Winnebago native lends voice to Minnesota Opera

Sarah Day — Staff Writer
WINNEBAGO — A Winnebago native is a rising-star within the opera scene.

Kelly Kaduce, 33, will perform the lead role in Antonin Dvorak’s “Rusalka” at The Minnesota Opera, which opens 7:30 p.m. Saturday. “Rusalka” is described as a little mermaid story — without the happy ending.

Kaduce describes it as the story of a creature from another world who desires to experience the human world’s unconditional love. Rusalka falls in love with a prince, and goes to the human world on the condition that she lose the power of speech. But if the prince betrays her, the two will be eternally damned. Kaduce said the prince doesn’t understand the unconditional love Rusalka gives, until it is too late.

Kaduce graduated from Blue Earth Area High School in 1992, and went on to college at St. Olaf in Northfield. She didn’t know much about opera then, but once she started taking voice lessons it grew on her.

“When I was younger I just liked music. I grew up in the ‘Top 40,’” she said. “It really intrigued me, more intrigued I got, the more I got into opera and singing.

Rusalka is an opera she’s wanted to do for quite some time, since she’s been performing one of the arias from it for many years.

“My favorite part of doing this role ... I’ve discovered the rest of the beautiful music in it,” she said.

She hopes the audience gets out of the performance what she does, especially the feeling she gets when she reverses roles and listens.

“I hope that they enjoy the performance,” she said. “Hearing voices live and unmiked soaring through the hall, I find it thrilling if they can get that out of it — that’d be one element.”

Another element she hopes people enjoy is the story, which she believes was put together beautifully.

Kaduce spent a lot of time preparing for the role. She started by working with her music coach to learn how it would go musically, and she also had to learn the pronunciation and meaning of the words — which are in Czech. To prepare for this role — and any other — she continues voice lessons and has to maintain good health.

“Being an opera singer is like being an athlete,” she said. “You have to watch how you train.”

Singing is highly intensive on the vocal chords — more so with opera singing, so she also must be conscious of proper hydration.

“I know it sounds quite simple, but it’s actually quite difficult,” Kaduce said.

She also said its highly important for her to stay in good physical shape. Kaduce uses a heightened form of breathing to sing, while the performance lasts about three hours — so she can’t run out of breath during the middle of a performance.

She’s been singing with The Minnesota Opera for the past four years, as well as across the country and internationally.

“I will practically sing anything at The Minnesota Opera, because I really enjoy singing here,” she said. “I’m really excited to do this performance. It’s kind of like everything has come full circle for me with this performance.”

Next, Kaduce will perform the lead role in Madame Butterfly in St. Louis — an opera she’s performed elsewhere before.