We鈥檙e excited to see women taking the lead on the podium听and in the director鈥檚 chair. With that in mind, we鈥檝e asked some of our graduate students a听few questions about who听they are, and what they do.听听
Join us over the next few weeks and get to know these formidable talents as they build their careers and shape our musical landscape.听听
Sawyer Craig听(Current Gr听Dip in Performance) is a multidisciplinary artist, and has found herself to be equally comfortable both onstage and off. Praised as a 鈥渟tandout鈥� performer (Edmonton Journal), 鈥減articularly radiant in coloratura passages鈥� (Opera Canada), and 鈥渁 bit of a renaissance woman鈥� (UMToday), the constant in her artistic pursuits is a passion for telling stories in unique, vibrant ways.
Sawyer did her undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia in Opera Performance, following this with a Masters degree in Voice Performance at the University of Manitoba. Past highlights include portraying Tytania in Britten鈥檚 A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream with Opera NUOVA, making her directorial debut in Winnipeg with Manitoba Underground Opera鈥檚 Lost Voices, and performing Szymanowski鈥檚 Songs of a Fairytale Princess with the UMSO.
Currently based in Montr茅al, Sawyer is studying stage direction at McGill鈥檚 Schulich School of Music, where she is looking forward to directing Verdi鈥檚 Un Giorno di Regno in the spring of 2021.
听Un Giorno di Regno, directed by Sawyer, is on Saturday, April 10 at 7:00 pm听听
Your program of study is unique. As I understand, you're the first one to be in it 鈥� is that right? How did that come about?
I am the first one! It's a Graduate Diploma in Stage Direction for Opera. Essentially, I have a friend who was in the Masters program last year as a singer and knew I was pursuing directing. He heard Patrick Hansen, the Director of Opera Studies,听talking about starting exactly this program and messaged me about it.听I wrote an email to Patrick introducing myself, and asked听to audition if such a program was in the works 鈥� and then that's exactly what happened. It must have gone alright, because then I ended up here, assisting and working on what has been a听really ambitious and exciting season of music theatre!
Is there a moment that brought you to now 鈥� one that changed your course or confirmed it?听听
I tend to see it as sort of a series of extremely fortunate events that brought me here, as opposed to any single moment. I have an incredibly supportive family, and I鈥檝e been lucky enough to be surrounded by just crazily generous colleagues and mentors. The people I learn from and collaborate with really have inspired me every step of the way.听
If I had to choose one sort of defining artistic experience, it would be singing Szymanowski鈥檚 Songs of a Fairytale Princess with the University of Manitoba Symphony Orchestra in November 2019. It鈥檚 a bit ironic I suppose, for a director to choose that, as it wasn鈥檛 a staged performance. Nevertheless, the stars sort of aligned for me with those vivid, wildly expressive and challenging pieces, and the really beautiful way the collaboration happened with the orchestra and our conductor, Naomi Woo. They made me brave, and I do think that鈥檚 had a big impact on me as a director. It taught me how I want to lead, when I sit at the table.
What do you see as the role and responsibility of a conductor/director?听听听
For me, I think I鈥檓 happiest when I frame myself as a guide.听I have a bit of an obsession with story structure, and I try to use that to build bridges between the audience and performers. Opera has a beautiful emotional immediacy as a medium; it鈥檚 more accessible than I think most people would think, at first glance or listen. I really aim to capitalize on that, staging things in a way that emphasizes our shared humanity and feels authentic. It鈥檚 also important to me (especially with my background as a singing actor myself!) to empower the people I work with and create an environment where they can really excel as storytellers.
What鈥檚 the toughest thing about directing? What鈥檚 the easiest/most fun?听听
The toughest thing for me will always be taking things out! Cutting things, whether it be lines of听recit, a ballet, or (perhaps worst of all) a good comedic bit, always hurts my heart. But it鈥檚 almost always a necessary part of the process. I鈥檓 somewhat of a maximalist by nature, someone who would blissfully sit through the full听four hour听version of Mozart鈥檚听Marriage of Figaro, but I do understand that that can be a bit too much of a commitment for the average operatic newbie.听So听balancing cuts and editing down a production is always my challenge.
