Q&A with Julieth Lozano
Tuesday 24 June 2025
The way I prepare a role or a piece for this particular production is very similar to the way I approach any other role and any other piece. I really like to start with the text, so I always go to the libretto first or the source of the inspiration for the drama. I read it and I re-enact it. If there are other versions, or books, or material about it I try to find inspiration from there too. Depending on the role, I would look for other inspiration for the role itself, so in this case we’re in Venise and in the world of the circus and magic so I will try to find as much inspiration as I can, watching movies for example, trying to find things about that world that will feed into my character. Next, I look at the music. I start by just doing a very straightforward read of it, just to have a look at the range and what to expect, where will I need to focus more on technique and where I can express more. I then use the information in the musical score (rhythm, harmony, any notes the composer left) to inform the dramatic decisions I will take and unite this with the text to have a complete image of the role. That’s my three-step approach to preparation.
“My pre-show rituals change, the important thing is that I find ways to have a good heart and find a way to be able to speak from an honest part of myself. That can be very different every day because we are humans and every day we are slightly different..”
Oh definitely! La Calisto by Francesco Cavalli. It’s just so beautiful and somehow it makes me feel, both as a singer and a listener, like he really understood how to express in the way that my brain works. Every time I hear Restino imbalsamate Nelleme morie mie meaning Let them remain embalmed in my deaths, this phrasing is exactly how I would express this text, this is how I would say it – if real life was a musical! That’s one piece that always comes into my mind and actually it’s a piece that always feels so comfortable in my voice that whenever I’m having a bad day I start by singing that first line. Just to make sure I can sing on the day!
My pre-show rituals change, the important thing is that I find ways to have a good heart and find a way to be able to speak from an honest part of myself. That can be very different every day because we are humans and every day we are slightly different. I would say that sometimes it’s breathing exercises, sometimes it’s about having a short meditation and sometimes it might be shaking! Jumping around and having a little dance around the room. It really depends on my energy on the day but with the goal of getting to a place of honesty and openness.
“I feel like people should know and understand that baroque opera is truly where it all started and we should see it as a serious thing… baroque opera is very human and very visceral and it’s very exciting to perform. “
There are some horrendous things that people say in the business, for example, “to sing baroque opera you’re not fully singing”. I feel like people should know and understand that baroque opera is truly where it all started and we should see it as a serious thing. It’s very difficult to sing! Another thing I think people should know is that it’s for everyone. It’s not just for a certain type of person; baroque opera is very human and very visceral and it’s very exciting to perform. I think if people knew this, they would be more attracted to it and come to watch it.
I hope that people go away with their spirit renewed. I know this sounds a bit extreme, but I feel like theatre can give us this. Theatre and Art heals, and I feel like if you’re experiencing baroque opera for the first time, I hope that you get involved in this very human, visceral drama and you feel the essence of the theatre and when you’re watching this, you can forget that you’re watching an opera and feel like you’re just watching a story.
Join us for Le Carnaval de Venise on Saturday 30 & Sunday 31 August and Saturday 6 & Sunday 7 September at The Vache, HP8 4SD.