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Laura Fygi is a control freak. Her words, not mine.
Yes, if you had one word to characterise the internationally-renowned jazz singer, "controlling" would be a good one to start with.
"I have to be in control," she told TODAY. "When I travel and my husband is at home with my three children, I make a list for him exactly what he has to do: What time to wake the children, bring them to school, what he has to record on TV, et cetera."
She added, laughing: "I have the same list here with me, so I count back the time difference, and then I call him to remind him!"
Other words you could use to describe Fygi include "impatient", "direct" and "almost to the point of being boorish". Yes, she knows that she may not be the easiest person to deal with, but at least people know exactly where she stands.
"I always say what I think or feel at the time, whether that's something the person wants to hear or not," she said. "I don't beat around the bush, I just say it.
"It's a Dutch thing. We're very inelegant. Like, there's nothing elegant about the language either. It's a throat disease. That's why I would never sing in Dutch!"
DON'T ANNOY HER
Fygi is currently in Singapore rehearsing for her title role in Zebra Crossing's production of the musical Victor/Victoria.
Considering Fygi's previous reluctance to do musicals, it was a pleasant surprise for the company's artistic director Loretta Chen - who wrote to Fygi asking her to star in the production "on a whim" - when she said "yes".
"I've been asked to play musicals in Holland before, but it was always something like The Wizard Of Oz or Tarzan or something like that. So I've always said 'no thank you'," said Fygi. "This is the first time I'm acting. This is a new dimension in my career - it's an adventure I never hoped for."
Fygi's career spans more than three decades as a singer, and she celebrates her 20th anniversary as a solo artiste next year.
Just last month, Universal Music released a compilation of her favourite songs from movies and musicals, which Fygi personally handpicked.
"We're releasing it now because of Victor/Victoria," Fygi explained. "It's like a compilation of (songs from) my 12 albums. I never realised there were so many songs from movies or musicals, actually!
"I just record the songs because I think they're beautiful, not because of anything else."
Similarly, one reason why she agreed to do this - other than it being not sung in Dutch - was because she liked the music from the show.
But though the role was made famous by Dame Julie Andrews, Fygi said she isn't going to play it like the legendary British actress.
"An actor could play Julie Andrews - but I'm not an actress. The only act I can do is Laura Fygi. I sing the songs the way Laura Fygi would sing it. So, you either take Laura Fygi or you take someone who can play Julie Andrews."
Yes, like Frank Sinatra once sang, Fygi likes to do things her way.
"Some may like it, some may not. But if it's not done the way I like it to be done, then it freaks me out, and then I get annoyed," said the 54-year-old singer. "And I don't want to get annoyed."
HOW NOT TO RELAX
However, she qualified, she's not some annoy-o-bot.
"I have a lot of patience for things that would drive other people mad, but I don't have patience for things that I cannot control," she said.
But wait, you ask, she doesn't have control in a musical either: From the director to the stage manager, there are several others in the theatrical hierarchy. So, how is Fygi going to fare?
"Well, I'm not going to direct the show, I know that I can't do that!" she said. "But I'll talk to the director and tell her: 'Well, maybe you could do it like this, instead? You could? Great!' (Laughs)
"I'm a singer, she's a director, so she will direct. That's not my thing."
Unfortunately for Fygi, one of the things she cannot control is her body aching from all the dance rehearsals for Victor/Victoria.
"My body is aching terribly - I've never danced this much in my life!" she told TODAY. "My muscles are going, like: 'What the hell are you doing to us?'"
Lesson learnt: Don't tell her to relax with a hot soak in the tub. "I don't have the patience for that! No way! I envy women who can do that. I've tried, I really tried. I filled my bath with essence, lit candles and took a book and I sat in it for about five minutes.
"Then I thought: 'What the hell am I doing? My pages get wet, it's annoying. What a waste of time'. Take a shower - that's it!"
Victor/Victoria is on from November 9 to 29 at the Esplanade Theatre. Tickets from S$36 available at Sistic outlets.
- TODAY/yb
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