+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
date = "2015-07-31T17:02:00-04:00"
draft = true
lastmod = "2015-07-31T17:20:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1438377425605/AlainaHeadshotSquare.jpg.jpg"
related_articles = ["articles/loose-tea-raises-funds-for-radical-new-vision-of-bizets-carmen.md"]
slug = "meet-the-folks-alaina-viau-of-loose-tea"
title = "Meet the folks: Alaina Viau of Loose TEA"
+++

### 1. How did you first get into opera?

My first real taste of the operatic stage was when I was 13. I was taking singing lessons and in choir when I was cast in the boy’s chorus in *Tosca* with Opera Hamilton and immediately got the bug! I loved the emotional singing, the people and being a part of the huge team that put on that show! I would hang out in wardrobe and make-up, chatting with the singers that didn’t seem to mind me asking all sorts of questions. I’d linger in the wings to watch all the activity backstage. After that I tried to find anyway to be involved in a show whether it was on stage or backstage. 

### 2. What have you learned about the industry since starting your own company?

The people in this industry are the best! They are very intelligent and giving people, and very willing to help out. I love that I work in an industry where the common greeting is a hug. How great is that?

### 3. What do you look for in young professional singers?

In addition to a great voice, attitude and acting abilities are just as important. In our auditions we have three parts to our process. First we ask for two pieces, one from the score and one favorite/comfortable piece in rep. I ask all singers to prepare a monologue that I have selected that is relevant to the opera. We work on a small section that helps me the identify what someone comes prepared with, and then how easily they take suggestions and if they can explain why they feel compelled to do it a certain way. I want to give them a chance to show me their spark. We then have an interview where I explore their attitude and opinions. 

Attitude is extremely important! I need a singer who is willing to try anything that is suggested and explore the opera/characters with me and the cast to fully embrace a new way of seeing traditional characters. Putting on an opera is a team effort where we need to be comfortable to explore and develop. I like hiring positive people who help bring the group together because we need to enjoy it! 

### 4. Who have been your influences or mentors?

I have absorbed many influences along the way that I am only now realizing. My time at the Royal Opera House in London, UK, was incredibly influential. It was more of an education than my formal education was! I absorbed 2 years worth of opera and ballet, many times with different casts, I saw everything! Paul Curran's production of *The Tsar's Bride* in particular was significant to the development of my artistic ideas. It was a new production set in current day Russia, and was it ever spectacular. He was able to take Rimsky-Korsakov's 1898 weirdly orchestrated opera on the mysterious death of Ivan the Terrible's third wife and completely make it relevant and devastating to a modern audience. I was flabbergasted. How was he able to DO that? I can’t even begin to describe the unique and phenomenal performances of the singers, because this interview could get really long! Needless to say, it was quite the experience for me. 

Studying conducting continues to drive me as well. I conducted/studied all the Beethoven symphonies in a year. I breathed, ate and bathed in Beethoven. There is so much passion, drive and exploration in all of his works. It inspires me to learn more, read more, observe more, try more and push the boundaries! Reading his letters there was one statement that I just love. It was when he was very deaf already, with constant loud howling sounds in his ears, also suffering from abdominal pains (suggested IBS); he wrote (I paraphrase), "no matter how much pain I endure, I will continue to write until the day God takes me off this earth, I will not stop!". Wow, well if he can do it I certainly can!

I have had some wonderful mentors, especially Ashlie Corcoran, Uri Meyer and Oz Weaver. They have all pushed me to go farther and been there to give their opinions and guidance. I am lucky to have such intelligent people from different disciplines offering their time.

### 5. What do you get out of your work with Loose TEA? What do you try to accomplish with each production?

Each production allows me to explore different ways of interpreting life, relationships, motivations etc. Every time I create a new work I have to place myself into all those characters and try to see their world from their vantage point. So it’s always different and new and I think it helps me become a better person. I also get an enormous amount of satisfaction by creating something that people enjoy and feel connected to. I really want to share the passion that I have for classical music with other people. 

To me, each production is an experiment. An experiment with an artistic idea and learn more about that what is needed to get an audience to come see a show. With each project I am also gaining immense experience in all aspects of running a business: marketing, advertising, development, communication, product testing, and market research as well as leading a team and making the hard decisions. It is a challenge every time that stretches my artistic and business ideas. It is sometimes scary and I learn to jump into the unknown without a safety net. Let’s just say it builds character!
