Ana Gasteyer Studied Opera At The Beginning Of Her Career

Hip Chick: Ana Gasteyer performing in her music video

Funny lady Ana Gasteyer appeared on Live with Kelly and Michael on October 1st to promote her new CD, I'm Hip. During the interview she disclosed that she wanted to be an opera singer when she was younger. Music was always in her background, starting with violin lessons at age five. Her passion shifted to singing and her first professional job was as a child ghost in Verdi's Macbeth when she was 13-years old. She attended Northwestern University with full intention of getting the training needed to live her dream. However, after arriving at college she started partaking in activities that she thought were not so becoming for that career choice. That is when she stopped singing opera. "...Gasteyer always had an ear for music and a knack for timing. Years later, after a formal education as a classically-trained singer, she made the fateful discovery that she could get people laughing—and laugh they did every Saturday night at NBC’s

Studio 8H. Audiences fell in love with Gasteyer’s flair for irony and character driven comedy on six seasons of SNL, where she unabashedly played, and often sang, at full-tilt. Eventually, Broadway came calling and Gasteyer spent several years belting out superstar vocals in shows like Wicked and Rocky Horror. But she felt most at home crooning and chirping with a big band in a nightclub, amidst laughter and the inviting clink of ice in a glass. Her acclaimed shows, Let it Rip and Elegant Songs from a Handsome Woman earned praise from audiences and critics alike who hailed the acts as 'exuberant and rollicking entertainment' with 'high-octane vocals' and 'a topnotch swingin’ ensemble.'" Her journey from Saturday Night Live to singing on Broadway stages is really quite remarkable. "Ana Gasteyer is best-known for her incomparable

work on Saturday Night Live (1975). During her six-year stint, she created some of the most famous SNL characters, including middle school music teacher 'Bobbie Moughan-Culp,' NPR radio host 'Margaret Jo,' Lilith Fair poetess 'Cinder Calhoun,' as well as spot-on impressions of Martha Stewart, Céline Dion and Hillary Rodham Clinton....On stage, she made her triumphant Broadway debut as Columbia in The Rocky Horror Show. Since then, Gasteyer earned raves as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway & originated the role for the Chicago production, earning a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination. Other New York theater credits include the Tony-nominated Broadway productions of The Royal Family directed by Doug Hughes, The Threepenny Opera with Alan Cumming and Jim Dale, Eve Ensler's acclaimed off-Broadway hit, The Vagina Monologues, and Manhattan Theatre Club's hit production of Kimberly Akimbo, by celebrated playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. Ana also starred as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Gasteyer starred to rave reviews as Fosca in Gary Griffin's production of Stephen Sondheim's Passion at The Chicago Shakespeare Theater, earning a

Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for her performance. She also co-starred in the one-night-only, star-studded Actors Fund benefit concerts of Funny Girl, Hair and A Centennial Celebration of Frank Loesser." Watch her performance of "One Mint Julep" on Live with Kelly and Michael by clicking here. You can purchase the digital version of the album here. More videos of the multi-talented Ana Gasteyer, after the jump. 
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Huntress Lead Singer Jill Janus Is Former Coloratura Soprano

Jill Janus seems ready-made for
Lucia di Lammermoor, but prefers
the Heavy Metal scene instead.

"There's a lot to love about Huntress, and it's not just because frontwoman Jill Janus is gorgeous, bad-ass and intelligent. The band's debut album Spell Eater, recorded and produced by Chris Rakestraw, earned stellar reviews. The musicians--Janus, guitarists Blake Meahlt and Anthony Crocamo, bassist Ian Alden, and drummer Carl Wierzbicky--thrive on heavy riffs and spectral solos, occult science and bong rips, and a love for thrash and black metal. Influences like Judas Priest and King Diamond come into play, but with a modern sensibility about the heavy metal industry. And then of course, there's vocalist Jill Janus. Trained as a classical opera singer from childhood, she was drawn to metal from the first time she heard Suicidal Tendencies at the tender age of 13-years-old. That led to metal, punk rock and then thrash with her four-octave coloratura soprano range and a natural ability to growl and scream. She's been part of a witch coven since the age of 15, and hosted a night cabaret in the World Trade Center up until the night before 9/11." [Source] Think Jill Janus misses the fine art of opera? Find out after the jump.

