My maternal great aunt Hermine is a spitfire who has always amazed the family with her abundant energy and stubborn streak. She is tiny....

I was represented by an agency and auditioning as a commercial actress so I’ve been expected to keep the same long dirty blonde princess...

There were times when my anxiety crippled my ability to live my life. I learned to manage my anxiety and one of the main tools I use for...

It’s almost like a totem. When an individual has signaled their readiness to become a classical singer a teacher will lead them one of...

Many people who learn I sing opera feel compelled to apologize for not liking the art form. It’s okay. I get it. I don’t like opera...

Many nations have rules around how much broadcast television must be in the native language. This was of particular concern in France...

Some people say that we will never again see the level of glamour evident in post-world war America. It usually men who lament the...

I forgot about American Thanksgiving coming up. Perhaps because nothing could top our photo from last year. [Faux puritans. Thanksgiving...

The Halloween costumes of my mother’s youth doubled down on her opera training. Here are three from her teenage years. They were living...

In America, I was an awkward child. It’s because I’m a time traveler. Opera singers, more than many other artists, spend their entire...

It’s August and I’m returning to NYC for the first time after a long absence. There was a moment when I became a New Yorker and I can...

I was sick this week. I had a nasty virus that caused all sorts of gastrointestinal issues and I didn’t eat a bite for nearly six days....

In my family, you can be a physician or a musician, but you can rarely be both. My cousin Sophie Bourgeois is extraordinary for managing...

The French embraced jazz music very early. It may have been that there was a direct pipeline from the  cradle of New Orleans to the...

Maternal grandmother Hélène was often enlisted to do the portraits of performers over her long career. Here’s one she did of the French...

My diva mother cavorting around Paris in the 1970s. You can hear her singing a duet with Jean-Claude Calon in the link below. The images...

I have few war heroes in my family of creative types, but the one most decorated got her medals in an unusual manner. As part of my...

My mother and father were involved in reviving Offenbach’s La Périchole in Paris in the 1970s. A couple of photos from that production...

We’re probably being jerks (to ourselves). Or: Why Beyoncé isn’t the problem I had an important realization today. I was never as ugly as...

Below the beautiful song Laylay by Sövkət Ələkbərova, and the superb animation work from the creative Russian group METRONOME FILM, part...