La Donna È Mirabile
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Evelyn Mandac as Melisande with Raymond Gibbs (left). (Source: Santa Fe Opera Archives). Her Melisande with Lajos Kozma (above). (Source:: Teatro dell'Opera di Roma)
She performed in five American premieres: two at Juilliard (The Mines of Sulphur by Rodney Bennett and Passaggio by Luciano Berio in New York which she then performed in Turino, Italy with the RAI Orchestra) and three professional ones (L'Ormindo by Francesco Cavalli in Washington National Opera, Bassarids by Hans Werner Henze at Sante Fe Opera, and the first staged US production of Handel's Rinaldo (above) with Marilyn Horne). (Source: Houston Grand Opera Archives)
She also performed in two world professional premieres of operas written by Thomas Pasatieri inspired by both her voice and dramatic prowess: Ines de Castro at the Baltimore Opera and Black Widow at the Seattle Opera (above with Jenny Tourel). According to Paul Hume of The Washington Post, “Mandac is a marvelously thrilling singer to watch and hear. Her voice is effortlessly and perfectly produced. Pasatieri wrote into the role many lines of special effect, drawing on her gifts for pianissimo high song, as well as real dramatic powers.” (Source: Seattle Opera)
I did not know what to expect from voice lessons from an Opera Star but meeting her virtually felt daunting. I mean, my God. She's sang with the creme de la creme:
Sherill Milnes, Richard Tucker, Jenny Tourel, Frederica von Stade, James Morris, Kiri te Kanawa, Shirley Verrett, Placido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, and Birgit Nilsson
under the batons of famous conductors:
John Pritchard, Peter Maag, Jean Périsson, Emerson Buckley, Sixten Ehrling, Lawrence Foster, Herbert von Karajan, James Levine, Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa and Eugene Ormandy
directed by notable stage directors:
Jean Pierre Ponnelle, Ian Strasfogel, Bodo Igesz, Christopher West (of Covent Garden), Tito Copabiano, Frans Boerlage, Frank Corsaro, Bliss Hebert, Fabrizio Melano, Peter Adler, Lotfi Mansouri, Glynn Ross, Gian Carlo Menotti, and Peter Hall
on the most prestigious stages in the world:
San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Baltimore Opera, Geneva Opera, Netherlands Opera, Teatro dell’opera di Roma, The Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Strasbourg Opera House, Lyon Opera, Ravinia Festival in Chicago, the Robin Hood Dell in Philadelphia, the Salzburg Music Festival, the Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, and the Glyndebourne Music Festival.
The thought of her highly honed musical ears dissecting my voice makes me cringe but this insecurity subsides when she answers my virtual calls. Her infectious smile is open, warm, and sincere, always welcoming me into her safe singing space.
This is Evelyn Mandac’s Anne Trulove at the Washington National Opera’s The Rake's Progress with George Shirley in 1973. She would appear in a new production of Manon in their next season where one critic wrote that she brought “a fire-and-ice sensuality to her role that almost melted the wrought iron grillwork in St. Sulpice Chapel when she went there to reclaim her lost love, des Grieux. The poor man never stood a chance from the minute he saw her standing there.” (Photo by Fletcher Drake, Courtesy of the Kennedy Center Archives)
Here is her Ines with Placido Domingo (in photo) and Shirley Verrett in L’Africaine which opened the season in 1973. You can hear the thunderous applause and shouts of "Brava" after her first aria in its live recording. According to Robert Kopelson of The Daily California Arts Magazine, “Of the three [performers], Miss Mandac displays the subtlest musicianship…” Alan Rich of The New York Magazine wrote “But for me the star of the evening was the Filipino soprano… She is an extraordinarily moving lyric soprano with flawless style and a voice flooded with humanness.” (San Francisco Opera Archives)
As a teacher, Evelyn Mandac is hyper focused. Unlike others who teach from some kind of pre-planned step-by-step manual, she has a more instinctive, organic approach. She is totally present listening to you sing in the moment and suggesting various ways to improve on how you just sang as she demands more and more of your concentration and energy. The learning process is intense and I see the drive innate in her that made her succeed where no other Filipino has.
As Gilda in Rigoletto at the Geneva Opera (left). As Norina in Don Pasquale at the Holland Opera Festival (middle) and as Luise in Der Junge Lord at the Dutch Opera (right). (Source: Evelyn Mandac private photo collection)
Of her performance at Glyndebourne, the Guardian critic writes: she "is a delectable Susanna, with eyes as well as voice that focus the comedy with irresistible sparkle" (left in Le Nozze di Figaro) and "The surprise of this performance is that for once Despina emerges as a central character, thanks to the personality and delightful singing of Evelyn Mandac…" (right in Così Fan Tutte). (Source: Guy Gravett and Glyndebourne Productions Ltd. / ArenaPAL)
My teacher is indeed a master of emotions. She has earned critical acclaim for her many portrayals of opera heroines but I learned quickly that she is as skilled emoting on stage as she is in reading other people's emotions off it. And in doing so, she can surmise their thoughts. It doesn't surprise me anymore when she verbalizes exactly what I just acknowledged about myself a split second before. Sometimes, she's got me figured out before I even know what's going on myself. In this way, her student's many strengths and weaknesses are laid bare in full view for her to inspect. While this is clearly unsettling, there is nothing to fear because she does not magnify insecurities but patiently teaches you how to smooth them out. She often affectionately reminds me, "Chiara, be kind to yourself." And like a fairy godmother with her magic wand, she transforms my various uglies into something beautiful I haven't heard from myself before.
In 1966, she was one of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition winners. In 1975, she became the first Filipino to ever sing at the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera House - and still the only Filipino to perform in lead roles there. Here she is in her debut there as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with Cornell MacNeil. (Source:: the Metropolitan Opera Archives)
One thrilling aspect of having Evelyn Mandac as your voice teacher is that you have the only seat in the house as she demonstrates what she teaches in the lesson. It is fascinating to watch her transform before your eyes from teacher to performer and, for a few seconds at a time, you get to hear her voice and see her in action. Unfortunately, she's done demonstrating too soon and she turns to you pointblank: now, your turn! Sometimes I think: What? How can I possibly sing after that? But she's waiting, demanding, and persistent, like a fierce mother bird willing and loving her baby to fly. You have no other choice but to sing after the Opera Star.
Listen to her voice dance in Stetit Puella in her recording of Carmina Burana with Seiji Ozawa.
Watch her in action as Lisa in her TV debut in an adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, the first ever Opera production staged for television in 1971.
Prima Donna, she is not. It is not about her at all. It is about the student. After only a few lessons, she revealed, "I want to learn more about you." Later on, she added, "Also knowing you more and understanding you makes me know how to teach you better." Evelyn Mandac cares deeply about teaching her students the best way she can. I didn't know what to expect from her but now I know just what a tremendous privilege it is to be her student.
Evelyn Mandac as an orchestra soloist. Photo credit: Houston Opera Archives.
It has been one year since I started lessons with her. Class time is challenging but then I get to chat with her afterwards. While her luminous singing reputation precedes her everywhere she goes, it is her inner beauty that I find even more dazzling. Evelyn Mandac is truly one of these rare individuals who is the kindest, most caring, and most loving human being anyone can meet.
The teacher and her student
Chiara Cox combines her love for music, performing, art, and travel by producing classical music videos from her home studio. You can find her at www.ChiaraCox.com.
