Peter Gelb: I worship the ground Stephanie Blythe walks on!

The New York Times published yesterday an interview of Stephanie Blythe-a rather interesting one- where among others we read:

Ms. Blythe has a large-framed physique, something she refuses to discuss on principle.
“My career is what it is because of how I sing and who I am on the stage, period,” she said. “I don’t want to open up that door. That’s my business.”

Peter Gelb, the general manager of the Met, has said that what he looks for in casting, beyond the given of vocal excellence, are acting ability, charisma and presence.

“I worship the ground Stephanie Blythe walks on,” Mr. Gelb said during a wide-ranging interview last spring. Down the road, he added, when the Met brings back its Mark Morris production of Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice,” he wants Ms. Blythe to sing Orfeo. At the premiere of the production in May, it was sung by the compelling countertenor David Daniels.

Ms. Blythe keeps her own garden in Greentown, Pa., where she lives with her husband, David Smith Larsen, a former professional wrestler who is now an actor. She enjoys New York but finds the pace too frenetic. “I’m a country girl at heart,” she said. “When we need to be in New York, we rent a place for a while.”