Meet the Student: Q&A with Soprano Juliette Tacchino

Soprano Juliette Tacchino, from Nice, France, stars as Ginevra in Curtis Opera Theatre’s riveting production of George Frideric Handel’s Ariodante. She entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022 and studies in the opera program with Joan Patenaude-Yarnell. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Tacchino is the Lelia A. Wike Fellow.

What have you found to be the most challenging or exciting aspect(s) of learning the role of Ginevra in Ariodante and bringing this character to life in rehearsals?
Ginevra comes with many challenges. This role, which contains seven arias, three duets, and many recits, is a long emotional journey. We go from supreme happiness and love to extreme misfortune and death. Maestro Stern explained to us how important it is to seek deep within us the experience. With Ginevra, I am invited to dive inside myself and discover certain parts of me that I didn’t know. It’s not always that easy!

The biggest challenge here is not to get overwhelmed by emotions. I would even say I allow myself feelings I do not necessarily feel in everyday life. Omer, our stage director, is amazing. I love working with her. Her vision of this opera is really interesting, and I am learning a lot about how to bring my character to life. However, the two aspects that fascinate me the most are the sets and the costumes. I love this part of a production.

The decor, quite minimalist in a Gothic/Baroque style, makes me sometimes think of the Victorian era, and I admit to having a secret passion for all things vintage and works from the last centuries. I love putting on my costume, getting into character, and acting to transform myself!

From your early years taking piano, dance, and singing with the Children’s Choir of the Opéra de Nice, what experience(s), teachers, or moments inspired you to pursue a career in opera?
I have always been immersed in music. My parents, both pianists, are my main source of inspiration. I was persuaded at first to go for the piano, but when I joined the children’s choir of the Opéra de Nice at ten years old, it was love at first sight. I had the chance to participate in many productions, such as Boris Godounov, Parsifal, La bohème, Aida, and Werther, where I even went to London to rehearse with the conductor. It was very impressive for a child to experience all these adventures.

From there, I understood immediately that the opera stage was my playground. As I played hide and seek in the theatre, I felt at home and no longer wanted to leave that world. I was lucky to have many caring mentors who always encouraged me in Nice—like Claire Brua, Dalton Baldwin, Norah Amsellem—and in Montreal—Rosemarie Landry, and Richard Margison. Now my journey continues with Joan Patenaude-Yarnell in Philadelphia. They are all a great source of inspiration to me, and I owe them a lot. Studying abroad has really allowed me to broaden my perspective.

Since you entered Curtis last fall, what have been some of your most memorable moments at the school in classes, rehearsals, or as you’ve performed on stage?
My favorite moment this year was during our Curtis Symphony Orchestra “French Opera Scenes” concert at the Kimmel Center. Working and singing under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, surrounded by all the magnificent musicians of the school, was a wonderful experience. It was my very first performance at Curtis, and I had the immense pleasure of singing in my mother tongue, French. My mom came from France to listen to me. It was a special moment that I will never forget! I interpreted “la Scène de la Tour,” an excerpt from the opera Pelléas et Mélisande by Debussy, a composer I particularly cherish. Mélisande is also the role of my dreams. She is so fragile and utopian. I hope with all my heart to embody her one day.

I am extremely lucky to be able to study here at Curtis. Every day fills me with happiness thanks to my teachers (in particular, Joan), the whole organizational team, and the connections I’ve created with all the great musicians who study here. I will continue to enjoy every moment life gives me during my time here at this wonderful school.

Watch Juliette Tacchino, tenor Benjamin Schaefer, and bass-baritone Evan Gray perform a scene from Pelléas et Mélisande at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Visit Juliette Tacchino’s official website HERE.

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: ARIODANTE

Music: George Frideric Handel
Libretto: unknown, anonymously adapted from Antonio Salvi’s Ginevra principessa di Scozia, based upon Ariosto’s Orlando furioso.

Featuring members of Tempesta di Mare, orchestra

Thursday, May 4, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 5, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 6, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 7, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.

Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad Street

Click HERE for more information.

Single tickets: $19–55, sold by the Kimmel Cultural Campus Box Office at KimmelCulturalCampus.org, or (215) 893-1999.

The Curtis Opera Theatre is generously supported by the Ernestine Bacon Cairns Trust, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and the Wyncote Foundation.

Photos of Juliette Tacchino by Nichole MCH Photography.