Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 11, 1992 TAG: 9201110028
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
WOMAN OF THE OPERA
Whatever Clarity James does, she does with flair.Take walking, for instance.
James doesn't merely walk. She swishes.
And when she talks, words float out like soap bubbles. Suspended in the air for an instant, they quiver and burst before the listener can catch them all.
Her speech is laced with superlatives. Words like "incredible," "wonderful" and "magnificent" flow naturally. One particular four-letter word pops out again and again: love.
Within an hour, a listener learns that James loves animals, plants, pottery, people, Mexican food, horseback riding, her new poodle puppy "Cleo," the German language, cowboy songs and the theater.
But more than anything else, James loves her work.
She also lives up to the job description:
"Opera singers must be a little larger than life," she says.
Two years ago James brought opera - and her flair for it - to the New River Valley. She joined the music faculty at Radford University in 1990 following an extensive professional career that had her trotting around the country.
"I'm here," she explains, "because this is a place where the trees outnumber the cars and people.
"I'm here because I wanted to remove some stress from my life. The performing career in New York City was stressful."
With her prematurely silver-gray hair, James says she is younger than most people think. However, her age is a matter of controversy.
"I have two ages," she said. "In the `Who's Who' books, I would be born in 1945. That would make me 46, but I'm really, actually 49."
James said the discrepancy is no accident.
"In the business, people assume you lie about your age. Everyone advised me to take three years off."
A highly acclaimed mezzo soprano, James was in demand at all the best opera houses - the New York City Opera, the Santa Fe Opera Company, the Houston Grand Opera, to name just a few.
"I'm actually a dramatic mezzo soprano," she noted. "That means I have to sing the high notes of a soprano as well as the low notes, and I have to be loud.
"Loud is important," she added with a laugh. "You have to sing over an orchestra of 80 to 90 musicians. And you have to be able to do period acting.
"Mezzos do witches, bitches, mothers and clowns - all incredibly interesting people," she said. "It's wonderful to play those kinds of parts because it allows you to let off steam in a productive way."
Among James' most memorable operatic roles are Mrs. Doc, a female psychiatrist she created in the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein's "A Quiet Place," and Madame Flora, a phony psychic in Gian-Carlo Menotti's "The Medium." The latter is the story of a medium who is touched by an unearthly force she can't explain during one of her seances. Consequently, she turns to drinking and finds herself on the ragged edge.
James made her debut with the Houston Grand Opera in the role of Madame Flora and later performed it in Dallas with Menotti as stage manager. It was an experience she says she will never forget.
"I had performed the opera before but never with the master," she said. "It was unbelievable to recreate the work with the creator of the work. I was in heaven.
"At the beginning, Menotti was leery of me because he knew I had performed `The Medium' many times. I let him know quickly that I was willing to do his version, and I learned so much from him."
James also worked with Leonard Bernstein when she performed Mrs. Doc in her debut at the Staatsoper in Vienna, Austria.
"That was one of the true highlights of my career," she said. "Talk about totally bigger than life - Bernstein was."
Over the years, James has rubbed elbows with the creme de la creme in artistic circles, but it hasn't turned her into a sycophant - or a snob.
"I was born in Sunrise, Wyo.," she said. "It doesn't exist now. In its boom day, there were 347 people in the town. I graduated from Sunrise High School in a class of 16."
What were the musical opportunities for a child in Sunrise?
"None," James said with a giggle.
"I always sang in church from the time I was tiny. My mother was the pianist at the church and she encouraged me musically.
"My father had a beautiful voice, but it was untrained. He sang folk songs to me in a playful kind of way. He never sang professionally.
"When people ask me where I give credit for my voice, I credit the Welsh. My grandfather came from Wales.
"I had only a background in piano when I entered the University of Wyoming. I had no theory, so I had a lot of catching up to do as anyone from a small town does."
It was at the University of Wyoming that James discovered opera.
A touring company led by the legendary impresario Boris Goldovsky performed at the university during James' sophomore year. James still recalls hearing baritone Sherill Milnes singing the part of Figaro in "The Barber of Seville."
"When I heard the opera, immediately I said, `Aha! That's hard. I want to do it.' "
Later in life, James found an opportunity to tell Goldovsky just how much he had influenced her career.
"When I got to New York, I worked with Boris Goldovsky. I told him of hearing his opera and of what it meant to me. He loved to tell that story to college students after that."
James did her graduate work at Indiana University, where she received a degree in performance.
As part of her training, she studied French, Italian and German. Of the three, she says, "German is my favorite. It has to do with my love of Wagner and Strauss."
James is quick to point out a desire to perform more operas in her native language, however. It is the language barrier, she cites, that often discourages Americans from appreciating opera.
"For Americans, opera is not an indigenous art form. It has a snooty reputation. That's not what we're like, though.
"I don't foresee opera ever having the popularity of baseball, but I would like to see us do more operas in English."
While she says she sometimes feels a need for a "city fix," James has no regrets about her move to Radford.
"The New River Valley is different. A lot of the people remind me of home - just with a different accent. I love living here in this part of the country. I truly do."
When she is not teaching, performing at the university or making guest appearances, she likes to visit nursing homes with her dog, Cleo, whom she describes as "the most intelligent, most gorgeous creature on the face of the Earth."
James says she loves her work with the Pets and People program, which involves taking pets to visit the elderly.
"Before I got Cleo, I was borrowing dogs from other people to take to nursing homes. I've always known that animals are healers."
Another thing James loves is performing with local musicians.
"I couldn't be more delighted with my colleagues," she said, noting that members of Radford's music department have flattered her with their attention. In turn, the musicians have been inspired by James.
David Phillips, a professor of piano at Radford, composed a song especially for James' upcoming solo recital. Titled "Going to the Mall," the piece is a delightful look at the common experiences of everyone who has visited the shopping shrines.
"I absolutely had Clarity in mind when I wrote the song," Phillips said. "I found out in advance what her range was and, of course, she has such a wonderful personality and such a talent."
In concert Monday: Clarity James will premiere David Phillips' "Going to the Mall" in her annual solo recital Monday at 8 p.m. in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. Pianist Caryl Conger is the accompanist. Other selections on the program include a collection of Appalachian folk songs, as well as works by John Alden Carpenter, Gustav Mahler, Gaetano Donizetti, Francis Poulenc and John Jacob Niles. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children.
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