In this week's episode, Liz Solar speaks with opera singer Maren Montalbano about creativity, myths around opera, performing during covid, and the 'bodices' that constrain us all.
Maren Montalbano is an opera singer, business coach, and writer, whose voice can be heard on three GRAMMY Award-winning albums. When live performances disappeared during the pandemic, she turned her focus to the online world: writing, producing, and premiering a one-woman show called The Bodice Ripper Project as an interactive digital performance at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. That show, along with the accompanying podcast of the same name, became an exploration of sexuality, feminism, and the journey to self-empowerment through the lens of romance novels. A graduate of Tufts University and New England Conservatory of Music, Maren has sung at Carnegie Hall in NYC, Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, multiple theaters in Europe, and even performed on stage with the Rolling Stones. She is passionate about uplifting and amplifying new and diverse voices in classical music, which has fueled her work as a business coach for musicians.
You can read more about Maren’s brilliant career in opera, romance novel writing and The Bodice Ripper podcast at marenmontalbano.com.