“It’s about Complete Incorporation”: An Interview with Barbara Hannigan

In a conversation with Tamara Bernstein, Canadian soprano BarbaraHannigan discusses topics related to her musical formation and early career,significant professional relationships, and the professional voice. Hannigan describes her early decision to specialize in contemporary musicas a moment of quasi-religious vocation; she recounts the artistic processes ofcomposers George Benjamin and Hans Abrahamsen when they were writing opera roles forher, and reflects on the influence of some of her colleagues and mentors, includingthe late Reinbert de Leeuw and three stage directors. She elaborates on thetransformative experience of performing the title character of Alban Berg’sLulu ; addresses the persistent prejudice against singers who specialize incontemporary music; and comments on approaches to vibrato in both contemporary and“early” music. Her observations on the implications of ageing for an elite singerspeak to the intimate physical connection of an artist to her voice, and confirmHannigan’s fundamental commitment to singing as “completeincorporation.”