To see just how much artful wonder can come from an impoverished country, check out Yunus in the Syracuse Opera production of Don Pasquale; she’ll perform as the character Norina on Friday, March 7, 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 9, 2:30 p.m., at the Mulroy Civic Center’s Crouse-Hinds Concert Theater, 411 Montgomery St.
Monica Yunus: The soprano will perform as Norina in this weekend’s Syracuse Opera production of Don Pasquale at the Civic Center.
Yunus was born in Chittagong, Bangladesh, then lived with her mother and grandmother in New Jersey. Meanwhile, Yunus’ father, Muhammad, spent his career in Bangladesh as an economist, aspiring to solve his homeland’s financial woes. Muhammad Yunus eventually pioneered a system of financing known as microcredit in order to correct Bangladesh’s pecuniary conundrums; he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in 2006.
While Yunus hints that it was difficult growing up apart from her father, the soprano is pleased to be able to occasionally travel around the world with Muhammad, who serves as a sort of ambassador for the Grameen Bank, the administrator of his economic efforts. “Most recently it’s been great because we get to travel together, and I get to perform, and we make all kinds of jokes about it,” she explains. “Unison Yunus, on the road!”
Yunus, who guards her age, was drawn to opera when she was young. Her mother took Monica to an audition for the Metropolitan Opera’s children’s chorus, during which she sang “Happy Birthday” to land a part. “I just fell in love with being on stage there and the drama and the music and the orchestra,” she says. “There’s so many components of opera that appealed to me, even as a child.”
Having achieved a master’s degree from Juilliard, Yunus has since returned to Bangladesh and is now sharing the art form she loves with a country that has never experienced it. “It’s fun to sort of be the Bangladeshi opera star,” Yunus says. “They don’t really have that as part of that culture, although they have something very similar: It’s called jatra. But they don’t necessarily have Western opera, per se. When I went back a few years ago I got to sing for them, and introduce opera to a whole other culture, so that was interesting.”
Not satisfied purely with her artistic pursuits, Yunus was inspired by the summer 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina to found Sing for Hope, an organization of artists who perform in concerts that benefit humanitarian causes. Like many artists who decide to moonlight as philanthropists, Yunus explains that the connection between her charity efforts and her music are deep.
“What’s so ironic is monsoon rains wipe out villages in Bangladesh all the time, and I’m looking at the irony of it. That it happened here in the most powerful country in the world, it’s hard to swallow. For me it’s a way of giving. I think art is innately something that you want to share, and sometimes when you are caught up in the business of it, in the entertainment business—and I use that term loosely—you get further and further away from that.”
When Yunus isn’t on a quest to abate common tragedy, she pokes fun of it on stage. The performer made the transition from children’s chorus singer to Metropolitan Opera headliner when she debuted as Barbarina in the 2003-2004 season’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro. (For opera newbies, think of Bugs Bunny in The Rabbit of Seville.)
Regarding her upcoming performance as Norina, however, Yunus is happier to have stuck to opera buffa as opposed to more serious conceits. “I haven’t got a chance to do too many dramatic roles. I like them both. I mean Norina’s great. She’s very feisty, and so that’s a slightly different character than I’ve played before, so I’m excited about it. Honestly, I think she really has a good time having this whole shame that she gets to play out on Don Pasquale. It makes the reunion with Ernesto that much sweeter. She gets to have a good time out of it.”
Yunus is also digging the experience of rehearsing for a Syracuse Opera production. “This is a small cast,” she allows, “and I think that’s a luxury because you really can talk as a group and delve into the character more. So it’s a lot of fun.”
Yunus acknowledged what so many opera companies have dealt with in recent years: the challenge of popularizing opera to lure more audiences. However, she’s hopeful opera culture will survive. “People’s attention spans are just shorter, across the board. That is my opinion. I don’t know what the solution is. I know every company is struggling with it.”
After her Syracuse Opera gigs, Yunus will perform in an upcoming Metropolitan Opera production, as well as sharing the feeling of inspiration she receives as an artist with those who struggle to find hope. “My particular message is that it just takes one person. Truly, in {my father’s} case it was one person with a revolutionary idea. In my case, it’s rallying artists to give back with what they do such a tremendous job with, and that’s contributing beauty to this world that very desperately needs it.”
Tickets for Don Pasquale will cost $17 to $155. For more information, call 476-7372.