New "Mission Impossible" Villian Léa Seydoux Wanted to Sing

The actress tickles the ivories in a commercial for a Prada perfume named "Candy"

"As the granddaughter of Jerome Seydoux, Chairman of Pathe, and grandniece of Nicolas Seydoux, chairman and CEO of Gaumont, Seydoux comes from a privileged film background. She is quick to point out, though, that her father is a geek, who is not involved with cinema at all. 'My father is a nerd with glasses. He is like a genius and really loves computers and maths. He invents electronic gadgets

and he invented the A.R.Drone, a remote-control toy helicopter that you drive with your iPhone, which is pretty cool.' At the age of 10 Seydoux wanted to be an opera singer. 'I really love to sing and to dance. I wanted to be Carmen and then I wanted to be Michael Jackson.' She started out as a model and says she only became an actress to impress a famous actor whose name she will not disclose. 'I wanted him to see me. Maybe I also wanted to do it because my mother was a movie producer. Now acting is my life. I discovered it by doing it, and in the beginning I had the strength to do it because I was in love with this guy.'" [Source]

Student Singing For Her Supper in the Subway

SAMANTHA MARGULIES: Classically trained in opera (at the Manhattan School of Music).
SOUND: Delicate yet powerful, whether she’s singing classical or Leonard Cohen. “I sometimes get laughed at when I sing opera, but when I make the transition from Puccini to Fleetwood Max, people are impressed,” she says. “In a way, opera is easier because there are established patterns, there’s structure. Developing your own pop style is harder, because you need to innovate.”
BEST OF THE SUBWAY: “It’s paradise. I can try whatever I want and I’m not asking anything of anyone and vice versa. I’m just free.”
WORST: “A couple of summers ago, when I started, I made more than I do now, which can go as low as $15 an hour and as high as $50 an hour. I’m what you call an economic indicator.”
FIND HER AT: samanthamargulies.com.
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Does Opera Education Influence Gingger Shankar's Film Scores?

"Whether it's composing music, performing live or song writing, Gingger Shankar has won kudos. Here, she reflects on how her musical inspirations shaped her life and the experience of working in Hollywood.The kudos heaped upon Gingger at Sundance was only the latest in a string of accolades for the California-based daughter of violin maestro L. Subramaniam. The gifted singer, virtuoso violinist, composer, model and songwriter grew up in Los Angeles, where her accomplishments already include working with top producers and film composers such as Mel Gibson, Mike Nichols, Mike Myers, and James Newton Howard. While Gingger was the artist and co-composer behind the poignant score of Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, her music can also be heard in Mike Nichol's film, Charlie Wilson's War, starring Tom Hanks, where she had a chance to collaborate with film composer James Newton Howard. Her vocals can also be heard in Jackie Chan's film, The Forbidden Kingdom, and she also worked

Beer Heiress Once Aspired To Be Opera Singer

The Honourable Daphne Suzannah Diana Joan Guinness (born November 9, 1967) is an artist of Irish English French descent and an heiress of the Guinness family. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1994. [Source]

"She loves friends and family, first of all. Reading ('I can sit for hours dissecting a book on English grammar') and going to the Opera. She has got a stunning voice, though: before getting married she had ambitions of becoming an opera singer and used to take singing lessons." [Source]

Oberlin Opera Graduate Finds Relevance In Folk Music

Giddens went from Fiordiligi to fiddling in Folk music 

"The Carolina Chocolate Drops has been so busy touring, the members didn't even stop to celebrate their first Grammy nomination. 'We were on the road,' says Rhiannon Giddens, who sings and rocks the fiddle, banjo and other instruments for her string band trio, up for Best Traditional Folk Album. Despite the title of their Grammy category, the Drops aren't purely traditional. Rolling Stone has described the group's style as 'dirt-floor-dance electricity.' Yes, the banjos and

Eliza Newman And Her Ukulele Take Center Stage

"Icelandic singer/songwriter Eliza Newman released her brand new EP in the UK on Lavaland Records on 17th January 2011. The EP was recorded and mixed in London and Iceland with producer Gisli Kristjánsson and includes the number one hit Ukulele song for you. Eliza was just a teen when she formed the all-girl punk rock outfit Bellatrix / Kolrassa Krókrídandi. They went on to release four albums on Bjork's Bad Taste label and in the process earned the tag of hottest female band to come out of Iceland. They signed to Fierce Panda for the release of their fourth album and co-headlined a UK tour with Coldplay as well as headlining the Carling Stage at the Reading Festival. After Bellatrix, Eliza released an album with the rock band Skandinavia receiving major critical acclaim. Eliza is also trained as an opera singer and a versatile musician who plays violin, guitar, ukulele and piano." [Source]

Angela Bofill Fights To Make Comeback

"Outside in the dark, cold parking lot, a sold-out crowd lines up for Sunday night's show: The Angela Bofill Experience. After two strokes and a five-year absence from the stage, Bofill's name is again on the marquee. Fans have come from as far away as New Jersey, some cradling Bofill's original albums, which show an absolutely gorgeous woman. 'I used to study opera. Used to teach voice. Used to have perfect pitch. Now, no pitch. Bad pitch. Frustrated - little bit. Half my life, singing. First time. No sing.'"

