Joyce DiDonato | Using Her Voice

Not that this global opera star and Grammy Award winner has any downtime these days, nor does she need to pad her flight miles. Splitting time between her Kansas City, Mo., hometown and a residence in Spain, DiDonato spent part of the summer headlining recitals in Baden-Baden, then traveled to South America and back to Europe for performances of her narrative-driven, environmentally-themed staged concert “Eden.” This fall, she’s at Carnegie Hall teaching master classes, followed by recitals and opera roles booked through 2025.

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However, assuming the mantle of an internationally known superstar was not the original plan for mezzo-soprano DiDonato. Music was always part of the household growing up in a large family. “I was the biggest choir and drama geek in school,” she recalls. “At home, everyone listened to all kinds of music. My older brother listened to Deep Purple in the basement, and my father tuned into ‘Live at the Met’ on the radio on Saturday afternoons. He’d also invite me to watch opera performances on PBS.”

Opera didn’t quite click with DiDonato at first. Instead, she went to Wichita State University to study music education, inspired by her high school choir teacher. She also studied voice, thinking it would make her a better teacher. It was then and there, that opera captivated her. “I found opera by singing it,” she says. “It pulled me in. I was singing some of the best poetry ever written about the human condition.”

By her senior year of college, she pivoted to opera performance but did a semester of student teaching. “It was hard,” she says. “It was a rough school, and the need there was so big. I felt like I should be in the classroom but wanted to be on the stage.” Conflicted, she followed her father’s advice. “He said that there was more than one way to teach.”

DiDonato devoted herself to opera, studying, getting coached and waiting tables in Philadelphia, Houston and New York. Her break came in 1998 when she won the second prize in Operalia, the world opera competition founded by Plácido Domingo. A London talent manager sought her out, and a few years later, she was cast as Rosina in a new production of “The Barber of Seville” by the Paris Opera. “For years, I was the go-to Rosina,” DiDonato says. “I debuted in a lot of top houses with her. I understood her character.”

DiDonato famously took the phrase “break a leg” literally with Rosina on the opening night of a production at the Royal Opera House in London. She tripped, broke her leg, then finished that night’s performance on a cane and the rest of the shows in a wheelchair, with a pink cast that matched her costume.

Along the way, she learned to sing in French, German, Italian and Spanish and even tackled the conversational basics of the languages. “It’s a lot of work,” she explains. “Right now, I’m learning to sing in Czech. I’ve also sung in ancient Greek.”

DiDonato learned to be flexible about venues and dressing rooms. “There are places that have no AC and are old and moldy. All I need is water and a good night’s sleep to put me in my best place and to focus on the music.”

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As her career blossomed, DiDonato recalled her father’s advice about seeking opportunities to teach and found ways to give back. She took the Metropolitan Opera’s production of “Dead Man Walking” to Sing Sing prison in New York, where she taught inmates to become part of the chorus.

The “Eden” project, which she calls “not quite an opera, not quite a musical, not a recital,” includes four centuries of music and a new piece commissioned from Rachel Portman, the Academy Award-winning British composer. DiDonato performs in “Eden,” but for her, the most important aspects are the kid’s workshops on environmental issues and the local children’s choirs included in the performances. “We’ve worked with more than 3,000 kids so far,” she says.

For her master classes at Carnegie Hall, she spends mornings in private sessions, then opens things up to the public in the afternoon. “The audience learns how to listen, too,” DiDonato notes.

As she continues stepping onto ICONIC stages worldwide, the opera star is grateful for where her voice has led her. “When I started, the most I’d hoped for was to have some kind of regional role near my home in Kansas City,” she says. “But when I come to a place like Carnegie Hall, I know it’s a place of legends—it’s like the ghosts are holding my hand. I don’t get stage fright—I’m excited about each performance. I know my role is to give the audience an extraordinary experience.”