By Kathleen Murphy, AGMA Soloist
I moved to Germany nearly 40 years ago. This country has become my home; I have found success, built a life, and a strong community here, rooted in the love of music my family instilled in me and the warm reception from my German community.
While my career led me to renowned stages around the world, my introduction to music was quite humble. I was born in Seattle, Washington, on the 14th of September 1948, the third of 11 children born to a Lieutenant and a nurse. Mom and Dad met in Santa Ana, California, while serving in the Navy, and they played a major role in my musical journey.
My parents taught us to pray and to sing. We had a wonderful upright piano in the dining room, and my older sister often accompanied us for special occasions, and sometimes just for fun, the two of us would harmonize together. I was the lucky one who got to sing the melody, and Patricia would sing the harmony. We would sing on our drive home after family outings.
My musical interests were greatly fortified by my music teacher, Maury Sheridan, in 1966, when he encouraged me to sing in The Music Man in my senior year. In that particular year, my high school was honored to perform at the new Seattle Opera House! Wow! That was a huge experience for me, and it planted the seed that led me to follow operatic singing as a profession.
I moved to New York City for acting and voice lessons and landed the role of Carmen at the New York City Opera. Ultimately, that same role was the reason I first moved to Braunschweig, Germany. I was encouraged to move to Europe by Austrian vocal coach, Suzanne Szekely, and was well received by the opera house. Frau Beutler, my landlady, often opened her home to musicians. I was lucky to live there; it was close to the opera house, and my German was rudimentary at the time. Living with her provided me with a soft landing, allowing me to adjust to German culture under her guidance.
It’s no overstatement to say that playing Carmen has opened many doors for me. I went on to perform the title role 75 times, in French, then in German, and again in English at the Tacoma Opera House in 1993. Although I have sung in other roles and oratorios, another high point in my long career was singing in The Verdi Requiem in Göttingen, Germany, following the September 11th attacks.
Since then, I’ve moved to Pforzheim, a medium-sized city near the French border, where life is peaceful. I do not have a car; I ride my bike everywhere and enjoy the fantastic train systems in Europe. Germany has become a haven for people from all over the world.