Kelly Kaduce Talks Baby and "Butterfly" in Portland

"Making predictions about musical performances is a fool's errand, as much as handicapping presidential primaries or the Super Bowl. But it's safe to say that Portland Opera's Madame Butterfly, which opens Friday night at Keller Auditorium, promises greatness, not least because it features one of the most appealing and acclaimed singers the company has brought in recent years. A winner of the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, rising star soprano Kelly Kaduce made her Portland Opera debut two seasons ago as Mimi in La Bohème, her signature role. 'It was Kelly Kaduce, who sang Mimi with gorgeous, open lyricism, who made the magic happen,' wrote The Oregonian's David Stabler, echoing the buzz around the performance. It's easy enough to point to good reviews; anyone singing at Kaduce's level with a halfway decent publicist can produce loads of them. But her press is noteworthy for the effusive praise she inspires even while performing two of the most well-worn roles in opera -- Mimi and Cio-Cio San, the title role of Butterfly -- and especially for critics' unanimity over finer points of her vocal beauty and control, the nuances of her acting and the strength she brings to characters distinguished principally by their vulnerability. Kaduce returns to Portland 10 months after having her first child. In a conversation last week in which she was as bright and focused as her high register, she mentioned how the physical experience of pregnancy and motherhood affected her vocally. 'Certainly I felt some changes,' she said, adding with a laugh that 'the support comes so much more easily when your abdomen is distended.' After taking four months off around the time of the birth, she said she is still rebuilding her stamina but feels that her voice has gained some fullness." [Source]