photo credit: Bruce Glikas

"Diva" is usually a word an actress selects to describe her performance style, but in Christiane Noll's case, the label chose her.

When Christiane takes the stage, the theatre lights up immediately. For her, the choice to pursue a show business career seemed a natural. The tall, blonde, blue-eyed singer is certainly a natural onstage, but if you passed her on the street, you would never know she's one of the most sought-after performers on the Broadway circuit. Her schedule is jammed with readings of new musicals, symphony concerts and an occasional cabaret performance in New York at Westbank Café or Marla Maples club called Peaches. She will also headline in the upcoming first national tour of the Broadway hit, Urinetown.

Usually calm and unassuming onstage, Christiane possesses unbelievable confidence. Even so, she never forgets to have a little fun. While most performers are most comfortable playing someone else, Christiane is extremely comfortable in her own skin. She laughs at herself, makes jokes and has about 15 different theatrical personalities she pulls out at will.

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photo credit: Rivka Katvan

Christiane's antics during her recent concert with the Springfield Symphony are a classic example of her innate ability to be not just another soprano, but a true performer. Christiane asked Conductor Kevin Rhodes to play for her. Standing in a slinky, black, beaded dress, she cajoled him into going over to the piano and then stood on the conductor's stand, putting one foot up tentatively, and then the other-as if she were afraid something terrible would happen.

"Oooh, I like it up here," she said, with a giggle in her voice. "This is the power place. Can I stay here? There's like this energy up here." And you could almost feel it coursing through her with the excitement in her voice. He started to play.

It was something heavy -- something Russian. Tchaikovsky maybe.

"Can you lighten it up a bit?" she asked, with a syrupy voice. "Something peppy?"
"Peppy..." [pause] "Let's see here."

Again he played. This time so fast she could barely keep up.

"Could ya slow down? A little?" she asked.
"Well, you said peppy."
"True, true," she answered matter-of-factly. "I did say peppy."

Finally, he settled into something she could handle.

"You know," she said. "I love a piano. More than anything else—and I mean it as no slight to all you wonderful musicians up here. I just love a piano."

She started moving her hands over the wood, and you could almost feel the smoothness through her expressions.

Then she got a perplexed look on her face.

"I'd be lying on this right now," she said. "That's how much I love a piano. But there's no top. So I can't lie on it. And that makes me sad. But I can sing about it."

And with that, she launched into an adorable, coquettish rendition of Jerome Kern's "I Love a Piano."

When it was over, she was in no hurry to leave her "power place."

"Can I stay here? Can I? Can I?"

The conductor shook his head no, and returned to the stand. She climbed down reluctantly, pouted, and made way for the dancers who were entering for their next number.

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Christiane with Robert Cuccioli of Jekyll and Hyde on the Today Show on NBC.

Born in New York City and raised in Leonia, N.J., Christiane's love of music started at an early age. The daughter of composer Donald Noll and opera singer Sara Noll, Christiane has been performing since age four—traveling with her parents while they toured the country. Her first production was The Mikado in kindergarten. Since then, her voice has blossomed into a beautiful crystalline soprano.

Originally, Christiane enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University intending to study computer science, and instead was accepted into its prestigious musical theatre program that only admits 10 students per class. "Why would I go for computer science when I could just major in musical theatre and get to play?" she asks rhetorically.And play she did. After graduating from college, Christiane starred as Sandy in the national tour of Grease, and Ellen in the national tour of Miss Saigon. Christiane made her Broadway debut in Frank Wildhorn's musical Jekyll and Hyde, where she originated the role of Jekyll's fiancée, Emma Carew.

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Her voice caught my attention when I was 16 after I heard a piece from Jekyll and Hyde on WERS—Emerson College radio—as I was doing my homework one Saturday morning. I decided right away to head to New York to see Jekyll before Christiane's contract expired.

That June, I was determined to learn the secret behind Christiane's gorgeous voice. I sent her a letter in advance to warn her of my arrival. Nervously, I approached the stage door, and Christiane greeted me with a huge smile. We chatted for a few minutes. She asked me to keep in touch, saying we could talk whenever I had a singing-related question or I needed special motivation for an audition or a concert.

