre Coeur and much of Paris. Q: Where do you shop? What, usually you buy from those Parisian department stores? Alison: Parisian department stores!! I go straight to the heart of Paris and shop in the Cartiers for example on market day, down on Pyrèenes or at Place des Fetes! Cheeses, fruit, baguettes, legumes, wines and even scarves and gloves for the cold weather! (We love to have friends for dinners and this is a perfect, wonderful way to be IN Paris and do great dinners not so expensively - a thrifty diva!). Department stores for me are make-up and perfume and lingerie! For that it is SEPHORA for example or LAFAYETTE GALLERIAS. Q: How do you describe a busy day in the life of a busy Opera Diva? Alison: Wow, a great question! The basics are always the same! I start with spiritual study; getting centered and this I concentrate on and take throughout the whole day; physical exercise as much as possible! Then work the voice; warm up, move it around and finally ,study of music and listening to recordings just to get a jump on an audition for example. And for this diva, I study French and am preparing an operetta all IN French so I have the text with me on the metro in the street, in the bed and I p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e s-a-y-i-n-g t-h-e w-o-r-d-s v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y! Then dinner or lunch for my cherie; a student maybe; send out promo material and talk to the agent, and keeping up with my daughter on the phone and email while I am away from her! Q: Paris is a very expensive city. Do you bargain with the French? Alison: Yes whenever I can! It is great to use the "poker face". I am not good at this and it is good practice. State your price; hold to it and be willing to walk away! It is like opera contracts or even life opportunities; life choices! I find that every MOMENT is an intersection to bargain with - where you have to choose .............."Do I do this? Do I WANT this? Can I DO this? Can I walk away? How important is it?" Bargaining in a Paris market is good LIFE practice! Q: What were the most colorful gossips about Diva Alison, you read lately? Alison: That I am a TV Pop star in Europe! Do you LOVE that?! Q: I love it. You are a superstar. Do you like to give interviews? Alison: It is always my pleasure to share and to speak the truth! Especially to Maximillien!

Q: Do you live a normal life, being a diva? How does an Opera superstar like yourself spend a normal day in her life? Alison: Normal days are such blessings really! And these happen because of my WONDERFUL partner and friend, my man; and when my daughter comes to visit. Being in a REAL relationship grounds me. Coming home to a great meal and the smell in my kitchen. Having my daughter here and doing the daily things; baths; bedtime stories; playing in the park; putting on a bandage; talking about dogs and being silly, silly! We LOVE to be silly; all of us! Crazy moments when you are just stupid and wild and you dance around making up songs or saying crazy things! Then most important...quiet time. Reading, pondering, waiting...resisting the insistence of the world to go at a hell bent pace that leaves everyone in the hospital anyway! Calm music; a deep, profound kiss. Q: What is and what is not an ordinary life for you, Alison? Alison: Honestly?! I cannot run around all the time like I used to when I lived in the States! I felt so driven all the time and felt it was my DUTY to be busy and run and take every opportunity, even if it pushed me to exhaustion! "But REALLY!" I finally told myself...."If God really IS God.... why am I running around like a chicken with the head cut off pretending I AM God and doing all the work! Relax! Wait! Stop!" And you know what? When I finally had the courage to stop running...THINGS CAME TO ME! Q: Is Alison England your real name or a stage name? Alison: It is my real name! I have never changed it even with marriage! It is great, yes?! I appreciate my parent's choice very much!

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Q: You never thought about having another name instead? Alison: I did for awhile! I thought that doing something like Alice Margaretta or Marguerite Anglais... you know an Italian or French name so that people would take me seriously and I would get more work! Ha! Then I bagged it because it is NOT ME! My name is my name and that is that! If they only like the name; they never hear the voice anyway! (and who wants to wait at the DMV for 5 hours to change it?!) Q: Alison, I mean, "ENGLAND"! Do you think "ENGLAND" goes well with Italian Arias?

Alison: Not on the page, but does Marilyn Horne? or Barbara Boenning? Cynthia Lawrence? They work because we KNOW them. My name works. I am known, here, AND, my name is written in heaven baby! Who said..."What's in a name? A rose by any other WOULD SMELL AS SWEET!" (WS) Q: Tell me about your wardrobe. Do Opera singers shop differently for their stage and grande galas affairs?

