Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta spoke to us from St. Louis, between performances of Angelina in La Cenerentola and Rossweise in Die Walküre, both at Oper Leipzig. She’s also getting ready to sing Mercédès in Oper Frankfurt’s Carmen in July, before returning to Toronto for the title role in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at Opera Atelier in October.

We asked her about advice for North American singers working in Germany, about getting her fix of feminine roles among a résumé full of trouser roles, and the items she always keeps in her suitcase while she’s on the road.