{"id":82133,"date":"2021-10-13T16:43:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T20:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?p=82133"},"modified":"2022-08-03T15:43:04","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T19:43:04","slug":"student-feature-8-questions-with-gabrielle-barkidjija","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/news\/articles\/2021\/student-feature-8-questions-with-gabrielle-barkidjija\/","title":{"rendered":"Student feature: 8 Questions with Gabrielle Barkidjija"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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October 13, 2021<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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Photo by Kristyna Gocova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q&A with Gabrielle Barkidjija (BUTI’13,’14, CFA’22)<\/span><\/h3>\n

What has your experience at BU and the Opera Institute been like?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve loved this past year and the change at BU and the Opera Institute<\/a>! I feel so fortunate to be in a program that adapted to COVID-19 and allowed us, young artists, to continue performing and producing opera projects even during a global pandemic. Using PPE and creativity, the Opera Institute produced three major projects over the course of the year: individual one-person staged opera projects, a masked and distanced opera (Jonathan Dove\u2019s \u201cMansfield Park\u201d<\/a>), and a robust opera scenes program. More so, the environment that the Opera Institute has cultivated is one of collaboration and self-expression, which to me are two crucial components that allow young artists like myself to thrive and adequately prepare ourselves for our upcoming careers in the performing arts.<\/p>\n

What was your first introduction to opera? When did you know you were passionate about it?<\/h3>\n

My first introduction to opera was in the 8th <\/sup>grade! My school took a field trip to see Pagliacci at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. My class was dreading this field trip, and I remember everyone complaining that the teachers and chaperones were going to have eagle eyes for cellphone use during the performance. I remember acting like I was disinterested, but I was struck by the amazing singers, the production, and the drama of it all. Fast forward many years later \u2013 I end up (on a fluke) going to a summer voice pre-college program at Carnegie Mellon University and was told by the faculty there that I was good enough at singing to pursue a degree in vocal performance. About a year later, I was applying for undergraduate vocal performance programs and visited the University of Michigan to take some prospective voice lessons. While I was there, my mom and I decided to go to their production of the Barber of Seville. I remember being fascinated by the character Rosina \u2013 by her strength of will, her cunning yet sweet personality, and just the sheer vocal agility required to sing that role. After watching the opera, all I wanted to do was sing that role, and it\u2019s still one of my dream roles today!<\/p>\n

Tell us more about your role in The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace<\/em><\/a>. Are there any particular themes of the piece you connect with? Music compositions you\u2019re struck by?<\/h3>\n

I am portraying Ada Lovelace! Ada is one of the most fascinating characters I\u2019ve had the opportunity to step into to date. This is the first time I\u2019ve portrayed a historical figure \u2013 Ada Lovelace was a mathematician and was best known for her work on Charles Babbage\u2019s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine, and she is often regarded as the first computer programmer. Ada Lovelace was beyond strong-willed, brilliant, and spiritually perceived the world through calculus, equations, and numbers.<\/p>\n

What strikes me most about Ada was her sheer will-power \u2013 she faced so much adversity throughout her life (having a complicated upbringing, being constantly ill, and fighting societal norms) and passed away in her mid-thirties, yet still accomplished so much. The opera highlights Ada\u2019s constant struggle between pursuing her dreams and her being a wife and mother. This struggle that women in particular face has not disappeared over the last 200 years. I deeply connect with Ada\u2019s story, (and hope that audiences will also connect with her story) as her tale is still very relevant today.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite musical moments in the opera is William\u2019s aria, where he likens Ada to a hummingbird, beautiful and always speeding along. It\u2019s a very simple aria, but its stately and calm composition greatly differs from the energetic, pulsating rhythms of the rest of the opera. It allows the audience a moment of repose to think about Ada and how she is perceived by both William and the rest of society.<\/p>\n

If you had to sum up The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace <\/em>in one word, what would it be? Why?<\/h3>\n

Tenacity. Tenacity runs rampant in all the main characters in this opera. Ada\u2019s tenacity is shown in her love of mathematics and wanting to make a difference in the world. William\u2019s tenacity is shown in his care for Ada. Charles Babbage\u2019s tenacity is shown in his love for his inventions (and for Ada). Harriet Beecher Stowe\u2019s tenacity is shown in her desire to reveal the truth.<\/p>\n

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What has rehearsing in BU\u2019s Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre<\/a> been like since the university\u2019s reopening?<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s been wonderful! The Booth Theatre\u2019s structure allows for a very collaborative, immersive performance experience \u2013 as a performer in that space, you really feel like you\u2019re on the same plane as the audience and that everyone in the theatre is a part of the storytelling.<\/p>\n

What does performing on stage in front of an audience again mean to you?<\/h3>\n

Performing on stage in front of an audience again means the world to me \u2013 I haven\u2019t performed a live opera for almost two years now, and getting to share this story, especially a story with which I\u2019m so connected, means so much to me. Having performed mostly digital opera projects this past year, I have not gotten to see firsthand the effects that my performances have had on audiences. Sharing stories using this medium is the way that I best connect with people and performing in front of a live audience again will allow me to continue to connect with and relate to as many people as possible.<\/p>\n

What aspects of Kamala Sankaram\u2019s work resonate with you?<\/h3>\n

I love the way that Kamala Sankaram<\/a> uses meter changes to tell Ada\u2019s story. There\u2019s an energy to her composition that propels the story forward, which perfectly encapsulates Ada\u2019s mind, her infinite energy. Ada\u2019s mind is consistently running, and she\u2019s constantly coming up with [mathematical] equations in her head and thinking about how she can affect change in the world. Sankaram\u2019s harmonic language and pulsating repetition allow Ada\u2019s intensity and her story to emerge from the page and affect the listener.<\/p>\n

When do you feel the most inspired?<\/h3>\n

I feel the most inspired by the people with whom I\u2019m on stage (and off stage!). I love the collaboration involved in putting on an opera production and am always so inspired by other peoples\u2019 opinions and thoughts on the storytelling of an opera. It takes a village to bring an opera to life, and that collaborative process is something that I love and something that inspires me to continue down this career path.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gabrielle Barkidjija (BUTI’13,’14, CFA’22) shares with CFA how she found her love for the opera and what it’s like to play the lead in Fringe Festival’s first opera of the season, The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19544,"featured_media":82135,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[192],"magazine-article-category":[],"magazine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[325],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/82133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19544"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82133"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/82133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89294,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/82133\/revisions\/89294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82133"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=82133"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=82133"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=82133"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=82133"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=82133"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=82133"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=82133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}