Ermonela Jaho, described by the Economist as “the world’s most acclaimed soprano”, was born in Albania in 1974 and took singing lessons from the age of six. She studied music in Tirana and then in Italy, where she moved in 1993 after winning a competition. She has won many more over the years, including the Giacomo Puccini prize in Milan in 1997. From Thursday, Jaho sings Violetta in La traviata at the Royal Opera House, a role she has performed more than 300 times. Her Donizetti album with Opera Rara is out now.
Documentary
Ordinary Men: The “Forgotten Holocaust” (2022, dir. Manfred Oldenburg, Oliver Halmburger)
This is a documentary on Netflix about the trial of members of SS death squads. It shows how ordinary people ended up doing the most inhumane things, and how even after their crimes had been exposed, some remained convinced that they were right. It made me think everyone has the potential for good and bad; it’s up to us to choose which one we act upon. Watching it, I saw how comfort protects complicity, and how art must widen the moral lens, not merely move the heart.
Book
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The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
I love this book because we all have loved ones whom we want to save, but sometimes we cannot and that’s really hard to accept. It resonated with me because I left my country Albania when I was 18 years old and thought, now I’ll do my best to save everyone. You think you can save the world, which makes it very hard to let them go and accept that everyone has their own path to follow, even if it’s not the right one. It was like therapy, this book, because it helped me feel less guilty and more at peace with myself.
Restaurant
Ohisama Sushi, London W1
I went to this sushi restaurant in Marylebone after a recording session last week and it must have been my 10th visit. I love it so much. Each dish is prepared with a level of precision and respect that reflects Japanese tradition. What I love most is the harmony between the chefs’ quiet concentration and the purity of the ingredients. Eating there feels almost meditative – a reminder of how culture is not only found in grand institutions but also in the small rituals of daily life.
Place
Gjakova, Kosovo
Visiting this city in Kosovo in November was a profoundly moving experience. I was invited to do a concert and while I was there I met a remarkable woman called Ferdonija, whose husband and four sons were killed in the war of 1998-99. She kept her house exactly as it was and at mealtimes would prepare the table for six people. I was amazed by her dignity. Walking through Gjakova, you feel the layers of history, pain, endurance and a quiet but unbroken spirit.
Ballet
Giselle at the Royal Opera House
Natalia Osipova’s Giselle, which I saw in 2021, was a revelation. Her first act shimmered with innocence before turning to grief. She played a young girl whose lover leaves her and she dies from the pain of heartbreak; then she returns from the grave to haunt him. One of the reasons I related to Giselle is because I’ve sung Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and it’s a similar story. The way Osipova expressed grief was fantastic. She taught me that fragility can sometimes be ferocious, that softness can strike harder than steel.
Exhibition
Immersive Van Gogh
This exhibition, which I saw in New York, felt like stepping inside a living canvas. Colours swelled and dissolved across walls and floors. I stood inside brushstrokes that pulsed like music, without words, and every colour had a corresponding emotion. What moved me most was its intimacy: the show invites you not to look at art but to inhabit it, to feel its temperature and weight. It reminded me that vision is physical and that seeing is a kind of touch. I felt like Alice going into Wonderland.
Photographs by ROH/Alamy/Getty Images/ohisama.sushi - Instagram/Netflix