Mezzo‑soprano: Even a leg in a cast won't keep me off the stage
Estonian mezzo‑soprano Annely Peebo had an open leg fracture, but despite that she stepped onto the stage at the Saaremaa Opera Days to sing Wagner.
"A broken leg is truly a sensation in my life, and you have to get quite old for a fracture to finally happen. I am literally defying the universe. I usually don't walk, I run. Now the universe wants me to walk a bit slower and think a bit slower, but that doesn't suit me at all," said Peebo. She appeared at the Saaremaa Opera Days in Richard Wagner's opening work of the opera cycle "Das Rheingold", performing the role of Fricka with her leg in a cast.
The accident happened when Peebo crossed the street wearing wide trousers, and the tip of her shoe got caught in the fabric. "In my life, when something happens, it happens completely. I had an open fracture and torn ligaments, but I will go on stage. We have such a historic event in Estonia — we are performing Wagner — and this is also my first role as Fricka, and I will not let anyone take that from me, even if the universe wants to pull the handbrake," Peebo said.
Peebo says you cannot become a Wagner singer overnight. "There is a lot of static standing and waiting. You need patience and great experience, because it is not just singing. There is a lot of substantive text and message that you must articulate very precisely. For that you need long‑term experience, and you also cannot sing over the orchestra — the voice must vibrate and flow, and for that you need experience so the body resonates beautifully. Being a Wagner singer is a topic of its own, but it suits me; it is the right time."
Estonian bass Ain Anger is considered worldwide to be a very good Wagner singer. "He has many roles in Wagner that suit him. The color and strength of his voice simply fit Wagner's music," Peebo noted.
At the Saaremaa Opera Days, many of our opera singers who work outside Estonia could be seen on stage.
"I had to pinch myself several times in the hall. That it is true that in the entire production there are only two opera singers who are not Estonian. We have our own Estonian singers who perform at a world‑class level," said opera singer Aile Asszony.
"It is possible to invite us — those of us who are scattered around the world — back to Estonia, and I am sure everyone will gladly do it, and we can bring joy to the Estonian audience," said Monika‑Evelin Liiv, who performed the role of Erda.
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Editor: Annika Remmel, Argo Ideon
Source: ERR interview by Karmel Killandi
