Samantha Hankey:"OPera evolves and therefore as an artist I evolve as well."
04. März 2024
Rubrik Interviews
©Daniel Welch
With “much elegance and youthful tone” (Financial Times), mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey is increasingly lauded for her powerful stage presence, paired with a voice admired for its “dusky focus and hypnotic allure.” But more than that the young opera singer shines in a pant role that makes her an outstanding Octavian in "Der Rosenkavalier". Full of spirit, depth and vocal sensitivity, Samantha Hankey lives her roles from the bottom of her heart and is passionate about giving recitals, mostly with a repertoire that is early Viennese School.
Operaversum: Dear Sam, when did you first discover that you wanted to become an opera singer and was it ever an easy path to follow?
Samantha Hankey: There was never a doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a performer; I always loved to sing! It all started when I was 6 years old and was in a local production of the musical Annie. During one of the rehearsals on stage, I looked up at the lights, and the magic of that moment–the thrill of being under the spotlight–it had me hooked.
Soon after that I started taking voice lessons!
Not too long after that I joined the Boston Children´s Chorus, which provided me with a fabulous music foundation and lots of performance opportunities. As a teenager, I attended the Walnut Hill School for the Arts for high school and pursued pre-college vocal training at the Longy School of Music and the New England Conservatory.
I had set out thinking that classical voice training would be a stepping stone to eventually explore other genres, but hearing the senior singers in class totally changed my mind. I knew I wanted to sing opera!
When I was about 16 or 17 years old, I went away to the Boston University of Tanglewood Institute, where a voice teacher gave me one of Cherubino‘s arias. Working with that teacher and on that aria opened up my voice and changed me from a straight tone soprano voice to a young mezzo.
Operaversum: That sounds really fantastic!
Samantha Hankey: It really was! I feel so lucky to have gone to a performing arts high school where I was able to major in voice. While we only studied and performed age-appropriate repertoire, mostly opera scenes and shorter operas, being surrounded by fellow artists and in an environment where this was supported was so valuable.
Operaversum: Having admired you in Barry Kosky´s stage production of “Der Rosenkavalier” where you performed Octavian, what makes this role so exceptional for you?
Samantha Hankey: Thank you! I think what makes the role of Octavian so incredibly special is the opportunity for versatility and the multitude of characters in the role. It feels as if each act is its own opera, each with its own distinctive vocal character and personality.
Within the role itself, you have these really unique relationships with each of characters–especially Ochs and how Octavian treats him while under the Mariandl disguise. There is a lot that you are able to play around with!
Operaversum: It sounds like it. Octavian portrays a lot of facets in that opera, right?
Samantha Hankey: Definitely. It’s safe to say he’s my favorite role! With Octavian, you get to see so many sides of who this young man is in such a relatively short period of time – probably more than you’d get out of a character in a typical 12-hour TV series!
©Daniel Welch
Operaversum: And if you had to choose between pants roles and female roles, which would you prefer performing and why?
Samantha Hankey: I like to approach all of my roles the same way, so it really doesn’t matter if it’s a female or a male character. It is simply a person acting and reacting with other people. So at the end of the day, gender does not matter to me. It’s not about being a man or a woman, it’s about exploring relationships and connection.
Depending on the production, those stereotypes can get very blurred!
That being said, I tend to feel really empowered by pants roles because they defy the stereotypes so often assigned to female characters in art and life. Sometimes I find that withm female characters, I can feel myself falling into playing a female stereotype. At other points, I’ve wondered whether I will meet the audience´s expectations of femininity?
When that outside worry starts to dominate your thinking, it stands in the way of developing the character and becomes more about trying to meet other people's expectations – which is not the goal of our craft. One needs to be free from this kind of self consciousness to be vulnerable.
You want to be a whole person on stage, so I find the more I try to play people as people, regardless of gender, the freer I feel.
Operaversum: But are there certain roles which come closest to your personality and could that be a conflicting situation in terms of giving away too much of your emotions?
Samantha Hankey: Absolutely. Performing is oftentimes like therapy for me – or let´s say, a safe space. I have always felt that when I am performing or singing, I am the most at home.
