The Daily: A Renowned Opera Singer Risked Her Voice for Motherhood

The Daily: A Renowned Opera Singer Risked Her Voice for Motherhood
Source: The New York Times

With Luke Vander Ploeg and Alex Barron

Featuring Zachary Woolfe

Edited by Wendy Dorr

Engineered by Sophia Lanman

Original music by Dan Powell and Diane Wong

Lise Davidsen is one of the greatest opera singers of our time -- a soprano with a voice so rare, critics reach back a century for comparison. This spring, she has been starring in a sold-out new production of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" at the Metropolitan Opera. But she's also at a crossroads: Her first performance as "Isolde" on the Met stage came just nine months after giving birth to twins.

Today on The Sunday Daily, Natalie Kitroeff talks with the Times writer Zachary Woolfe about his recent conversation with Davidsen, and the unexpected emotional weight she felt while returning to the stage as a new mother. They discuss how a production centered on birth, death and renewal gave Davidsen a way to work through this seismic shift in her life, all while tackling the role of a lifetime.

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The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker,Rikki Novetsky,Nina Feldman,Carlos Prieto,Ben Calhoun,Susan Lee,Lexie Diao,Mary Wilson,Alex Stern,Sophia Lanman,Shannon M. Lin,Diane Wong;Devon Taylor;Alyssa Moxley;Olivia Natt;Daniel Ramirez;Brendan Klinkenberg;Chris Haxel;Maria Byrne;Anna Foley;Caitlin O'Keefe;Wendy Dorr;Tina Antolini;Alex Barron;Frannie Carr Toth;Jack D'Isidoro.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Our Sunday theme music is by Dan Powell. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam, Nick Pitman and Tyler Cabot.

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