In April 1999, I received a card in the mail. Christiane had agreed to perform live on WERS radio. "Make sure you listen," she had written. "You'll really enjoy it." She treated listeners to music from Chess, Flora the Red Menace, The Music Man and a selection from her new jazz album called "Mr. Paganini, You'll Have to Swing It."

In between numbers, she giggled her way through her interview. Then, in a rare serious moment, she asked the announcer, Zac, if she were allowed to say hello to someone. Zac agreed. First she thanked her old voice teacher who had moved to Massachusetts. Then she said:

"There is a young lady, who has been so supportive… she writes me letters and emails and has come to hear me perform and buys my CDs and she's just been so wonderful. And I promised I would say hi to Karen… so I hope she's like all excited now …"

Christiane's estimation was fairly accurate. I contemplated calling in, but I sat back and let the tape recorder catch the rest of the moment for me.

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As time passed, I realized that the goofy comments Christiane had made on the radio were a clear indication of her true personality—fun, bubbly, and sometimes, just plain silly. Now an established recording artist, Christiane launched a concert series at the Westbank Café—a prestigious cabaret venue in New York. She performed an entire evening of jazz music at various clubs in 2000.

"I'm sure some of you are wondering." she said, "what makes this theatre-chick think she can get up and sing jazz music… let alone an entire evening of it." Christiane turned on her young child voice, speaking through her nose. "And I say, because I want to."

Though her parents were in the world of opera and classical music, Christiane wanted to make her own path. She was drawn to musical theatre, because it gave her the opportunity to bring her talents to life onstage night after night. Her foray into the world of jazz was her chance to expand as a vocalist. She discovered through her partnership with jazz pianist David Budway, who played her senior recital at Carnegie Mellon, that she truly could sing anything and have an audience.

At first, I assumed her training had been conventional, having had two parents who were serious musicians. Being a singer myself, I've stood in a room and rehearsed for three hours straight when I had a performance the next day. I was surprised to learn that defying convention is one of Christiane's primary reasons for success.

Christiane and me at the Symphony in Springfield, Mass., in April 2003.

We met online one night for an Internet conversation. I was tired and frustrated and in rehearsal for my high school's musical.

"Does it take you forever to warm up? Or is it just me?" I asked her.
"Well, ideally, if you speak correctly, you should be warm. I never really warm up."
"No kidding."
"Take a hot shower, get some rest and you'll feel better," she said.

When I thanked her for her input, she said, "Well, you should do as I say, not as I do. I skydive. And that's really bad for your voice."

I found out in the course of conversation that sky-diving isn't the only activity that occupies Christiane's time. She is a member of the Broadway Softball League , the Broadway Gospel Choir and the Broadway Bowling League. She also cooks, Rollerblades and knows sign language. And I thought she was just versatile on stage.

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Even five years after we first met, I carry bits of Christiane's personality and advice with me whenever I perform. Her wealth of talent and consistent interest in my quest to become a singer have been an incredible support.

In mid-April, I found myself without a clue what to sing at my voice final. Having just spoken with Christiane after her concert on April 5, I was inspired to listen to her three solo albums and comb them for material. She has said it herself—our voices are incredibly similar.

Eventually, I settled on a piece from her first album called "Now When the Rain Falls," one of Frank Wildhorn's songs.

As I rehearsed, I remembered our conversation from Labor Day Weekend. We talked about the ways I was still managing to sing, even though I was getting a degree in something other than vocal performance.

Christiane and me doing what we do best— laughing— after her concert with the Cape Cod Symphony in August 2002.

"You're what, a junior now? At BU right?"
"Yep."
"You're singing. Please tell me you're singing!"
"Of course I'm singing."
She smiled. "Did you find a teacher?"
"I did."
"And you like her, right? Because that's like number one on the list."
"Love her."
"Okay, so you're a journalism major. Are you doing any journalism yet? I know you have the website... anything else?"
"I work for Playbill in Boston now."

Her eyes widened.

"Wonderful. I'm so proud of you! I don't think I've ever met a girl so talented and so focused at your age. You're focused on what you want, and you're making the best of what you have while you're living it— that's the way to go."
"I'm trying really hard, I just wish I didn't have to wait so long to know where I was going to end up," I said.
"I wish I could speed time along for you. Just remember to have fun--that's what this is all about."