Award-winning international opera singer Krista McClellan Clouse, 32, has performed professionally all over the world.
Growing up, she listened to Pavarotti, played the trumpet in school and sang in a church choir. Her grandmother, “who never had a lesson in her life,” was her first music teacher, showing her how to play the key-boards and how to belt out a tune when she was 3 years old. “We’d go to Old Town every few days growing up,” Clouse said.
A 2005 graduate of West Potomac High School, she graduated in 2009 from Boston University College of Fine Arts, where she received her bachelor of music in vocal performance. Clouse sang on the streets in Alexandria to appreciative crowds, along with other street performers in the City’s lively waterfront area.
Her first foray singing publicly on the street was in Milan, Italy, where she had traveled with a relative for an audition at the La Scala opera house. “We were having dinner, and she says, ‘Why don’t you sing something’? I started singing a capella right out-side the big duomo, the cathedral in Milan.”
After a crowd gathered, her relative suggested she toss a tip hat on the ground. With no hat in site, Clouse opened her umbrella. She walked away with 93 euros. The experience in Italy led her to the decision to sing on the streets of Alexandria, about nine years ago. It beat one of her gigs playing a costumed character at National Harbor, she said.
Soon, she was singing at the waterfront, King and Lee streets and Market Square and other spots around Old Town. Using a sound meter, she and her husband always made sure that music they played on an iPod and Bluetooth speaker to accompany her singing was at the correct noise levels.
It was an incident that took place in 2016 in Old Town that grabbed international headlines, after she was arrested, put in handcuffs and hauled off to jail for violating the City’s noise ordinance while singing opera on the street.
She was singing “Ave Maria” and then “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina,” during the arrest, prompting the British newspaper, The Daily Mail, to head-line their article “Don’t Cry for Me, Alexandria!” Clouse sued the City.
Fast forward to spring 2019: A lawyer at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis heard about her plight and the firm negotiated a settlement on her behalf, with the City issuing an apology.
“Ms. Clouse is an award-winning international opera singer who has performed professionally all over the world. A native of Alexandria, she has been performing publicly in Old Town for many years and is a valued member of Alexandria’s vibrant public arts community,” the City said in an announcement.
“I am proud to call Alexandria home,” Clouse said. “I appreciate all that the City of Alexandria and its law enforcement do to promote a safe environment in Old Town where the public arts can thrive. I hope that my experience can help promote the constitutional rights of street performers and inspire others to participate in Alexandria’s historic arts community.”
Four Questions with Krista
What’s your favorite opera?
“The Barber of Seville.” It makes me smile until my smiling muscles are sore. I’m not exceptionally fond of the modern stuff. I love Puccini, Mozart, Wagner.
You grew up in a military family. What was that like?
We moved about 22 times, to about 15 to 20 states. My dad was in the Army. We also lived in Okinawa, Japan. My mother is from Brazil. She’s a dual citizen and so am I. But Virginia is where we lived the longest. I went to school at West Potomac High School. I love this area.
Do you have a favorite street performer in Alexandria?
I grew up seeing Jamey Turner playing the wine glasses. And I got to know him before I started performing in Old Town. We became very close friends. Do you still perform on the street? Yes, I perform near the White House, in Annapolis and here in Old Town.
What would be your dream gig, as far as your opera career?
Performing with an opera company, breaking into a full-fledged opera career, main stage. I’m thinking about going back and pursuing a master’s education. There are still a few directions I could take and I’d love to do it.