Singing is a place where I get to express myself in a way which I would not do in everyday life, as I can share deeper and different emotions than I do in my day to day life. Performing gives me a lot of freedom and possibility to discover other aspects of myself, too.
It is all about connection and sharing myself, and that is the kind of risk and vulnerability that comes along with the job. We have to be comfortable getting to that point; otherwise the audience is not going to believe it. They are not going to connect with us. And this connection to the audience is everything, in my opinion. I think that is what makes art really special and keeps people coming back to the theater.
Operaversum: Absolutely true! And one can feel it in the audience as well, if an artist connects or if there is a resonance. Otherwise it just feels like singing notes. But is there a risk to get too involved with your character emotionally?
Samantha Hankey: I can definitely become emotionally affected by the characters I play. There’s a lot of real world research that goes into learning about a character to play them more authentically. Sometimes that process is very emotionally taxing, especially when learning about situations that are painful or traumatic.
In this profession, one needs to come up with a good support system, a routine to say: “Work is over. I am no longer this person, this isn’t MY reality".
©Dario Acosta
©Faymous
Operaversum: So does it take long to get back to your normal "self" after a performance?
Samantha Hankey: It definitely takes a few hours!
Operaversum: And what routine are you coming up with to get back to normality?
Samantha Hankey: Well, once I go home, the first thing I do is shower. I need to wash off all the sweat, makeup, and grime from the theater. But it’s also a ritual of washing off the character and becoming me again. My nighttime routine is essential. Usually I need some quiet and alone time by myself, maybe putting on a favorite TV show and having a snack and a comforting cup of tea.
Just being quiet and distracting my mind. With the rush of adrenaline that comes with performing, it takes a while to calm down and let the energy calm down.
Operaversum: To change the topic, I came across something rather enchanting: "Rose, beautiful blooming rose" is a song from the "Rose Elf", a chamber opera composed by David Hertzberg. Can you tell me a bit about this wonderful project, which was released on a tracklist in 2020?
Samantha Hankey: The recording actually came out of years of collaboration with David, initially at Opera Philadelphia and then presented in NYC thanks to “The Death Of Classical”.
We performed this amazing chamber opera at a catacomb, in Brooklyn. It became this whole larger-than-life experience in the Brooklyn Greenwood Cemetery. The audience had sunset drinks overlooking the Manhattan skyline beforehand and, as the last glimmer of the sunset disappeared, the guests walked through the cemetery, down into the catacombs which were lit just by glow sticks. The album was later recorded after the performances in the Greenwood Cemetery and can be found on all streaming platforms!
Operaversum: So it is about life and death and the whole life cycle?
Samantha Hankey: Life and death certainly play a large role in the opera, and are what a lot of Hans Christian Andersen’s stories are about. Macabre stories really make excellent operas!
Operaversum: And has there been any attempt to bring this chamber opera on stage with you in the main role?
Samantha Hankey: Not yet, but I do hope that David Hertzberg’s music has more opportunities to be performed and heard on a larger scale!
©Lawrence Sumulong
©Ken Howard
Operaversum: So I have noticed that you are also singing Lied! You have been to the Antwerp Liedfestival recently with works of Debussy and Strauss. And I was just wondering what Lied means to you?
Samantha Hankey: Lied has really grown on me over the years! Recitals, as compared with opera, are a much more exposed experience.
So the key for me is programming repertoire that truly speaks to me – and not necessarily programming for the audience – has been a big shift in my mindset. I tend towards repertoire that is from the late 19th century, early 20th century which doesn’t always come off to the audience “easy listening”.
Last March I made my solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall with pianist Sophie Raynaud and the evening was almost all early Viennese School. When you look the composers names alone, to some it can feel a bit daunting: Schönberg, Berg Strauss, Zemlinsky.
It’s music that can take you out of your comfort zone, but it is all so rich, beautiful and full of colours. The audience´s reaction meant the world to me; it was really overwhelming and supportive and full of excitement. Many people were interested in such a specific, focused program and I was happy to present exactly what it was that I wanted to share.
Operaversum: And is there any composer or a song where you connect most to?
