Maja Lisa FritzHuspen, an outstanding mezzo-soprano formerly of Mt. Airy and now of Glenside, will be performing with The Delaware Valley Opera Company in three performances of “The Merry Wives of …
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by Len Lear
Maja Lisa FritzHuspen, 34, is a mesmerizing opera singer and voice teacher, formerly of Mt. Airy and now a Glenside resident, with a gorgeous voice and rich, mellifluous tone. The mezzo-soprano has a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Augsburg College (Minneapolis). She teaches voice in her home studio and at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.
Maja Lisa will be performing with The Delaware Valley Opera Company in three performances of the comic opera, “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” adapted from Shakespeare's play. The performances are in English at the Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center, 7 Lock St. in Manayunk, on Friday, June 10; Wednesday, June 15, and Saturday, June 18, all at 8 p.m.
We conducted the following interview with Maja Lisa last week:
My name has an interesting history. Maja Lisa is a family name from Sweden, five generations back, a grandmother. My last name is a combination of my parents' two last names. Fritz is German and Huspen is Slovak, so it became FritzHuspen.
I grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota, and after undergrad and grad schools, I moved to Philadelphia nine years ago.
My parents are not very musical except my dad did play guitar and sang in church.
I started college as a music therapy major and was taking voice lessons and all the voice major classes. My teacher assigned me an aria, and I fell in love with singing it! The repertoire felt so good in my voice and felt like what I should be singing. I started going to opera performances and loved the fact that opera encompassed all the art forms on stage. In my first semester two influential teachers encouraged me to switch to the vocal performance major, and I am so glad I did.
When I finished college, I knew I wanted to live in a big city. Philadelphia was close to NYC and easy to get to other areas of the East Coast, so I packed up and moved to Philly. All the major opera auditions happen in NYC, so it was easy for me to audition and even perform in NYC. I originally thought I would move to NYC after a few years, but I like having Philly as a home base. I am able to be a full-time musician here.
I have been able to travel as a part of my musical career. One tour was a part of a choir to Russia, Finland and Estonia. We sang in many historic places. It was such a wonderful experience.
I do take voice lessons. I think it is important to continue to work and improve. I study with Richard Johnson.
I actually lived in Mt Airy until two months ago when my husband, Don Roupe, and I bought a house in Glenside.
I love Rossini and Mozart.
Some mezzos I love listening to are Teresa Berganza and Joyce DiDonato.
It is a challenging time for everyone, even those singing in NYC. I have been fortunate and have not had to pay to sing. I do think it is possible to have a full-time singing career if you don't live in NYC. I am thankful that I am a full-time musician and am able to have a career comprised of singing opera and as a soloist and as a private voice teacher.
Picking up and moving to Philadelphia, not knowing anyone here, was tough but worth it. I knew I had the courage to try something new, and I am glad I did because there are more opportunities for me in this part of the country.
I was instilled with a good work ethic, and I would say that is the most important thing that has helped me. It is important to keep working hard and practicing and studying and auditioning, even when you hear a few no's, because eventually a yes will come. •Which talent that you do not have would you most like to have?
I can dance a little bit and typically do OK, but I would like to become better at it. I do take dance classes occasionally.
I like to enjoy the outdoors by kayaking and hiking and playing with my two dogs. I also enjoy yoga.
Tickets for the three “Merry Wives of Windsor” performances are available through DVOC's website or at the door: $20 for DVOC members, seniors and students (w/ID); $25 for non-members. More information at www.dvopera.org or 215-745-4171. More about Maja Lisa at www.majalisafritzhuspen.com or @MajaLisaMezzo.