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The Soprano

by Robyn Israel

L auretta Schicchi is a melodramatic teenage character who comes to life in Giacomo Puccini's one-act opera, "Gianni Schicchi." Angered by her father's disapproval of the man she wants to marry, the manipulative Lauretta blatantly tells him that if he doesn't acquiesce, she will throw herself off the Ponte Vecchio and into the Arno River.

It's all a little tongue-in-cheek -- even for Puccini, according to coloratura soprano Asia Roos, who will perform the piece, "O Mio Babbino Caro" ("O My Beloved Father") on Saturday at Spangenberg Theatre with the Palo Alto Philharmonic.

"He (Puccini) gave her one of the best arias in the repertoire. It's a great aria," Roos said in a recent phone interview. "And it's my father's favorite aria. I usually try to do it for him when I have the opportunity."

Roos' Dad, Norvid, will be in the audience on Saturday night to see his daughter perform a variety of popular arias. To create a balanced program, Roos worked with Conductor Gideon Grau, founder of the Palo Alto Philharmonic.

In addition to the Puccini aria, Roos will also perform "Je Veux Vivre," from Charles Gounod's "Romeo and Juliet;" "The Doll's Aria" from Jacques Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffman" and "A Cavatina" from Gettano Donizetti's "Don Pasquale."

"These are all arias I enjoy singing, arias I feel I'm strong in (performing). They're all really charming pieces, with wonderful characters behind them. And they're all smaller parts of larger roles I'd like to play at some point."

Currently a student at the San Francisco Conservatory, Roos has one semester left before she completes her bachelor's degree in music. Already, though, she has crafted an impressive resume for herself. In 1997, she sang the role of Susana in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music summer opera. In 1999, Roos was a soloist in Leonard Bernstein's "Mass" with the Cabrillo Music Festival. And she is the 2002 winner of the Burlingame Music Society's 46th annual Young Musician's Award. Grau was a judge for that competition and, upon seeing Roos perform, invited her to be a soloist with the Palo Alto Philharmonic.

"I consider her to be an outstanding operatic talent, with a voice of beautiful quality and projection, in addition to her very attractive stage presence," Grau said.

Roos also impressed David Garner, one of her professors at the Conservatory. He wrote a piece expressly for Roos, entitled "The Curious Sofa," based on a 1961 work by American author and illustrator Edward Gorey ("a writer of strange, Gertrude Stein-like poems," Roos said). It premiered last March at the Conservatory of Music.

"It's hard to describe it exactly, but the music is absolutely beautiful," Roos said. "And it's great to have a piece that shows off your voice, and that you get to have input on during the creative process."

Roos is a coloratura soprano, which means the pitches she is most comfortable singing - and those with the highest volume - are three to four pitches higher than that of normal sopranos. Joan Sutherland and Natalie Dessay are two well-known coloratura sopranos.

"I've worked with David for years, so he knows my voice pretty well," she said.

A native of Santa Cruz, Roos has taken voice lessons since the age of 11. Another longtime interest is costume-making -- not surprising, as her mother, Elaine, is a costumer and her father, Norvid, is a set designer. They met while working in the theater department at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

"I grew up in a very backstage, theater craft-oriented environment. I picked up a whole bunch of costuming stuff," said Roos, who will wear one of her floor-length creations on Saturday.

By day, Roos, 21, works as a freelance theatre and special-event costumer -- a job she knows she can rely on, should her singing career not always pan out.

"I've got one game plan that goes in one direction and another game plan that goes in another direction," Roos said. "But (for now) the sewing supports the singing."

Regardless of how the future unfolds for the San Francisco resident, Roos remains optimistic and chooses to live in the moment. For that reason, she really relates to Gounod's "Je Veux Vivre" aria ("I Want to Live").

" 'Je Veux Vivre' really speaks to me personally, because I feel I can understand what it's like to be young, to be excited about the potential that life has to offer, to get out and do things."
Robyn Israel may be contacted at risrael@paweekly.com

Who: The Palo Alto Philharmonic, conducted by Gideon Grau. Coloratura soprano Asia Roos will performing arias by Offenbach, Gounod, Puccini and Donizetti. The program will also include "Poet and Peasant Overture" by Franz von Suppe, "Concerto No. 2 in E Flat Major for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 74" by Carl Maria von Weber (featuring soloist Adam Pease), "El Salon Mexico" by Aaron Copland and excerpts from Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story."

Where: Gunn High School's Spangenberg Theatre, 780 Arastradero Road in Palo Alto

When: Saturday at 8 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $12 general; $10 seniors (62 and older); $5 students and can be purchased at the door or at Peninsula Box Office, 70 Town and Country Village in Palo Alto.

Info: Call (408) 395-2911 or visit http://www.paphil.org