_{Artist of the Week} 22 Qs for Sydney Baedke

What is the best part of being a part of a company’s inaugural season?
This experience has been intensely rewarding. Working with established companies often comes with a period of learning to fit within an existing framework, but in this instance everyone involved – and I mean everyone – has played an integral role in setting the precedent for what Ammolite Opera stands for, not only in this inaugural season, but for more projects and seasons to come. There is a shared onus felt to propel Tayte and Maria’s vision of cementing more opportunities for Canadian artists and bringing contemporary opera to our communities in high quality and accessible ways. To funnel that mission through this invigorating piece has been very meaningful.

Heels or flats?
Sneakers on the subway, heels at the venue. Fluevogs are my go-to heel for singing, but when I don’t have to phonate I love a stiletto (the Ferragamo Eva is next on the bucket
list…).

Favourite city that you’ve worked in?
London (England – sorry Ontario!) was incredible. To go from performing at the Royal Opera House (for The Rape of Lucretia) to stepping into Covent Garden and being surrounded by tantalizing food vendors, boutiques, an enormous Christmas tree – the energy was so vibrant. After our shows were done, the streets were packed to capacity with theatre goers who had just seen operas, ballets, shows on West End… there is nothing like feeling the excitement of thousands of people who have all shared in an artistic experience.

Where did you go to school?
My academic training was at the University of Toronto (BMus) and Rice University (MMus). I’ve also held several apprenticeships through organizations including the Royal Conservatory of Music for their Rebanks Fellowship program, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Santa Fe Opera, Manitoba Opera and the Aspen Music Festival.

Top 3 favourite composers?
Right now, Puccini, Richard Strauss and Britten.

Which opera role do you want to be singing right now?
I’d be more than content to repeat some Mimìs, Tatyanas, and Countesses for the next few years, but if I had to add one new role it’s a toss up between Blanche de la Force and Suor Angelica (nuns all around!).

Which opera role do you want to be singing in 10 years?
Above all else is Salome. It’s something I would have never hoped for myself earlier in my vocal journey, but as I get older it’s starting to seem more and more possible. I crave the artistic and vocal liberation that inhabiting that character would bring.

Which role do you wish you could sing, but is not in your voice type? 
Gremin in Eugene Onegin. 10 minutes of stage time comprised of one of the most beautiful and romantic arias in the operatic canon. Easiest gig ever?

What’s the strangest/funniest thing that has happened to you on stage?
This story sounds steamier than it was (pun intended). I was in a production of Bolcom’s A Wedding that had a “shower scene.” Essentially, the bride and groom’s silhouettes needed to look…suggestive, while we were backlit in a stand-alone shower set piece. There was also a costume change that had to happen, stripping down to our undergarments. In the public dress rehearsal in front of an audience of invited high school students, instead of our planned fake embrace we stumbled in the dark and fell through the shower (breaking it open in the process). My clothes were around my waist while we were scrambling to get off of one another. The high school students loved it, but I must have been red as a tomato.

What’s your favourite thing about singing with an orchestra?
Lending your voice to an ocean of effort and artistry. Especially in more lush orchestrations, where to be heard you have to commit yourself to the core of the vocal line without any extraneous qualities in your vocal production, it become less about your specific instrument and more about the sum of all the acoustic parts. Singing with an orchestra is in many ways the ultimate equalizer.

What was the first opera you ever saw?
In person, Tosca at Calgary Opera in 2008 for their student-friendly dress rehearsal. I got too excited and was being a nuisance during some orchestra notes, and the conductor had to shush me and my friends in the audience. (It seems some things never change…)

Coffee or tea?
I’m such a coffee snob. I travel with a small nespresso machine in my carry-on for all my contracts and auditions. *Pro tip: the biggest Canadian supplier of globally sourced, independently roasted pods is in Calgary at Eight Ounce Coffee supply (and many are compostable!).

Where’s your favourite coffee shop?
SUCH a tough question (see above), but The Barn in Berlin is definitely among the best of the best.

What’s a big investment for an opera artist, but totally worth it?
Worrying about voltage conversion on the road is the bane of my existence, so in the last few years I’ve started purchasing duplicates of some of my must-have appliances/electronics in both the EU/UK and North American versions. It’s frustrating to spend money on the same thing twice, but so worth it to have a coffee or curl your hair in peace no matter where your travels take you.

What was your childhood dream job?
I wanted to be an opera singer before I really knew what that meant. By age five, I started voice lessons after falling in love with a VHS production of Die Zauberflöte. A year later I made my “début” with a local orchestra in Medicine Hat, singing Cindy Lou Who in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I’ll never sing my childhood dream role of the Queen of the Night, but the day I make my Pamina debut will be a special one!

Which TV show did you binge-watch last?
Bridgerton (I’m proudly trashy). Although before that was The Three-Body Problem which I couldn’t get enough of, and I’m far more excited its second season.

As a performer, have you achieved everything you wanted to achieve?
I don’t think that’s possible. My impetus in singing comes from the strive towards excellence and I hope I’m never at a point where I think I have nothing to improve or achieve.

What does it mean to be brave with music?
I think bravery in music means letting it go and leaning into vulnerability. I’m guilty of it, but holding onto music for ourselves to maintain control rarely makes for effective art. Music isn’t meant to be performed with a safety-belt. The most thrilling performances are those that are flung out into the ether without over-analyzing. It’s a complete leap of faith. You know as an artist and as an audience member when that happens, and it’s electric.

Are you a perfectionist?
I am, but I also know there is no such thing as attaining perfection. Rather than be discouraged by my mistakes or my shortcomings, I try to see the pursuit of overcoming them as a source of inspiration rather than a detriment. Progress is like a whack-a-mole game: as soon as you fix or improve one aspect of yourself or your work, more issues pop up. And when everything is pushed down, the game is over (which is so boring)!

What does success look like to you?
To me, success means singing repertoire that reverberates with my heart alongside people and in places I am passionate about. Of course, I would love to sing in all the biggest houses and be recognized internationally (who wouldn’t?), but I don’t believe that singing in the most prestigious houses in the world automatically means the most authentic and high-quality art is being created. For me, it is just as important to exist in opportunities where the music and production forms a conduit for my soul as it is to “make it” as an artist in this industry (although I wouldn’t turn down some stability).

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
In December 2022, during a particularly rough flu/Covid/etc. season, I was forced to make some cancellations. On the night of what should have been a Messiah, my partner Andrey Andreychik took me to Gusto 501 in Toronto to take my mind off the gig I was missing. I’m already a big fan of Gusto, but what made it the best meal I’ve ever had was the proposal he made at the end of the meal. Not a bad substitute for a lost Messiah (even though my “yes” sounded a little baritonal!).

Were there any directors in the past that have really inspired you?
Absolutely – Edward Berkeley and Boris Brott gave me and so many artists our first chances to step into the opera industry as the Aspen Music Festival Opera Program Director and Artistic Director of the Brott Music Festival respectively. I owe much of my career to the belief they showed in me from a young age. They are both very much missed.