Magdalena Talik: You came back to Wroclaw after several years of absence, straight to the new concert hall of the National Music Forum.
Aleksandra Kurzak: It is beautiful, impressive and perfect in terms of acoustics. I feel very good in it; I have always preferred larger concert halls. This time I come back not only to a new room, but with a new repertoire - songs I don't sing too often. It's a different kind of music-making. I have to switch, to trust myself, shut up in my own world, to make sure my voice is soft, and not be afraid to use the dynamics of the piano and pianissimo. And this is the reason why I sometimes feel as if I were... cheating, because for years I've been used to getting through a powerful orchestra with my voice, to give my best. And in the case of songs by Chopin, Brahms and Strauss, the beauty hidden elsewhere - in the intimacy, musicality, phrase, rendering the text, and not in the power of voice.
Is this show is harder for you than the others? After all, nobody is a prophet in their own country.
Aleksandra Kurzak: So they say, but I'm always warmly received when I go back to Poland. Now, I have two concerts in a row in Wroclaw. On Saturday, songs by Chopin and on Sunday, in turn - a concert with Krzysztof Cugowski and a musical mish-mash that gives me a real kick: musical and operetta hits. They are beautiful, but often just inadequately performed.
And how do you get along with Krzysztof Cugowski?
Aleksandra Kurzak: And how did Pavarotti sing with Sting, or with Céline Dion? I sing with opera voice, and don't bother to being a singer, because I'm not one, and never will be. Krzysztof Cugowski has an amazing voice, an impressive scale. For him, the stave never ends. At a rehearsal, I joked that I had to get a pretty grip of myself while singing with him. He is like a Polish Freddie Mercury. The duets from Lehar's 'The Merry Widow,' or from Weber's 'Phantom of the Opera' come out exceptionally well. A few days ago I did a concert, in which I sang Gershwin's 'Summertime,' accompanied by Michał Urbaniak and I felt like we were in seventh heaven. I love such concerts, even if I were to be lynched by the opera orthodox.
They're probably in awe, because your audience and that of Krzysztof Cugowski are two different cattle of fish.
Aleksandra Kurzak: Well, this may change. My fan wrote that she was coming to Wroclaw with her colleague, who had never been to the opera, but who loves Cugowski. And she listens to Kurzak. They are coming together and we will see who will like whom. It's cool. Recently, another lady in Vienna brought her friend along to the opera to my performance of 'Rigoletto.' He was moved and even cried, even though he thought he didn't like opera. I believe that even if ten percent of the audience leaves with an impression that they liked Aleksandra Kurzak and classical music, then why not. And I sing for my own pleasure.
This weekend at the NFM and the Centennial Hall, and next year, as a part of the ECC 2016 and in the project Singing Europe.
Aleksandra Kurzak: Eventually, the concert will take place at the National Forum of Music. The program is designed so that the songs are accompanied by a chorus. I have a beautiful final scene with the chorus of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda,' from Verdi's 'Il Trovatore,' and Roberto will probably sing 'Nessun dorma' from Puccini's 'Turandot,' as this aria is a must. And for an encore we want to perform, among others, the final of an opera composed by Roberto's brother - David Alagna. It's a really great work.
Aleksandra Kurzak, Roberto Alagna and their daughter Malèna/photo: Facebook AK
Has Roberto Alagna, your beloved and the father of your daughter Malèna, already been in Wroclaw?
Aleksandra Kurzak: Yes, several times. His first observation after landing in Poland was how quiet and clean it were, and Wroclaw reminded him of Salzburg...
Do you often visit Wroclaw nowadays?
Aleksandra Kurzak: More and more often. Especially now, when little Malèna is here, we are definitely going to live in Poland. Even due to the fact that my parents, who help in babysitting, don't like the idea of moving to Warsaw. For me, the airport may be the problem; from Warsaw there are direct flights, but in turn, from Wroclaw it is close e.g. to Berlin or Vienna by car.
Does Malèna accompany you in your travels all the time?
Aleksandra Kurzak: Yes, and they don't bother her much. She quickly adapts to new apartments. She's used to it, because this is how thing's been almost from the day she was born. She changes planes, cars, her environment. We'll see how things work out when she starts to grow up. For now, she speaks her very own language, but understands when I speak Polish to her and when Roberto speaks French. It's a real tower of Babel at our home, indeed.
