Interview by Morticia
Interview “mini-view” March, 2018.
When did You form? What is the origin behind the band name?
I was out of college for about 5 months, with a BFA in Theater Arts I hadn't had much success in the play and musical world but being classically trained was having a good time working for a local opera company. At the same time I was working on planning the next Macabre Faire with Twitch Twitch Productions in charge of fashion and costuming events and seeing all the entertainment lined up at this event as well as many other conventions in the area I decided to pitch the idea of a Macabre Opera Concert. In opera when dealing with a tragedy some of the most horrific things can happen and also some of the my favorite symphonic metal bands had opera singers as their lead singer such as Tarja Turunen from Nightwish. So using a recital concert like format, I came up with the Dark Side of Opera. Which is still my most requested concert series to date.
How many band members are there?
Hi my name is Nicole Oliva and I am the solo singer and creator of the Dark Side of Opera. More often then not I perform solo with backing tracks.
On occasion I try to bring in a full band for my concert performances but the band line up is always a little different each time. Past band members have included Anthony Tria(Hallowed Earth, Chaos Before Dawn, Severed Genesis), Gene Ryman(Mr. Oblivion and the Wayward), and Damien Zuccarelli(TurnCloak).
What are band practices like? Do you have a set time each week?
When I have a full band readily available I run rehearsals like Hell Week in a Theatre. Everyone gets the planed set list and music as soon as I know the venue has room for a band, practices on their own time, and then the week before the performance we practice every day until we get everything right. But more often then not I'm doing a solo performance with backing tracks. For my personal practice schedule I like to sing five times a week and then a day or two before the performance do a dress rehearsal as I always wear an elaborate costume or outfit. But sometimes if I have a lot of bookings around the same time I wind up having my own hell week style rehearsals.
If you could play at any venue anywhere, where would it be?
This might possibly be a lame answer coming from a metal head by my dream performance venue would be either Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center in New York City
Do you have a Motto?
It's not really a motto but I always say that its most important to keep the audiences attention. I don't care if I don't get a reaction at all, but as long as I keep the audiences attention I know that they were entertained for that moment.
Or a superstition?
I don't have a superstition that pertains to just myself as a performer or my Dark Side of Opera Concert. But as a performer with a theatre background I have two big suspicions which are broken mirrors and talking about Macbeth near a stage.
I've been wanting to add a piece to my concert from Verdi's opera Macbeth, but because of my superstition of the name and what it implies I will never add it to my concert set list.
You can find Nicole Oliva here