Bridges shared her journey as we sat on the bleachers of Charles Wright Academy’s main gym. In advance of her time in Seattle for Carmen, CHUM News requested a sit-down with Bridges to discuss how her athletic past has informed her artistic present; we also wondered which local basketball court might be most meaningful for a photoshoot and a chat. We met at Charles Wright, per Bridges’ suggestion. Before the interview and despite her formal attire, Bridges instinctively picked up a basketball and hit a few crossovers before taking a couple of shots. Her smile didn’t waver even after missing a shot or two. It was good to be back.

This is the gym in which she spent endless hours finessing her technique and conditioning her body for basketball. It’s this work ethic and attitude that she credits for making her as successful as she is. 

“I envision — before I sing a high note — just nailing it,” Bridges said. “The actual mechanics that go into it are much like shooting a free throw. It's very technical. And so you practice in the practice room or on the court, very slowly and tediously, so that when you are on the stage or in the stadium, you don't have to think so much about technique: It just flows.”

Bridges compares the physicality involved in playing basketball with singing. One of the things that differentiates opera from other types of singing is that performers don’t use microphones, which means their voices have to be loud and robust. 

“I have to hydrate, every day I sleep at least eight hours, I don't do dairy, I work out,” Bridges said.

The way Bridges talks about her singing and the work that goes into it mirrors the greatest athletes out there. There’s a refusal to accept what others might consider “okay” or “good,” even “great.” She wants to be the best. 

“I'm taking voice lessons, I'm taking language lessons, getting coaching,” Bridges said. “That's all behind the scenes, and that doesn't stop just because I've reached a certain point in my career.”  

Bridges’s first full debut at Seattle Opera as Carmen in Georges Bizet’s canonical opera, Carmen, comes this Sunday, May 3. She’ll take the stage for three additional performances on May 9, 13, and 17. She’s already deeply familiar with Carmen, having performed parts of it over the span of her career.

“When I first started singing, my teacher introduced me to the main aria [in Carmen,] ‘Habanera,’ and she was like, ‘I think you're gonna sing this one day,’” Bridges said. 

The ‘Habanera’ is one of those songs you’ve most definitely heard, maybe in a commercial or movie, but may not know the name of. Carmen, which was originally set in Seville (Spain), and written in 1875, follows Carmen, a fiery, independent, and flirtatious local who seduces Don José, a local soldier. Jealousy leads to a tragic end for both characters. The character of Carmen was controversial when it debuted, but the character has since become a symbol of an empowered woman. 

Bridges notes that opera is something a singer grows into. She didn’t perform the whole production of Carmen until 2014, while she was an emerging artist with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 2019, she made her professional debut as Carmen with the San Francisco Opera.

Later that year, she hit the milestone of making her Met Opera debut as Nefertiti in Philip Glass’s contemporary opera, Akhnaten. And the woman who started her down the path of classical singing, Mrs. Kangas, was there to watch.

“I was never the greatest student here at Charles Wright, but it was such an amazing school because they noticed the gifts of individual students,” Bridges said. “I knew that I was going to excel. I didn't know in what, because I thought I was going to go to school for basketball, do psychology, or something. But Mrs. Kangas heard that voice in me.”