The spring issue of The Music Scene has an interview with Adrianne Pieczonka, the famed Canadian diva who will be singing the Prima Donna/Ariadne in our upcoming production of Ariadne auf Naxos. 

Here's what she had to say about the character of Ariadne: 

Q: Let’s talk a little about your upcoming COC Ariadne, one of your signature roles. Ariadne is a woman who can only be fulfilled by having a man in her life. Given the 21st century post-feminist critique, isn’t she a little old-fashioned? Why do you love her so much?

A: It’s not fair! (laughs) Look at Senta and Elsa—a lot of Wagner is misogynistic. You know I don’t have an issue with Ariadne, if you think of her as a Greek goddess and you put yourself back in her time. Maybe she’s a bit mad . . . maybe she has lost touch with reality. You have this polarization—in the Prologue she’s the diva, and then in the Opera itself you have this forlorn, bereft woman. I am married to a woman, so why am I even doing this role? Because the music is glorious! The duet between Zerbinetta and the Composer is so beautiful. I just sang Ariadne in Munich with Alice (Coote) and Jane (Archibald). It was wonderful. I hope the Toronto audience will love it. It’s a subtle opera—the Composer’s ode to music is so beautiful, and Zerbinetta’s aria is always a showstopper. My music is more cerebral—sometimes I must say you sing and sing, and . . . (more laughs)

You can read the whole thing here (PDF). And for a preview of Pieczonka's singing, here's a YouTube clip from Barcelona 2002 of "Es gibt ein reich," Ariadne's mournful aria: