by Mona Seghatoleslami
Opera singer and Clarksburg native Phyllis Curtin was recently inducted into the WV Music Hall of Fame, and I had the privilege (and joy!) of interviewing her. We talked for around a half hour, which then was condensed into a short story for for WV Morning.
Since Ms. Curtin was so interesting and charming, I wanted to share the entire interview for those who might be interested. In the interview, she shares stories of recording Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 while seven months pregnant, her work with composer Carlisle Floyd, how playing violin affected her approach to singing, her favorites from recordings, and more. I hope we can talk again some time—I’ve been thinking of more and more questions I would love to ask her.
So with the barest of editing (around the holidays, I don’t have time for much!), here’s our interview:
Listen to the interview with Phyllis Curtin
Bonus tracks: Here are videos of Curtin singing Mozart and as a soloist in Britten's War Requiem.