| 
 As a third-grader in Moline, Illinois, Stephanie Sundine knew that she wanted to sing. In her interview with OperaMom, Sundine recalled sitting in her classroom enraptured, listening to the beautiful soprano voice of her music teacher. "I remember being so happy whenever it was
time for music class, since we did a lot of singing. That same teacher became my homeroom teacher in fifth grade, and everyday I would go into
class and say, 'Mrs. Leland, are we going to have music today?' She was patient for a while, and then
finally told me nicely to stop asking her!" The daughter of supportive and high public-profile parents (her father, a newspaper
owner/editor and her mother, one of the first women in the U.S. to have her own
TV talk show), Sundine sang her first solos with her church choir when she was still in eighth grade. "I most admired my voice teachers and music
teachers, and appreciated their encouragement and hard work with me." Her first opera recording, La boheme with Victoria de los Angeles,
was evidence of her admiration for full-throated soprano voices, which grew to
include Tebaldi, Freni, and Nilsson, among others.
After graduating with her B.M. from the University of
Illinois, Sundine remained in the Chicago area for four years, performing
regularly as a freelance artist with small opera groups as a lyric mezzo. For two summers she was an apprentice with
Chautauqua Opera, and attended opera workshops run by Boris Goldovsky, the
famed conductor and impresario. "I did
three national tours with Goldovsky Opera, singing small roles as well as
performing various roles with small companies in New York City." It was at an audition for one of these
companies, New York Lyric Opera, that she met her future husband, conductor
Victor DeRenzi. "I had seen Victor
conduct a couple of performances for them. At my audition, totally unbeknownst to me, he decided he wanted to marry
me, and made sure the company hired me for Meg in the Falstaff he was
conducting." Very soon after rehearsals
for Falstaff began, they got together - the beginning of a relationship which
would have a profound and positive impact on her career and her future. "When I met Victor, he felt that I had much
more voice than I was using. He encouraged
me to change my vocal technique and helped me to develop a much more
professional sound." Through the
guidance of DeRenzi and her voice teacher, Sundine made the transition from
lyric mezzo to soprano. "Over the
course of a few years I went from singing Cherubino to singing Isolde, with
lots of roles in between!" she exclaimed.
Sundine made her professional debut singing Amelia in Un
ballo in maschera, with Opera Theatre of Rochester. Her resume stands as an ideal for any singer
aspiring for an international career, full of principal roles with the main
companies of Germany, France, England, Wales, Norway, and Australia, as well as
the biggest houses in the U.S./Canada including the Metropolitan, Atlanta, San Diego, Santa Fe and San Francisco opera companies.
In particular, New York City Opera was instrumental in launching her
career. "Beverly Sills was someone who
created wonderful opportunities for me. She hired me on the spot at my audition, and I think all of the
wonderful roles she gave to me constituted a 'big break' for me in the early
days of my career." Her repertoire
included the women of Beethoven, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Strauss, Dvořák and Janáček. (Her performance of Emilia Marty in Janáček's The Makropulos Case with Canadian Opera
Company is available
on video here.)
Despite all the international excitement surrounding her,
building a family was a constant quotient for Sundine. "I always thought I would be a mother, but
wasn't absolutely sure I wanted a child until I met Victor. I had already launched my career when I got
pregnant with Francesca, and she was definitely a planned addition to our
family. It wasn't a struggle to include
her in our lives." Being pregnant was a
positive experience for Sundine, in that she was able to do 14 performances of
Tosca with various companies until the beginning of her seventh month. The characteristic "empire waistline" in her
Tosca costumes, along with her slim figure, easily hid her tummy. "Performing at the end of my pregnancy was a
little difficult, since there was increasingly something in the way of my
breathing! I had to cancel just one
contract, so my pregnancy did not, in that way impede my career, and I started
working not long after she was born."
