Stern grove festival

Leah Crocetto

That lovely voice, defiant spirit and ease of grace have marked soprano Leah Crocetto’s career.  With her return to Stern Grove Festival this Sunday, we just had to know a few things about the world-renowned award-winning Adler fellow.

5 Questions for Leah Crocetto

SGF: What is your dream operatic role?

Leah: My dream operatic roles would have to be Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Carlisle Floyyd’s Susannah.  I love both of these girls so much.  They are both misunderstood and tragic.

SGF: Do you have any top secret practices to keep your vocal chords at their healthiest?

Leah: I don’t really have any top secret practices, but I do make sure to take vitamin C everyday, as well as drink a TON of water…and another singer friend of mine (Adler Fellow Sara Gartland) told me about Olive Leaf Extract.  It is an amazing antioxidant, and promotes an incredibly healthy immune system! I also make regular visits to my chiropractor. A healthy nervous system is a healthy body! I am all for a non-chemical way of health!

SGF: Performing opera must be incredibly emotionally draining, how do you relax after a particularly intense program?

Leah: Oh, I love this question!! Opera IS incredibly draining, because I do not know a singer who can just “go through the motions” and sing and be done with it.  We are actually becoming other characters on-stage.  It is important to find ourselves again after and sort of go back to “neutral”.  I get massages regularly, and when I finish a long day of rehearsing or performing, I love to go to the gym and take a spinning class, and then I will go home, cook dinner and watch some “trash TV” like “The Bachelorette”…something that is completely mindless and that I do not have to think about.

SGF: Who is your favorite pop artist of the moment?

Leah: This is such a wonderful time for pop music.  I feel like actual artists are actually being recognized.  Adele is the best artist of the moment! I also love the bands Mumford and Sons and the Civil Wars.  They are all amazing story tellers, song writers, and musicians.  I also love Lady Gaga! She has THE BEST tunes to work out with.  Edge of Glory makes me feel like I could run forever!

SGF: Growing up in an Italian family, what is your favorite traditional dish?

Leah: My family can cook…and they have passed it on to my sisters and I.  My Mom, my Aunt, everyone. My favorite dish is Italian Sausage and Peppers with just a little bit of fresh marinara sauce (like my Aunt taught me).  I also love the fish on Christmas eve…tradition is what is so beautiful about the Italian culture.