Lara Trujillo and Tracey Zavadil were destined to bump into each other someday. Both hail from Edina, with husbands involved in the arts, daughters on traveling soccer teams, and both love of vocal music. The two women were carrying out their daily routines just blocks from each other when their paths crossed at the first rehearsal for Madame Butterfly at the Minnesota Opera last spring.
When they discovered they were practically neighbors, they began carpooling, and a beautiful friendship was born. “Our initial ride was like a first date, asking polite questions,” recalls Trujillo. But before long they began looking forward to their rides together: It felt like they’d known each other forever. Now Trujillo and Zavadil are gearing up for the final performance in the Minnesota Opera’s 50th year, of Puccini’s Turandot; each are part of the chorus.
Trujillo has years of experience in music, but she considers herself a new arrival to the opera scene. As a music student at St. Olaf College, she dipped her toes in a variety of forms, including clarinet, musical theater and a touch of classical opera. But it wasn’t until she had a few years of teaching under her belt that she decided to plunge into her passion and begin performing. She’s appeared on stage at the Ordway and Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, and started working with the Minnesota Opera in 2003; she’s even done film and commercial work. “I made a passionate side career for myself,” says Trujillo.
Today she can be found working a day job while continuing her musical pursuits. Living in Edina fosters her continued involvement. “It’s a small community, but there are [so many] performing artists doing remarkable work,” she points out. “It’s exciting to live where people are so engaged in the arts.”
Since last spring, Trujillo has sung in the chorus at the Minnesota Opera for Madame Butterfly and Nabucco, and remains captivated by the powerful voices of the lead performers. “There are two skill sets in opera,” she says. “To be trained in music is one, then having theatrical experience is another. Many do one or the other, but the craft is to combine them, naturally.”
Zavadil’s musical background began years ago when her dad designed sets at the local high school (his full-time job was a biology teacher at the school). With many hours spent backstage during her childhood, and piano and voice lessons beginning at six and 13 year old, respectively, it’s no wonder Zavadil ended up in the performing arts. “Opera seemed like a natural extension of what I grew up with,” she explains. It’s “the perfect combination of every artistic expression—it’s like a complete artwork.”
After graduating from DePaul University in Chicago with a degree in vocal performance and an emphasis in opera, Zavadil’s talents took her from the Chicago Symphony Chorus to Toledo Opera to the Kentucky Opera. Some of her favorite roles include Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast and the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods. When her husband joined the Minnesota Orchestra five years ago, Zavadil started a piano and vocal music studio in Edina. But she still saves time for her own music, and has appeared on stage alongside Trujillo since Madame Butterfly last spring.
Zavadil and Trujillo look forward to the drama and musical prestige of Turandot, especially the ever-popular “Nessun dorma” aria. The opera, which tells the tale of a princess who puts her suitors to a deadly test, will feature performances from renowned singers, including Zavadil’s former DePaul peer, Helen Todd. Besides the spectacle on stage, the Edina friends look forward to more time carpooling to rehearsal. “It’s our chance to let go of all the stresses of the day,” says Trujillo. “Once we’re in the car heading to Minneapolis, we talk about everything and anything, and we laugh.”
But at rehearsals they concentrate. “Rehearsals demand you get really close to people, physically and emotionally, in a way you wouldn’t in any other profession,” explains Trujillo. It’s no surprise then that the women formed such a tight bond in just one year. “You don’t really bump into another mutual opera lover every day,” points out Zavadil.
On nights when rehearsal finishes early the women face a predicament. Do they go directly home or do they head to the Pig and Fiddle in downtown Edina to enjoy a Chocolate Pig beer before parting ways? They both agree: The latter usually wins.