What advice would you give to your starting-at-university self?听听听
I wish I could tell her not to waste so much energy worrying about being some unspecified measure of 鈥済ood enough.鈥� There is a slightly terrifying aura of scarcity that is hard to escape as a beginning singer, and I wish I could have learned earlier that in art (clich茅 as it may sound), abundance really is a state of mind. I would have had a lot more joy in those early scary days if I had known that.
What was the most surprising thing you learned during your degree?听听
It鈥檚 maybe a bit silly, but I've learned that it鈥檚 not (too) crazy to pursue directing and singing, at a high level, simultaneously. I had always sort of carefully siloed those interests separately until I arrived at McGill, afraid that if I really went for it as a director, I wouldn鈥檛 be seen as taking my singing seriously, or vice-versa. At Schulich, it鈥檚 been an incredible relief, and enormously freeing, to be supported as an artist who does both.
Tell me a little about the upcoming production you're directing.听 What makes you excited about it?听听听
What I love the most about听Un Giorno di Regno听is the bubbly, ridiculous, joyful comedy of it. I think audiences don鈥檛 often go to an opera expecting to laugh, because opera has this sort of prestigious, classist reputation. I鈥檝e taken it as a personal challenge to make sure we subvert that expectation with this show. Jennifer Szeto, the brilliant听pianist coaching听and playing the show, described the aesthetic as "high art with lowbrow sensibilities", and that makes for a really delicious contrast. Plot-wise it shares a lot of story beats with my favorite rom-coms, and Verdi鈥檚 score is just fantastic and crackling with energy. My prep for it has really been a joy, and I think that will show in the performance.听听
If you had a mantra/philosophy/phrase that sums up where you are now, what would it be?听听听
I say 鈥渂e the cowboy鈥� to myself a lot these days. I picked up the phrase from a Mitski album, and basically it reminds me to be bold, and take big swings. When things are as difficult and changeable as they are now, it can feel impossible to invite risk. I tend to be a bit careful at the best of times, so this past year, invoking my inner Calamity Jane has been essential.听
Dream piece to direct?听听
It鈥檚 near impossible to choose! The aforementioned听Marriage of Figaro, looms large, because it鈥檚 so richly drawn, and the characters feel so real to me. Really any of the Mozart/Da Ponte operas would be a dream come true. They鈥檙e just masterpieces, but they still leave room for interpretation and lots of play in their presentation. I鈥檝e also always loved Poulenc鈥檚 delightfully bizarre听Les听Mamelles听de听Tir茅sias,听 because of, really, everything about it. I love the strange and ridiculous in opera.
Conductor(s) / directors / leaders you admire?听
Obviously my teachers at Schulich, especially Patrick Hansen, come to mind. Their support and trust in me throughout this crazy year has been huge. I also met Aria Umezawa this year, and I鈥檝e been a massive fan of hers for a while now. Her thoughts about process, ways of leading, and what opera can be, have really reframed how I approach directing. I also was able to be at a zoom lecture hosted by Barbara Hannigan this past year, who I鈥檝e looked up to for years because she seems so unlimited in her approach to creating. Listening to her speak about balancing all her different roles (singer, conductor, director) was so affirming.
What do you want to see/hear more of in your field?听听
I would love to see more new works exploring two areas: comedy and horror. I think we often feel pressure to make serious, 鈥渨orthy鈥� art, and I find that this means a lot of new opera lives more in sort of the drama genre. There鈥檚 nothing wrong with that, but I look at the types of story we tell, and who is represented how in those stories, and I think there鈥檚 a diversity that鈥檚 often missing. I love comedy and horror specifically because both genres can be leveraged to subvert audience expectation, our 鈥渄efaults鈥�, in ways that I think are exciting.听
听
Un Giorno di Regno, directed by Sawyer, is on Saturday, April 10 at 7:00 pm
Stay tuned...
In the next couple of weeks听you'll听meet Nila听Rajagopal听and Melissa Tardif.
Read Leading the Way: Part 1听of 5 鈥� Kelly Lin听here
Read Leading the Way: Part 2 of 5 鈥� Angela Hemingway here
Read Leading the Way: Part 4 of 5 鈥� Melissa Tardif here
Read Leading the Way: Part 5 of 5 鈥� Nila Rajagopal here
听
