Meet a DragonDiva - Karen Santos

Karen Santos Laetitia

Name: Karen Santos

Voice Type (if a singer): Soprano

Role: Laetitia

Hometown: Mexico City


Is this your first time performing with DragonDiva?

No. I first became acquainted with DragonDiva when I performed in their production of Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan. I played Leila, one of the fairies!! Later, I played Gretel from Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel when the company performed it in December of 2009.

Favourite thing about the role you are playing in Old Maid and the Thief?

Laetitia is able to twist logic and manipulate people to the extent that she gets them to do things they would normally not even conceive of doing. She gets away with everything! And at the end of the show, she is still so loveable that people still want her to do well.

Where did you find inspiration for your role?

To me, Laetitia seems like an extreme version of Susanna from The Marriage of Figaro, in the sense that she kind of runs the whole scheme. She can be the most angelic and innocent person and within a second be the mastermind of the whole plot.

Favourite part of Old Maid and the Thief?

There is a line where Menotti absolutely breaks the fourth wall and I find it to be the most hilarious circumstance I have ever come across in opera. Laetitia and Miss Todd are about to break into the liquor store and the orchestra is full of staccatos that imitate their tiptoeing. Suddenly, there is a chromatic ascending bass line. Miss Todd gets startled by this and says, “I heard a noise!” to which Laetitia responds, annoyed: “That’s just part of the orchestration!!!”

What attracted you to the operatic stage?

I think I have always been really dramatic and have been singing since I was really young. I was always into dance and acting and I always loved attention but growing up in Mexico I was never exposed to opera. My parents never ever listened to opera or anything like that. When I started taking voice lessons I told my teacher I wanted to sing opera and ever since then I got the “opera bug.” Now, I am completely infatuated with opera.

How would you describe opera to someone who has never seen one?

Opera singers are like the marathon runners of the world of singing. We are un-amplified and we can sing for about two hours accompanied by a full orchestra and still be perfectly audible. On top of that, we tell all kinds of beautiful stories. Some are romantic, some are comedic, some are based on history, some are completely fantastical, a few are less exciting than others but they are all stories that have thrilled audiences for centuries! In order to tell these stories opera singers must be actors as well and convey the characters we are playing. Opera has a larger-than-life quality to it where every emotion is amplified and stretched as though we had a magnifying glass on human emotion.

A lot of singers and actors have day jobs…do you?

I teach voice and piano mostly to younger kids. I was actually really grateful to get a job that had something to do with what I love the most: music. 
 
Do you have a secret talent other than singing?

Visual Arts. Painting in particular. I actually did a degree in Visual Arts before I did a degree in Opera. I only do it as a hobby nowadays which is what keeps me sane most of the time.
 

Favourite non-classical music?

I literally live in my opera bubble and have no clue about what is current in pop music today. But not too long ago some of my students brought in Lady Gaga and Adele, and I must say I thought they were pretty awesome. Other than that, I like to listen to old school jazz.
 
Any upcoming performances you want to share?

After The Old Maid and the Thief I am planning to take a little break from singing because so far this year it has been non-stop for me.