From Economics to Opera
“As the theater, the opera and opera singing teach us every day, when we compare the male voice and the female voice, we can’t say that one is better than the other. Instead, different voices can intermingle and create harmony without one overpowering the other, or both becoming a monotone. This diversity is beauty.” Elisa Balbo is an opera singer – a soprano – and an economist. She has a major in International Management and a diploma from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory. Today she sings in major national and international theaters, but she was a late bloomer in the music profession, as she herself admits. “Music has been my outlet since I was a child, but I never thought I would make a career out of it. That’s why I listened to my father’s advice, and enrolled at Bocconi after completing high school in Italy and Canada, knowing that economics could open up many career paths.”
Balbo left her native Liguria (the Italian Riviera) for Milan. In her spare time, she kept busy and rediscovered her lifelong passion. The sliding door moment was an audition at the Milan Conservatory, where she won a place and began to realize, lesson by lesson, exam by exam, that singing was her path, even if it was an uphill climb. She explains: “You need a lot of resilience to do this job. But to be able to make a living from beauty in a difficult world like ours is wonderful. It’s not easy, of course, but it’s very satisfying.” As we can see. Balbo has performed under the direction of Maestro Riccardo Muti, in 2017 she toured the world with Andrea Bocelli, and in 2022 she released “Lunaria – Songs to the moon,” a poetic recording project.
Turning a passion into a career requires the right amount of clarity and uncommon determination. Keeping your feet on the ground is essential. In Balbo’s words: “You have to invest in yourself, give 100, but also surround yourself with people who can help you grow. You also have to have the foresight to network, and to be part of a rich artistic community, both professionally and personally.” For people who dream of a future in music, Balbo emphasizes that it is a life of study. “A career of this kind is 20 talent, but 80 commitment, perseverance, dedication, study, even the history of music, theater, styles, but also taking care of your body, almost like an athlete does,” she adds.
As a woman, Balbo explains that she has always found a place in opera, despite the fact that the competition is intense, even internationally. “If you think about it, we say ‘prima donna’ in every language. Let’s say there is competition between singers, but also equality in terms of gender. Artistic directors are still predominantly men, but this is changing. One step at a time, realizing that revolutions only produce the desired results if they move forward bit by bit, saving what is good without destroying everything.”
Balbo has not given up singing or the stage, even now that she has become a mother to Arianna. “She is not even a year old yet and she’s already been on a dozen airplanes. I take her with me wherever I can. It’s not easy to manage, but it can be done. This is where I say to women that, whatever your profession, you do not have to choose between being a mother or a career woman. We can have it all, life, following our desires and our goals.”