Samantha Hankey: Samuel Barber´s "Sure on This Shining Night" was the piece that made me want to sing operatically, and I’ve started incorporating it into my latest programs. It reminds me of how far I’ve come in my own journey, musically, professionally and through life. Hearing it for the first time sparked a curiosity and desire to pursue this career, and coming back to the piece feels very grounding, knowing how far we’ve come together.
Operaversum: Dear Sam, with 400 years of opera history, how can one attract a broader audience to the opera? Do you have a recipe for that, and is social media a gateway to opera at all?
Samantha Hankey: I honestly don’t think there is any lack of interest in opera as an art form, particularly with young people. When you consider how many students are going to school to become classical singers, it is highly competitive! Even if people study music and do not end up pursuing it as a career, that love for the art form doesn’t simply disappear now that they have another calling or focus in life. A lot of the struggle we face in attracting a broader audience comes down to accessibility, and ultimately, marketing.
Unfortunately, in the United States, music education is diminishing, which is horrible. It is really sad when people say “I have never seen an opera” – or even: “I have never heard of opera.” It’s an obstacle when there is just no understanding that this art form even exists. As a business, our industry is usually a few steps behind the trend and behind what other industries are doing.
©Daniel Welch
Operaversum: But could you imagine that social media could be a good means for marketing activity in the field of classical music?
Samantha Hankey: I think so. I mean, one of the big things I am challenged with as an artist is: how do I get people excited to come to my performances?
Operaversum: Do you have any future aspirations in terms of your career, when it comes to dream roles or opera projects you have not done yet?
Samantha Hankey: Of course there are a whole bunch of them! I think the biggest thing I would love to accomplish in the next few years is to record a solo album.
Operaversum: With arias or Lied repertoire?
Samantha Hankey: I think I would start with a Lied album and then move on to opera. But when I think of opera arias, then I would love to do duets. But then that would become a very big project… I really love the collaborative nature of this artform.
Working in the recording studio on the two albums with David was such a joy, and it’s an entirely different experience to performing live because you can play with text, dynamics, and timing in a way that live performance (usually) doesn’t allow.
Operaversum: When you say recording an album is a totally different creative experience, does that mean that in the studio you can do different takes and choose the best one?
Samantha Hankey: It is not so much about the takes. It is more about the nuance you can find in a more intimate setting. There is a different versatility of sounds and text that you can use in the recording studio, which you cannot necessarily invoke during a live performance, whether because you need to produce a more resonant sound for a large space or due to the physical demands of running around the stage.
Operaversum: Sam, has there been any performance which was really unforgettable for you?
Samantha Hankey: Most recently, it was Der Rosenkavalier at The Met. That came so unexpectedly, and it was such a dream!
Operaversum: In a few words: What makes opera such a one-of-a-kind experience and do you have a particular feature you love most about opera?
Samantha Hankey: Opera is truly a combination of all the artforms: music, dance, theater, visual art. I love working with lots of other creators, and if it comes to versatility, there is such a wide range of styles of music, types of drama and ways of singing. I do not think opera is necessarily one thing. It evolves – and therefore as an artist, I get to evolve as well!
Operaversum: Dear Sam, thank you so much for these inspiring insights. It was such apleasure talking to you. Wishing you all the best for your forthcoming performances!
©Daniel Welch
With “much elegance and youthful tone” (Financial Times), mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey is increasingly lauded for her powerful stage presence, paired with a voice admired for its “dusky focus and hypnotic allure.” (The Times).
Shining brightly when faced with a complex character, she has been praised by The New York Times not only for her “mighty yet smooth sound,” but also for her “tireless energy and dramatic skill.”
Hankey’s 2023-2024 season marks her debuts at the Royal Opera House, where she appears as Dorabella in Così fan tutte; Detroit Opera, in the role of the Fox in Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen; and at Lyric Opera of Kansas City in a role debut as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana.
Following critically acclaimed performances as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier last season, Hankey returns to the Metropolitan Opera this season as Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette – a “Met Live in HD” production that will be seen on screens around the world.
She also makes her much anticipated return to Opernhaus Zürich for director Kirill Serebrennikov’s revival of Così fan tutte, where she sings the role of Dorabella.
In concert, Hankey performs as a featured soloist in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski and appears in recitals at Antwerp LiedFest and in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.