Alison: I do have a closet for gowns and dinner events and parties. Jewelry! Pant suits of velvet -comfortable formal clothes! I love to dress up, every little girl does! How nice to do it when you are a big girl! My everyday wear is also who I am in my nature in that I favor scarves and shawls that drape over me and bold colors and big earrings. Also collars that turn up and shoes that have curves in the heel and special toes....pointed or square with buttons or spots. Hose are fun too ..like fish-nets and big holed socks! This is VERY French! Q: And how about you, Alison, do you go for all the glitters, the sequences, the velvet, the beads?

Alison: YES!! In my One Woman Opera Show, the second act has a full length, beaded, blue gown with a slit up the side, it is FABULOUS! Beaded gowns under light are smashing. Q: What were you doing, last week in Nice? Alison: I was attending a spiritual retreat. In fact, while I was there I got a panicked email about returning to Paris to do a spot on Star Academy which is the American version of something like Star Search or Survivor (but for artists)! Remember when I told you that I had learned to trust NOT running around? Well, I got that panicked email to come RIGHT AWAY for rehearsal and taping and I really agonized because I did not want to LOOSE the opportunity, but then I decided; " NO! I will not run back to Paris, I want to finish what I came to do!" I trusted myself in this way, came back on the day I was supposed to , got a call from the producer asking me to come that night for the taping and he even told me the rehearsal had been a waste of time! So I got to do the job AND I got to finish my time in Nice! I find priorities are imperative, and for me, learning to live OUT from another ground and trust that what IS mine WILL be mine no matter what I manipulate, has been a huge change!?

Q: Any big Opera project for Paris, London, New York? Alison: For starters. The Merry Widow in and around Paris! An Opera called GREEK out of Vienna! Opera, B'Way and Beyond in Paris too!

Q: Some folks are telling me you walked out on the America Opera. Is it true? Alison: WHAT? Can you hear me laughing from here? NO! NO! NO! What I left was a saturated market that, for a time, thought it knew all about me and wanted to discount the talents given me because I was in my 30's! This happens with many artists even though we are like wine, better with. Dare I say, oh, hell, you fill it in! And honestly, I have always wanted to come to Europe and it felt like the right time this for many reasons! I adore American Opera; have worked in it a lot and have been very blessed! I plan to be there when the right project happens for sure!

Q: Are you a calm diva or a bursting one? You know what all those who worked with Opera stars, say and think about Prima Donne? They are difficult to work with? True?

Alison: NO, I can be both, but I am more a bursting one, to use your words, but bursting with joy and the appreciation of what I am doing. Bursting with thanksgiving when the orchestra roles out its first notes and one goes crazy with the sheer beauty of the sound! Bursting with laughter when there is fun or a moment really inspired and extraordinary. In the past, there have only been 2 times that I was annoyed and I bursted briefly to adjust the situation because it warranted that, and then we all apologized and we dropped it! Have never been a yeller because there are a lot of great singers that can take your place that are kind. In fact, the bigger they are the more honest and even and down to earth I find. And yes, all kinds of Divas can be difficult! It isn't pretty but, in the defense of my colleagues, there are sometimes that the only way to be heard is to say HEY STOP! Just as long as it is not a constant, to me , then there is no problem!

Q: How easy going are you? Alison: Very. My tendency is to be hard on MYSELF. Which I am giving up for Ramedan AND Lent! Q: Your voice is so rich and vivacious. Sweet and tender. Classy and even folk. Have you ever considered singing pop? Alison: Yes absolutely! In fact, I have done a cabaret act using my voice and recorded certain pop, rock, and cabaret pieces. What I LOVE about pop or cabaret for example is its immediacy of communication in the text! The nakedness of feeling; the directness and the use of a mic! I LOVE creating a mood. A trained voice can do this without damage especially on a mic. In my show, I use ALL kinds of music and the audience is bowled over by the range and also by how accessible an opera voice can be - or rather an opera singer singing this type of music. Q: What would be a perfect question to end this brief chat with you? Alison: "How does one face the down times and the empty times?" I find that everyone loves to hear how great it is for the other guy, but in truth, EVERYONE is looking for answers about how to get through their day! Isn't that true?!