"Born and raised in New York City by her Cuban father and Puerto Rican mother, this Latin bombshell was exposed to a variety of musical styles, from Motown to Aretha Franklin to Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. By the age of 18, Angela

Bofill in earlier days

was an accomplished singer and songwriter, jamming with the likes of Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Hancock, Nat Adderly Jr. and Dizzy Gillespie to name a few. She was a featured soloist with the Dance Theater of Harlem, majored in theater at the University of Hartford and majored in voice at the Hartt College of Music. Angela also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music where she was classically trained in opera." [Source, Source]

Janina Gavankar A Shape-Shifting Opera Singer?

Q: "What inspired you to become an actress?"
A: "I was Maria in West Side Story in high school and I had an emotional response that was not my own, it was Maria’s but it was very real and it forever changed my life.  I was doing musicals because I was studying opera and voice. I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to be an actress and then something suddenly changed in that moment where I was like, omg magic."
Janina Gavankar is the latest addition to True Blood cast. She will star in the role of Luna the shape shifting teacher, who gets into a relationship with bar owner Sam, when the HBO hit vampire drama returns in summer 2011. Maybe she will be singing on the show!
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Anna Calvi Puts Opera Background to Good Use

(Photo: Maisie Cousins)

Growing up with her music obsessed Italian father, Anna was exposed to an eclectic array of sounds which ranged from Captain Beefheart to The Stones, to Maria Callas, combined with an early understanding of classical music developed through childhood violin lessons. She would come to identify the work of 20th century composers, Messiaen, Ravel, and Debussy as an influence, attracted in her words “to the impressionistic element of the music”, the feel of which she would try to recreate on guitar, an

Malea McGuinness Turns Opera Training Into Pop Success

Malea McGuinness, a talented pop/rock singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, CA, has won the SingerUniverse “Best Vocalist Of The Month” Competition for January, for her song “Memories.” This song is included on McGuinness' second album, Close As Air, which she released independently in April 2010. McGuinness was born in Fort Hood, Texas, and then she moved with her grandparents to Long Island, NY (her father served in the Green Beret armed forces). She learned to play guitar and piano, and she was inspired by listening to such favorite artists as the Beatles, Sting and Linda Ronstadt. For college, McGuinness attended the Manhattan School of Music, where she majored in Vocal Performance (classical & opera). [Source]

Musical Origins of Alex Winston

"Classically trained in opera and bred on musical Americana, the beautiful Detroit-native would listen to the rock of Iggy Pop and The Stooges, The MC5 and the legendary Motown artists in equal measures. She opted out of college when she was given the opportunity to tour the US, and to this day still cherishes opening for Chuck Berry in St Louis."

Watch a clip of "Don't Care About Anything" after the jump.

Anne Hathaway: Soprano in the Wings

(Photo: Mario Testino/Vogue)

Actress Anne Hathaway has made a success on celluloid, but few know of her musical talents. Hathaway graduated from Millburn High School, where she participated in many school plays; her high school performance as Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress garnered her a Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Award nomination for Best Performance by a High School Actress. A soprano, Hathaway performed in 1998 and 1999 with the All-Eastern U.S. High School Honors Chorus at Carnegie Hall and has performed in plays at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, New Jersey. Three days after her 1999 performance at Carnegie Hall, she was cast in the short-lived Fox television series Get Real at the age of 16. In 2004, Hathaway dropped out of her role in a film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, because the production schedule overlapped with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, which she was contractually obligated to make. Disney began production on The Princess Diaries 2 in early 2004, and it was released in August of that year. The film opened to negative reviews, but commissioned $95.1 million against a $40 -million budget. Anna Netrebko, portraying an opera singer, appeared in the film. Outside of portraying the life of legend Judy Garland, one has to wonder if there isn't a role for Anne Hathaway to play that depicts the life of an opera star like Jenny Lind during her P.T. Barnum days.

Mariah Carey Imitated Opera Mom

The surprise guest on ABC's Christmas special, Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas to You, was none other than her opera singing mother. The two joined voices for "O Come All Ye Faithful" and the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. More details of the family's opera past and a video of the performance after the jump!