Elizabeth Futral as Baby Doe Tabor, New York City Opera (2001). Photo by Carol Rosegg.

We wrote to Elizabeth Futral recently to find what out she had to say about The Ballad of Baby Doe, after having sung the title role at New York City Opera this past April. She responded, "I think [The Ballad of Baby Doe] merits attention. It's a story worth re-telling and the score is very good, if not life-changing! It certainly is a crowd-pleaser in many ways and a fairly well-crafted drama depicting a slice of Americana.

"After having sung Baby Doe I am actually less enthusiastic about the role AND the music than I expected to be. I found that the role wasn't as fleshed out musically as I had hoped and thought it might be originally. I think Baby Doe is actually a bit more multi-faceted in personality than her music would indicate. I enjoyed singing the music and enjoyed the vocal challenges therein but found that the music itself didn't resonate very deeply within my soul. It's lovely but I wanted more than 'lovely' after awhile. I wouldn't rule out singing the role again but wouldn't request it be done for me if asked!

"The role actually emerged somewhat as I had expected; but, again, I felt somewhat limited by what was given musically. I felt I wanted other facets of her character to be more clearly etched. Perhaps that was just a fault in my acting but I tried very hard to dig as deeply as I could to draw out her courage and extreme loyalty to Horace and repentance to Augusta. The production was completely supportive of everything I tried to do with the role. Colin Graham gave me everything I could have asked for, including the space to develop Baby Doe as I felt her developing.

"My favorite bonus from having sung Baby Doe was getting to meet and chat with Beverly Sills before the premiere. She was so gracious to give me a little coffee chat in her office one morning while I was in New York rehearsing. She reminisced about the role and about lots of things and was terribly kind enough to inquire about and be interested in my career and me. It was a great thrill for me and I will treasure those moments always."

Take care!
Elizabeth

See also the USOperaWeb March 2001 interview with Elizabeth Futral