Dear readers,
Since I started this blog at 14 years old, you have known me as Violette Leonard for the sake of my privacy, for which reason I have also covered most of my face. I have always been open about my identity to my interview subjects (a special commendation goes to Matthew Polenzani for going along so gamely), but I recently turned 18, and I can now show you both my face and my name. Exit Violette—pursued by a bear, if you will…
Me (credit: my mother)
Enter Viveka Mirkin. Currently located in the Midwest, I am a scholar of 19th-century Italian-American and British history, Shakespeare lover, occasional actress and director, and former guest student at Yale University. I fell in love with opera on a ninth-birthday trip with my mother to see the Mariinsky Ballet; my little brother was back home, watching the Met’s Live in HD encore of Die Zauberflöte, starring Golda Schultz, Charles Castronovo, and Kathryn Lewek. When my mother asked me if I would like to see it in the cinema as well, I initially declined, as dancing bears and magic bells seemed much more to my three-year-old brother’s taste than mine. Thank the powers that be that I relented and went after all, and then to the Met’s abridged holiday version of The Magic Flute thrice in one week, and then to three shows of L’Elisir d’Amore.
The rest is history. Thank you for welcoming little me and big me into the wondrous world of opera and allowing me to share it with you. To many more years!
Viva l’opera,
Viveka
P.S. In case you ever wondered, and in case you never did, Violette’s middle name was Valeria. Addio del passato, Violette Valeria Leonard.
