HITTING New HEIGHTS

Opera Singer And Uop Graduate Irene Roberts Takes The Global Stage

 BY LYNETTE CARRINGTON

Some entertainers are destined for stardom. Opera singer Irene Roberts is one of those people. The UOP graduate traverses the globe sharing her operatic talent with audiences from San Francisco to Germany, and soon, Tokyo.

Irene says, “I started playing piano at three-years-old and once I could properly play, around five or six, I would sing and accompany myself. I used to love watching Disney movies and would sing and play the songs (and act out scenes, of course) as my main activity.”

She embraces opera as an allencompassing art form and all those involved tell a compelling story. “I think the most moving element of opera comes when the performers are giving everything they can with an open heart, and this always has a huge impact because audience members are moved in every sense,” says Irene.

Irene is thrilled to be performing this month in Tokyo. “I am really excited to debut in Tokyo, singing Amneris in ‘Aida.’ My mother is Japanese, from Osaka, and this opportunity will allow many of us to reconnect and be the first time most of them have seen me perform,” says the full-time resident of Berlin. “I am also extremely excited to debut the role of Kundry in Parsifal here in Germany.”

Irene has lived in Berlin with her husband, two children, and the family dog since 2015 but misses home. “Most of my family still live in Northern California (in the Bay Area and Sacramento), so I do miss seeing them," she explains. I miss California weather, and Mexican food, and the comfort of being a native.”

She juggles her career and family with the trust and support of her husband, who studied as a singer in school and worked as a publicist for classical musicians in Manhattan. “My husband is a software developer and can thankfully work from home. He has had [a] home office way before it was a thing during lockdown,” Irene explains. We have also been fortunate to have very good childcare here in Germany, and I have always had a very good relationship with my children's caretakers. I will also say that mothers [in Germany] are really supported throughout their pregnancies and have the option to take an entire year off after giving birth.”