Being an operamom was not so much a challenge as a joy for
Sundine. She organized and planned in order to be sure that her baby was always
well taken care of, as she did not hire nannies. "Wherever we were, I arranged child care for rehearsals and
performances while we were traveling. When Francesca was old enough, she loved coming to the theater with me
and often didn't need a babysitter. Sometimes she stayed at home [in New York] or in Sarasota with Victor
[where he has served as Artistic Director of Sarasota Opera since 1982], and
was never with anyone other than one of us overnight." After 25 years of togetherness, Sundine and
DeRenzi's marriage stands as an advocate for family solidarity. "We have always been supportive colleagues
to one another, and [Victor] certainly was a huge help in preparing all of my
roles, including seven major ones in one year! We traveled together a great deal, and when Francesca came along, we
just continued to do that, spending a lot of time on the road as a family
whenever possible. We made sure that we
had something with us that would keep her happily occupied." Sundine related an amusing anecdote about
her daughter, which happened when she was studying her first Czech role, Emilia
Marty in The Makropulos Case. "I
was speaking the words aloud, over and over, struggling with some difficult
Czech sounds. Francesca was playing on
the floor near me and at one point she looked up at me and said in an
exasperated tone, 'Mom, WHY did we take this contract anyway?!'"
Homeschooling became a practical alternative for the family,
as it allowed them to travel together whenever they wanted. "Because we homeschooled, and I was
responsible for most of her work, I had to plan for her studies as well." She insists that it IS possible for a
homeschooled child to have close friends. "That's the single most frequently asked question we received: Did
Francesca have friends growing up? Of
course she did. She made friends
throughout the years in our neighborhood, through our homeschooling group in
NYC, and at ballet class, art class, etc." When the family would arrive back into town following a trip, Sundine
made sure that her daughter had play dates set up - a job which Francesca took
over when she was old enough to make the phone calls herself. "She has always been a fun and 'easy' child,
so it wasn't difficult to accomplish what I needed and still care for her. I was just delighted to be able to include
her in my work and life all over the world. At the age of 20, she remembers those travels today with pleasure."
In 1997, Sundine launched her second career - that of stage
director. Her decision to explore different artistic ventures was a result of
challenges that began years before. Although she had enjoyed her pregnancy, it became evident that it was
the cause of chronic laryngitis. "After
I had Francesca, I often had swollen vocal cords, apparently due to hormonal
fluctuations, and no amount of traditional nor alternative medical intervention
helped. The problem was not brought on
in any predictable way; my cords became increasingly less able to function
well, even though I was taking very good care of myself and doing everything I
knew to handle each role and situation wisely." Sundine retired from singing in 1995, and spent the following
year thinking about where next to put her energies. It was then that DeRenzi offered her the opportunity to direct a
few apprentice scenes with his company. "I had thought a bit about being a stage director, and I realized it would help me decide if that was a route I wanted to pursue." It definitely was, as she has been enjoying
a second cycle of success on the stage. "Developing and portraying a character fully was a big part of my work
as a singer, so the idea of helping other singers do that and exploring every
dramatic and emotional aspect of a piece appeals to me a lot. Becoming a director meant that I could
remain in a field that I loved very much. I have always enjoyed hearing other singers and seeing how they express
a character in every way. Directing
gives me the opportunity to do that." Sundine has since directed mainstage productions with Sarasota Opera, as
well as Opera Delaware, Harrisburg Opera, Toledo Opera, Santa Barbara Grand
Opera, and she is returning to Atlanta Opera this spring - this time on the
other side of the footlights - to direct Pearlfishers. "In the fall I'll direct La traviata
with Indianapolis Opera, and I look forward to many other interesting directing
assignments coming up in the months and years ahead." She has been a guest acting teacher and director at Boston
University, and has appeared as a panelist and writer for Opera America. This summer she will conduct an Acting
Workshop in NYC for singers.
At the close of her
interview, Sundine generously shared her thoughts on the subject of
childrearing while maintaining a busy opera career. "There's never a perfect time to have a child. If you want one, just be sure that you are
financially stable enough. The longer
you wait, the fewer your opportunities might be to conceive." A deeply personal reflection for this
operamom, as she and her husband were sorry that she was not able to conceive
again. "We would love to have had at
least one more child." Sundine advised
that "being well-organized, patient, creative and affectionate with your child
helps a great deal, especially when every day is different, as is often the
case in a free-lance lifestyle." In
addition, "being able to switch gears quickly from
rehearsing/coaching/studying, etc. to being with your child and giving her your
undivided attention, also helps to make parenting easier. Your child will be less likely to feel like
your work is coming between you." This remarkable singing
actress/director is a shining example that a woman can balance a family with
the demands of a world-class opera career. "The overall experience of singing and mothering our daughter at the
same time was truly wonderful. Success
for me has been doing something that I love for years while still enjoying a
very fulfilling family life." |
