Birthday: March 7, 1965.
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Mezzo-soprano opera singer.
Current home: Leesburg, Va.
Marital status: Married for nine years to David Perry.
Working on: I’m touring, giving a solo recital at 3 p.m. Sunday at Symphony Center in Chicago. And I’m preparing a CD of arias.
I stay home to watch: I love the soap operas — they’re great for character study — and the Discovery Channel.
Favorite pigout food: Potato chips.
Prized possession: My juicer. I mix together every wild combination imaginable.
Personal heroes: Leontyne Price and Martin Luther King.
I’d give anything to meet: Mozart — I understand he was quite a clown, the life of the party — and also Beethoven. After he went deaf, he was one of the miserables. If you saw him walking, humming loudly to himself and smelling bad, you would have crossed the street.
The worst advice my mother ever gave me: “When you get married, you and your husband are one.” I don’t see it that way at all. You have to remain independent.
If I could change one thing about myself: I would stick to things more. I get into different disciplines. I’ll go off on something for six months, then go off on something else. I’d like to stay with something longer.
People who knew me in high school thought I was: Shy.
My most irrational act: My first date with my husband. I was committed to doing something else, then, at the 11th hour, I said, “Forget about it. I’m going out with you.” Then the other person was expecting me and it was all very confusing.
Most humbling experience: I performed in a prison once. I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t think the prisoners would want me or like me. I thought they’d laugh at me. What could I give to these men? The greatest gift was what they gave to me. The experience made me realize that everybody has something to offer. Each person is valuable, whether in darkness or in light.
The three words that best describe me: Patient, spontaneous and loving.
