Singer Spotlight: Anna Fredericka Poppova

Tell us a little about yourself! Where are you from? What is your educational and musical background?

I was born in Saarbrücken, Germany to mother and dramatic soprano, Charlotte Ellsaesser of the U.S. and father and concert master Avram Poppov of Bulgaria. They were both working at the Saarbrücken Staatstheater those years in the 80’s. It was a passionate and torrid romance with so much gorgeous music making and after the divorce, we lived in Germany until I was nearly 10 years old and then moved back to the states where I ended up in Mom’s home state of Louisiana. We lived in Lake Charles, visiting family in DeRidder, for many years until I had the fun opportunity to visit Dallas with a Scottish foreign exchange student friend, Nicholas Karimi, (who ended up at the Royal Academy of Theater in London) and my dear mother. On the suggestion of a friend of a friend who knew Norah Jones, we visited and toured the Dallas Arts Magnet (Booker T. Washington HSPVA) on a Friday afternoon and at the end of the tour found out the LAST audition for the next school year was at 8:00 the next morning. I was enthralled by the energy of the students and the old/original building!! I begged Mom to let me try, no matter how ‘against me’ the odds were (Out of state student! An incoming SENIOR? Yeah right!... kids one town OVER in the metroplex had trouble getting in.). So we called Terry Metzger, an amazing pianist and orchestral director we knew and asked if he might play my audition. He agreed! We showed up the next morning and I sang a few Italian and German arias and hoped and prayed. Two weeks later we got a letter in the mail from the school that changed my life and brought me to Dallas. I couldn’t believe it! We packed up and moved within a month and Dallas has been my base ever since.

My education began very early. This may seem odd to some but research now proves how very much babies learn about the world in utero. It literally shapes their behaviors. Google it. There are studies. So I truly, firmly believe my education began in my mother’s womb. You see, she was singing full-time at the opera house and pregnancy didn’t slow her down a bit. So every bit of her experience those nine months working, I shared with her. As I grew inside her, each emotion, each aria she learned, each coaching and stage rehearsal for Beethoven’s “Fidelio” was being ingrained in my little mind as an ‘understanding of the world’ I was about to enter. Fighting for love, going against all odds to be honorable, bring about justice, create right, and that idea of going ALL in for love and life were some of the themes I still very much feel now. They are a part of me and I thank her so much for teaching me by being her most wonderful self on stage and following her dreams. She was the second youngest of 10, poor farm kids from rural Louisiana. And here she was across the world, singing, loving, living, learning, and surpassing all expectations for her life - following her heart and intuition. I’m honored to be her daughter and to have learned so much from her.

What is one thing you wish you had known as a young singer and why?

I wish I’d known how much confidence and physical grounding (energy work and grounding to Mother Earth with bare feet) played into performing with a clear mind. To really shine, we have to get out of our heads and into our bodies and really feel. As a child of a divorced home, I internalized all the confusion and it took a long time to shake it. I lacked confidence. I didn’t feel or see myself because it was too painful. Something was wrong with me and that’s why Papa cheated and hurt Mommy and of COURSE that wasn’t true but now that I’ve connected and spoken to that sweet little girl who was hurting; I’ve integrated those experiences with deep understanding and truth. Humanizing your parents - boy does it do a lot for the “little kids” in us. Now that I see the terrible pain and fear my father was coming from, it makes sense: hurt people hurt people. I will say, in that way, my mother was a pattern breaker! She was hurt so badly and suffered so much abuse growing up and in life...but she was always able to engage her heart and be loving. So - my advice to young singers would be: learn about yourself and heal yourself early in life. Get your mind and body and spirit fully integrated with each other as early as possible with therapy, yoga, meditation, regression, rebirthing, breathing, whatever it takes, and find all the ways to release the trauma from your mind and body. It makes a WORLD of difference in your confidence.

Tell us about an obstacle you have faced during your career and how you overcame it.

The more I learn about obstacles, the more I understand they are just markers for growth. Most of mine have had to do with fear and confidence. And MOST of our great performers in the world have dealt with the same so I will just repeat what they say: Feel the fear and do it anyway! That’s really all there is to it. Feel it. Walk through it. Learn. Do it.

What is one role or piece you could perform over and over and never get tired of?

Oh, man! This is a tough one...I love the things I sing and consider myself a life-long “student of styles” so picking one piece or role is just not really possible. Sorry! My set list runs the gamut from Baroque Opera, jazz, standards, blues, country, folk, all the way to pop, rock, EDM, soul, gospel, sacred music, and healing chants. Just for the sake of this lovely interview, I’m gonna go with something a little cheesy but truthful - I love singing prayers and chants the most lately. You see, singing is a holy act because it stimulates the vagus nerve which runs the length of our bodies...so when we sing prayers and chants and such, we vibrate and activate that whole nerve and help heal ALL systems in our bodies. Singing is literally a physical and spiritual wellness exercise and everyone can and should do it - no talent required. Only heart! So when folks around me seem to roll their eyes when they have to sing “one more Ave Maria” for a wedding or a funeral I just giggle because I feel the opposite about it. I adore stuff like that! I could sing every version of Ave Maria OUT THERE right now and would do it with the same amount of conviction and heart each time KNOWING that I’m not only healing myself but others, too.

If you could only give one piece of advice to a young singer, what would it be?

Have faith. As much as I’ve said in the other responses, this one is the simplest. We are creators. Stop worrying, stop ‘nightmare-ing” your future by seeing obstacles and just SEE the beautiful end - we are told to “be real” but I say DAYDREAM and feel good and have full faith. It will give you energy. It will give you strength. It will enliven your heart and up your intuition. Never stop feeling good and working toward your goal ignoring the chatter. We got this!

Is there anything you spent too much time stressing over that didn't end up being a big deal?

Ha! Everything. Learn to clear the mind early in life. Meditate. Do yoga. Get grounded. Eat clean. Learn about yourself. Love yourself and others. Hike. Get synced up in nature as much as possible. Get out of your head and drop completely into your body and FEEL your heart. We only have a short time here so enjoy it and learn as much as you can!

Where can we catch you performing next?

Featured with Dallas Bach Society: October 12th Monteverdi concert www.DallasBach.org

Principal Artist with the American Baroque Opera Co. Orphée by M.A. Charpentier: Friday, Nov. 1

Chocolate Secrets Organic Chocolate & Wine Bar Fri & Sat nights in September: See my Artist Page on FB for details.

The Library Bar inside the Historic Warwick Melrose Hotel: See my Artist Page on FB for details.