Osmond channels her love of opera
The pandemic brought the world to a halt. It also slowed Marie Osmond, but not for long.
The entertainer used the time to take her singing career in a different direction. She’s cultivating her childhood love of opera in a new album and upcoming tour featuring a symphony orchestra. Her 17-song album “Unexpected” is due out Dec. 10. Backed by the Prague Symphony Orchestra, Osmond sings a mix of classical, opera and Broadway tunes.
“This album is me pushing myself to be something other than what you perceive Marie to be,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of people listen to different songs, and they said, ‘Who’s that?’ It thrilled me.”
Osmond, 62, also stars in her third Lifetime holiday movie, “A Fiance for Christmas,” airing Dec. 9.
“I love acting,” she said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do since I was young … but it never worked out.”
That’s because Osmond first hit it big as a 13-yearold with her No. 1 country hit “Paper Roses.” At 16, she and brother Donny were headlining their own network television variety show.
This interview with Marie Osmond has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What inspired you to bring classical, opera and Broadway together on your album?
A: I would sample things in the shows. I was in Vegas for 11 years, and so it gives you an opportunity. People, you would see them go, “Oh really? I didn’t know she could do ‘Nessun Dorma.’ I didn’t know she could sing ‘Flower Duet.’ ” I loved
opera. I was the weird child in my family. Even though I coined the phrase “I’m a little bit country,” and that is my love of music, I really love to challenge myself. Some people like to play instruments, I like to play vocal things.
Q: After you and Donny ended your Las Vegas residency in 2019 and you left “The Talk” last year, how did that free you to live life again?
A: I love to work. I’m used to working 300 days a year easily. But at this stage of the game, to me, it’s not working so many days, it’s working smart. I was kind of looking at my focus prior to the pandemic. I want more time to develop, to act, so the pandemic kind of just flowed into it. More than anything, I just realized life is short and really prioritize.
Q: You and the Osmond family have taken a lot of grief from critics over
the years. Yet you’ve endured and remained popular. Is there satisfaction in having proved the detractors wrong?
A: It’s more of a great appreciation, it’s more of a thank-you. Hey, I never thought I would be working five decades in my business, especially as a woman and especially having certain kinds of things I would and wouldn’t do. I thought that would shut me down, but it hasn’t. It’s proof of be who you are, know who you are, and don’t let anything change that.
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