OperaMom Featured Artist - Jennifer Welch-Babidge

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In 2003, The New York Times praised Jennifer Welch-Babidge for singing with "authority, agility and bright-toned beauty" - a review any soprano would be pleased to receive. What made the appraisal more noteworthy was that it was for a performance given when the soprano was nearly seven months pregnant with her second child. During what would be a highly publicized and hotly debated production of Lucia di Lammermoor, Jennifer's expectant image appeared across the media; her name in contested threads on online message boards. Nevertheless, Jennifer won over her audiences, as evidenced by her enormous ovations, night after night. Just weeks after the production closed, she spoke with OperaMom about her career, her family - and what is now The Famous Lucia at New York City Opera.
Wanting to sing. Raised in a small North Carolina town of about 1000 residents, Jennifer's growing-up years were not unlike those of other girls her age. She enjoyed singing in church and school choirs, and playing in the school marching band. Laughing, she said, "When I was really little, I would go around yelling and saying that I was going to be an opera singer, but I think it was just my excuse for yelling. As I got older, people told me that I could be a singer, but I never really gave it much thought." Although she took voice lessons, she had not set any serious singing goals for herself. It was on the advice of a friend, her junior year in high school, that she decided to audition for the North Carolina School of the Arts. She was immediately accepted and attended the next year as a high school senior, completing both her diploma and bachelor's degree within a few years.
At the age of 21, Jennifer decided to make the move to New York City to pursue a career in musical theater. Although things went well for her, it was also a bit of a shock, being from such a small town as she was. "I ended up going back home and thinking 'I don't know if I want to do this'. So I worked in a veterinarian's office and got my master's degree." In 1997, she decided to give singing one more shot and competed in the Metropolitan Opera auditions. "I knew that if you got into the young artist program, you got paid, so it was a more stable kind of environment than just going to New York when you're 21, and flying by the seat of your pants!" Jennifer won the Met competition that year, and was accepted into the Lindemann Young Artist Program. "If I hadn't gotten into that, I probably wouldn't be singing now, because it's such a hard profession," she acknowledged. The following season, she made her Met début as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro.
Wanting a family. Within her next three years in New York, Jennifer met and married her husband, Darrell. Since their wedding in 2000, they have been determined not to be a couple who spends more time away from each other than together, and have juggled their schedules accordingly. "I think people admire our devotion to one another. We've always traveled together, and we hope to keep doing that." It was an early pattern that would serve their future family life. "The main thing I always wanted was a family. I'm an only child, so the thing I wanted most was to have children." A woman of faith, Jennifer puts her trust in God - including the trust in her ability to have a family AND a career. "He wants me to have my righteous desires met and this is a righteous desire, so somehow He'll work it out." Jennifer's first child, John Chandler, was born in 2002. How does she suggest a singer should tell her agent that she's pregnant? "The first trimester is a really good time to think about how you're going to handle it - how it's going to fit into your schedule - and THEN you can approach your agent and say, 'I'm pregnant and this is what I think will work.'" Being pregnant didn't slow down her schedule, however. "My first pregnancy, I was in 23 different beds in my first trimester and I had really bad morning sickness. I actually did a recording where I had a bucket right on stage!" Motherhood has enriched Jennifer's personal growth as well as her artistry. "It's made me less selfish and more aware of other people. It's also made me look at things from a different perspective, because I'm able to see things through a child's eyes." In December 2003, Jennifer's second child, Joseph, was born. His arrival was preceded by a lot of ... shall we say, attention.
The Lucia. In 2003, New York City Opera had a decision to make when they were faced with the news that Jennifer, the soprano for their upcoming Lucia di Lammermoor, was pregnant. Should she stay or should she go? The company's final decision was not only to keep her in the role, but also to use her pregnancy as part of the plot. "My agent actually told them [that I was pregnant], so when I got there, Jim (James Robertson, director) and I talked about the idea of incorporating it." Interestingly, both Jennifer and the director had thought about using the pregnancy - even though they hadn't discussed the idea before the first rehearsal! "I had worked with Jim before, and I think we really admire and like one another a lot. He's very open-minded and very supportive, so there were no negative feelings." As the New York Times would later report, Jennifer's pregnancy was adapted into the storyline. It wasn't long before the production's concept would make international headlines - and controversy. Even cyberspace was included in the barrage of arguments that surfaced. "I read about some of the controversy, and I actually thought it was kind of funny. OperaMom was very, very nice - some of the others were interesting, though." Welcoming the challenge before her, Jennifer maintained her focus. "I didn't pay much attention to any of the other stuff outside of [the production]. I thought it was funny; it didn't distract me."
Having it all. So how does a prima donna, with an international career, balance singing and family? Scheduling. Scheduling. Scheduling. "I've been really blessed because Darrell is really supportive and we have a really good team effort as far as family. Traveling is a huge obstacle. We try to keep the same kind of schedules that we have at home, but it's really hard sometimes when you're in a hotel room. You don't have all of your home amenities and you can't regulate your own schedule, so sleeping gets off and it's really hard to keep some kind of routine that works." Jennifer knows that her jet-setting family lifestyle doesn't fit the stereotype of the jet-setting single singer. "When you're in the middle of having your career and you're wanting a family, people are just kind of shocked that you would take on the two. It's usually not negative shock, though. They actually admire you for it, I think." The summer of 2003, Jennifer took her family with her to Japan, to sing Adele in Die Fledermaus with Seiji Ozawa. Her son was the center of attention with her colleagues. "They don't get to see kids that often, and so I think it has a good impact on those that I'm performing with, because they enjoy the whole family thing." Jennifer was also pregnant with Joseph on the trip, which was cause for a little scare when she fell ill and was unable to communicate fully with the doctors. Yet through it all, she wouldn't change anything. "I think [balance is] a very spiritual thing, in that I'm willing to let go and let Heavenly Father direct it. I know that's really hard, because it's hard for me, but I try to have that be my motto. I try NOT to think about it too much, because if you think too much, life is going to pass you by." Jennifer summed up her views about being an operamom. "You make choices. I think if it's meant to be, you're going to have whatever career you're meant to have. I'm sure that [having kids or not] will have an effect on it, but I think there's a Higher Power involved.
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