Instantly a star
South African soprano gets high-profile Metropolitan debut in Mozart classic
NEW YORK Some young singers make their Metropolitan Opera debuts in low-profile fashion, perhaps joining the company in a minor role or slipping into the second cast of a routine revival. Not Golda Schultz.
The South African soprano became an instant star on the third night of the new season, singing the lead role in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) in Julie Taymor’s fantastical production. Her conductor was none less than James Levine, the company’s music director emeritus. And her debut run gets even higher visibility this Saturday when the final performance is broadcast live in HD to movie theatres worldwide.
Schultz portrays Pamina, daughter of the malevolent Queen of the Night. Pamina finds happiness with her true love, Prince Tamino, but only after both undergo a series of ordeals. Pamina is sometimes viewed as a rather passive character whose fate is played out by forces beyond her control. Schultz disagrees.
“I think a lot of people seem to underrate her,” she said. “I find she is surprisingly strong.
“She is the one who saves herself. She tells Tamino: ‘Listen here, my father made the flute, the flute’s magic, watch it do what it can. We’re going to get through these trials together. Not you saving me, but we’ll help each other.’ So it’s quite a modern understanding of relationships.”
The role provides Schultz with an ideal opportunity to show off her lyric soprano voice, notable for her ability to loft high notes on a cushion of sound. In The New York Times, critic Zachary Woolfe remarked on the moment when she is reunited with Tamino before their final trials, writing: “She floated a line as plainly beautiful as anything I heard” during the opening week of the season.
Schultz’s parents are both mixed race. Her father’s family is descended from German traders who settled in the eastern part of the country, hence her last name. Her first name is in honour of Golda Meir, the first female prime minister of Israel.
“My mother’s a bit of a feminist,” Schultz said. “She found (Meir) to be a fascinating, strong woman who acted in good faith for her people.”
Schultz is Roman Catholic, but because of her name people who haven’t met her often assume she is Jewish.
“I was singing a concert once and my friend was sitting behind these two lovely ladies,” Schultz said.
“They started reading the program to see who was coming next and they said, ‘Oh, Golda Schultz, nice Jewish name. Can’t wait to hear her.’
“Then I walk onstage and the friend turns to her friend and says, ‘That girl’s not Jewish!’”