In a Word...Ambur Braid

From what I've experienced, the key is to do your job consistently well, to be very reliable and to be relentless.

Soprano Ambur Braid is quickly establishing herself as a rising young artist in dramatic coloratura soprano roles that encompass Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Massenet’s Esclarmonde, Handel’s Semele, and Mozart’s Queen of the Night. In her final season as a member of the ensemble at the Canadian Opera Company, Ms. Braid was seen in Christopher Alden’s new production of Die Fledermaus as Adele and will perform the role of Vitellia in the Ensemble Studio performance of La clemenza di Tito. Additionally in the 2012-2013 season, she sings the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte at Opera Atelier. She recently sang the Queen of the Night in the Ensemble Studio performance of Die Zauberflöte to great acclaim causing the National Post to praise her turning a “stock figurine into a scary, knife-wielding matriarch.” Other recent appearances with the Canadian Opera Company include Amore in Orfeo ed Euridice, The Greek Woman in Iphigénie en Tauride, and the Danish Lady in Death in Venice. Previous operatic credits include Diane in Iphigénie en Tauride with Opera Atelier; Konstanze in Die entfuhrung aus dem Serail, Queen of the Night in die Zauberflote, Princess/Fire in L’enfant et les sortileges with the San Francisco Conservatory; and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with The Glenn Gould School. Her awards include the East Bay Opera Competition, San Francisco Conservatory Concerto Competition, and Palm Beach Opera Competition. (Source: amburbraid.com)

CHARPO:  You made a deep impression in AtG's "Villains" pastiche in a minuscule venue and again in the mega production of Fledermaus more recently at COC. Could you compare the two experiences?

BRAID: Well, I do love playing the villainess... Joel Ivany has done a wonderful thing with AtG by bringing incredible music out of the opera house and into less austere venues - with beer! The environment is much more casual, which lends to more interaction with the audience and more improvisation.  Joel is a very creative director and working with him is always a lot of fun. The "Villains" night was in an antique furniture store and we only rehearsed twice for that show, but all 3 of my pieces were solos and he just told me to do whatever I needed to do to be frightening. And so I performed the aria from Esclarmonde as a drunk witch. The two queen of the night arias were done pretty normally, in a corset and stilettos, respectively. I also sat on a few audience members laps and canoodled them with my coloratura. It was fun! 

Die Fledermaus was certainly a mega production. We rehearsed for many weeks and were really able to form our characters over a long rehearsal period, with a director who is so knowledgeable, and so prepared.  My Adele ended up being a bit more Lulu than the typical Adele because we really dug down into the dark truth of the piece. Christopher Alden and the designers did an incredible job with this production - it was unlike any Fledermaus done before and I am so thrilled to have been a part of it.