“When I was 17, and still at college, we were preparing a show and I was playing guitar. The singer did not show up, and my music teacher made me sing. It became an addiction: the wooden scent of the stage, the thought of being on stage… a part of me belongs to the stage.”

Mezzo soprano Hadar Halevy was born in Israel where she studied at Tel Aviv University. Later on she would move to New York to study at the prestigious Julliard School. Following her appearance at Wexford Festival as Bianca in Mercadante’s Il Giuramento in 2002, she quickly attracted international attention.

Hadar was not born into a particularly musical family, but she does point out that her paternal side has Yemeni origins, and apparently Yemeni Jews possess great voices. “Most Israeli Eurovision singers are Yemeni Jews,” she says jokingly.

Hadar Halevy

In Israel military service is obligatory for everyone. The general idea is that you don’t get to be a citizen unless you do military service. For Hadar, music would be a saving grace, as she managed to get chosen as part of the 50-strong musical component of the army, tasked with touring the country entertaining the troops

It is rather ironic, and perhaps also very illuminating, that a singer who possesses such a quintessential operatic voice should have started as a pop singer. Hadar does not regret those two year at all: pop music taught her a lot of things, including the importance of rhythm, but she felt she needed more space for self-expression.

Hadar’s operatic repertoire is vast and diverse, from Handelian opera, to bel canto, to Romantic opera. Does she have a favourite style? “Every time I sing a new role, I fall in love,” she says. Then she starts listing all the roles she has sung, each time her face lighting up more and more.

Hadar has a great affinity with Italian opera, especially bel canto. Italy has been her adoptive home for quite a few years now and she is proud of Italy as much as she is of her Israeli homeland. “In Italy I have discovered love for Beauty and the importance of quality… things which sometimes in Israel I find lacking.”

Bel canto (literally “beautiful singing”) is the vocal style associated with early 19th century Italian opera, especially Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. It is devilishly difficult for the singers, but rewarding for singers and audiences alike in the right hands. Hadar had the good fortune of working with Alberto Zedda, one of the most important Rossini specialists of the 20th century, who taught her not only how to sing in style but also how to channel emotion through coloratura.

Hadar’s next important engagement will be here in Malta, where she has been residing for the past couple of years. She will be taking on the role of Orpheus in the Manoel Theatre’s production of Orphée et Eurydice by Gluck (in the 1859 Berlioz version).

A challenging role on stage, not least because Hadar will be interpreting a male role

Orpheus is a curious figure in Greek mythology. In a world dominated by tales of masculine might and frightening beasts, Orpheus” weapon is his music. He overcomes challenges through the power of his music. No wonder then that not only are there about 70 Orphean operas in the repertoire, but the first fully acknowledged opera in history is Peri’s Euridice (based on the Orphean myth) from 1600.

Orpheus is a complex character, and like many Greek heroes, a tragic one. It is also a challenging role on stage, not least because Hadar will be interpreting a ‘male’ role. I use the word ‘male’ with caution, since as Hadar Hadar rightly puts it, it does not matter if Orpheus is male or female.

“It is about losing someone or something you love,” says Hadar. “It is an internal journey, and for each one of us that journey is different. What if I lost my voice? What if I no longer had music in my life? Maybe I could find music again, just like Orpheus eventually gets Eurydice back, but you know it will not be the same. That is the myth of Orpheus.”

Orphée et Eurydice takes place at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, on March 16, 17, 19 and 20 at 8pm.