Katia Ricciarelli Claims Gambling Keeps Her Calm & Serene

Opera Zenith: Katia Ricciarelli with Plácido Domingo in 1972 when they recorded duets together for RCA.

In a recent telephone interview, soprano Katia Ricciarelli admitted that going to the casino keeps her in a wonderful state, unless she gets asked for an autograph: "'Spero ancora nell'amore e non chiedetemi autografi mentre sono al video poker.' La cantante, ospite del programma radiofonico I Radioattivi, rinnega di avere il vizio del gioco e specifica che è solo un divertimento, perché 'mi dà adrenalina come il gioco ai bambini ma non sono malata, non lo pratico per mesi. Tra tutti i giochi mi diverto solo con il video poker, mi dà calma e serenità ma purtroppo ti vengono a chiedere gli autografi e in quel caso guardo tutti con occhi cerulei.'" [Source] Listen to the full interview, and hear a recording of the soprano's professional debut from 1969, after the jump. 

Learn more about the diva's journey from poverty
to performing on the great opera stages of the
world by purchasing her book here.

"Born at Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family; she struggled during her younger years when she studied music. She studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, won several vocal competitions in 1968, and made her professional debut as Mimì in La bohème in Mantua in 1969, followed by a 1970 appearance in Il trovatore in Parma. In the following year, she won RAI's 'Voci Verdiane' award. Between 1972 and 1975, engagements followed in the major European and American opera houses, including Lyric Opera of Chicago (1972); Teatro alla Scala (1973); Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (1974); and the Metropolitan Opera in 1975. In 1981, she began a decade-long association with the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, thus broadening her repertoire of Rossini's operas. Beside her many opera performances, she also appeared as Desdemona in Franco Zeffirelli's film version of Verdi's Otello in 1986, alongside Plácido Domingo. In 2005 she won the best actress prize Nastro d'Argento, awarded by the Italian film journalists, for her role in Pupi Avati's La seconda notte di nozze. In 1991 she founded Accademia Lirica di Katia Ricciarelli, and, since 2003, she has been Artistic Director of the annual summer Macerata Opera Festival. In 2006 she participated in the reality show La fattoria (Italian version of The Farm) on Canale 5. In 1986 on her 40th birthday, she married Pippo Baudo, a television personality, and filed for divorce in the summer of 2004." [Source]

Pre-Order New Deborah Voigt Confessional Autobiography

Cover Girl: Pre-order a copy of the new book here.

"Internationally beloved opera star Deborah Voigt recounts her harrowing and ultimately successful private battles to overcome the addictions and self-destructive tendencies that nearly destroyed her life. Call Me Debbie is one of the most electrifying performances of Deborah Voigt’s life. The brilliantly gifted opera soprano takes us behind the velvet curtains to tell her compelling story—a tale of success, addiction, music, and faith as dramatic as any role she has performed. For the first time, she talks about the events that led to her dangerous gastric bypass surgery in 2004 and its shocking aftermath: her substantial weight loss coupled with the 'cross addiction' that led to severe alcoholism, frightening all-night blackouts, and suicide attempts. Ultimately, Voigt emerged from the darkness to achieve complete sobriety, thanks to a twelve-step program and a recommitment to her Christian faith. Colored by hilarious anecdotes and juicy gossip that illuminate what really goes on backstage, Voigt paints diverting portraits of the artists with whom she’s worked, her most memorable moments onstage, and her secrets to great singing. She also offers fascinating insight into the roles she’s played and the characters she loves, including Strauss’s Ariadne and Salome, Puccini’s Minnie, and Wagner’s Sieglinde, Isolde, and Brünnhilde, sharing her intense preparation for playing them. Filled with eight pages of color photos, Call Me Debbie is an inspirational story that offers a unique look into the life of a modern artist and a remarkable woman." [Source] And more from the soprano's official website: "In bookstores on January 27, Call Me Debbie: True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva represents one of the most electrifying performances of Voigt’s career. In her strikingly honest memoir, she recounts – with characteristic candor, charisma, and wit – her harrowing and ultimately successful private battles to overcome the addictions and self-destructive tendencies that nearly cut short her life.....Enriched with hilarious anecdotes and juicy backstage gossip, she paints diverting portraits of the artists with whom she’s worked, her most memorable moments onstage, and the secrets of her singing. 'I never imagined myself becoming a world-famous dramatic soprano who’d share the stages of the biggest opera houses in the world with the most celebrated vocalists of our time,' Voigt explains. 'I didn’t yearn to meet presidents, princes, Pavarottis, and Plácidos. As a child, I only knew I loved to sing – I was singing before I was talking.' Voigt will discuss and read from the book in an extensive promotional tour in February (dates/locations TBA). Already known to Twitter fans as a 'dramatic soprano and down-to-earth diva,' Voigt was named as one of the top 25 cultural tweeters to follow by the Los Angeles Times. She offered something of a preview of her memoir in her confessional one-woman show, Voigt Lessons; boding well for Call Me Debbie, at its Glimmerglass Festival premiere, the show was pronounced 'chatty, witty, and sometimes painfully poignant' (New York Times)." [Source]