We caught up with soprano Danielle de Niese about how she approaches Mozart

How do you approach interpreting Mozart’s vocal works, especially for a modern audience?
I feel Mozart is so timeless— there is so much space for interpretation within the frameworks he composed, it would almost feel too artificial to try to change perfection simply for the sake of modernising. So, my approach for today’s audience is to bring what it is that distinguishes me as an artist to be an interpreter of Mozart’s work. I was absolutely stunned to discover in some of Mozart’s letters that he really valued a singer’s ability to interpret and physically embody the character- not only how they sang but he paid close attention to how they interpreted the text and their theatrical incarnation on stage and wrote about it in letters. I think as an artist I am known for my complete interpretations in both vocality and theatricality- so I will bring this to my performance.