INTERVIEW: Soprano Sera Gösch travels back in time to sing Mozart

The Vienna Mozart Orchestra is known throughout the world for bringing some of the best musicians and singers on tour to play classic Viennese compositions. For the orchestra’s March tour in the U.S., which stops at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, N.J., tonight, March 5 and New York City’s Lincoln Center Wednesday, March 9, the program will feature selections from maestro Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Sera Gösch, an internationally recognized soprano, will perform with the orchestra at the upcoming concerts. “We’re going to perform Mozart, pure Mozart music with the Vienna Mozart Orchestra,” the singer said recently in an interview. “This is a very special orchestra. It was founded in 1968 by musicians from the best and most famous music orchestras and from various chamber music ensembles, and with this orchestra I’m going to perform two arias.”

Gösch said the special attraction of the orchestra’s performances are historical costumes made to look like clothing from the 18th century. From the wardrobe selections to the iconic hair, these performances of the Vienna Mozart Orchestra promise to be a time-traveling experience.

“These are like characters when you get some hair and the costumes,” she said. “Of course, it’s much easier to [get into] this character and to perform this character, too.”

When singing Mozart’s arias, Gösch strives to find the “easiness” in the music. She said the singing should be “so clean” and “very easy,” even though it can appear challenging and complex. “You should be very strong technically, and you should be able to produce very natural, and clean and neutral sound,” she said.

The rehearsals for the Vienna Mozart Orchestra are limited, mostly because the performers know one another and have been touring the program around the world. They run through the show before each concert and rely on one another’s professionalism. For the U.S. leg of the tour, the orchestra plans to rehearse in Vienna and then the States.

On the program will be selections from Mozart’s The Abduction From the Seraglio, The Magic Flute, Marriage of Figaro and Idomeneo. Gösch will be joined in the performance by baritone Sokolin Asllani.

For Gösch, who is alumna of several Vienna Mozart Orchestra programs, this experience is a dream made reality. The singer grew up in Istanbul, a place where many people love opera. However, at a young age, she wasn’t interested in the art form. Instead, she wanted to be an actress.

“My aunt, my uncles used to listen to opera all the time, and I was always with them because my parents were working,” she said. “So I was imitating the sound, what I hear from radio. … And I was imitating, but I didn’t know what exactly this is. So I wanted to become an actress because I really wanted to be on stage since I was little, but then when I got older, like 17-20 … some teachers they told me, ‘No, you should study opera.’ But I didn’t find this very attractive, you know.”

She said opera didn’t seem cool to her young mind, but she was inspired to try it out. After taking some lessons, Gösch and opera singing proved to be a natural fit. She was sent off to the Konservatorium Wien University after that, and now she lives in Vienna, a world capital of classical music.

Today, she’s an in-demand soprano who travels the world, performing with musicians as illustrious as the Vienna Mozart Orchestra. “I’m so lucky that I can perform in one of the [most] famous and biggest halls of the world with [these] wonderful orchestras and wonderful conductors,” she said.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Vienna Mozart Orchestra, with soprano Sera Gösch, will perform in the United States in the coming weeks. They have scheduled performances in New Jersey (March 5) and New York City (March 9), among other locations. Click here for more information on tickets.