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Meet the Artist
28
Kelly Kaduce
Puccini’s heroines require great acting skills. Where did you learn to be such an incredible actor? I took acting classes during my undergrad at St. Olaf College, and the first time I saw an opera was at Minnesota Opera during my first years of college – The Barber of Seville and then Pelléas et Mélisande, which happens to be my favorite opera. It’s overwhelming to sit in a theater and have those voices come at you with no amplification and just vibrate through your body. That’s when I first fell in love with the art form. When I see a show, I’m always watching (not criticizing) the acting, but my mind is always playing with what I’d do with the text. The acting side of opera has always been a real interest to me and it’s something for which I have a huge passion.
What kind of personal connection have you found to Manon? I’ve been asked a lot how you relate to character A, B and C, and sometimes these characters really aren’t like you in real life, but this is the joy of being an actor. It doesn’t take much effort to sit down, read the score and spend a little time digging for what it would feel like to be in a given situation. If you were to read a synopsis of the libretto of Manon Lescaut, you’d probably see my character as flakey but it was important for me to find something more in it. She’s just a young girl who hasn’t achieved the worldly knowledge that happiness is not found in fancy clothes, jewelry, living the high life and having lots of money. She discovers that there’s much more to it.