The Gravitas Podcast

Ep. 01 - A Reason to Sing: Mary Beth Nelson Zaros on Opera, Art & Motherhood | The Gravitas Podcast

Welcome to the very first episode of The Gravitas Podcast! Join me in entering other people’s worlds to explore what gives their lives substance, meaning and purpose. Our inaugural guest is Mary Beth Nelson Zaros, a mezzo-soprano who makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York this week in El Ultimo Sueño de Frida y Diego.  But what she finds even more meaningful is her new role as mother to her four-month-old daughter. We talk about doubt, discipline, beauty, Frida Kahlo, the beauty of motherhood. And of course, what gives life gravitas. Links from this episode: 🎟 Tickets to El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego at the Metropolitan Opera: https://www.metopera.org/season/2025-26-season/el-ultimo-sueno-de-frida-y-diego/ [https://www.metopera.org/season/2025-26-season/el-ultimo-sueno-de-frida-y-diego/] 🎬 Can't make it to New York? The Metropolitan Opera offers cinema transmissions throughout the year. The live performance of El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego will be transmitted to movie theaters worldwide on May 30: https://www.metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/2025-26-season/el-ultimo-sueno-de-frida-y-diego/ [https://www.metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/2025-26-season/el-ultimo-sueno-de-frida-y-diego/]  🖼 Inspired by Frida? See the El Último Sueño collaboration exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5882 [https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5882] Connect with Mary Beth: Instagram: @marybethnelsonzaros Website: marybethnelsonzaros.com [http://marybethnelsonzaros.com]  Connect with Gravitas: Instagram: @GravitasPodcast X: @annafatashemin Newsletter: annafatashemin.substack.com/ [http://annafatashemin.substack.com/] Write to me: anna@thegravitaspodcast.com [anna@thegravitaspodcast.com] If this conversation resonated with you, share it with someone who you think drives the world.

The Gravitas Podcast - Official Trailer

After WWII, the decorated American war photographer Slim Aarons was done photographing destruction.  He decided to dedicate his life to photographing attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.  His photography is iconic but what he missed is far more interesting to me. What did they believe in, what drove them, what made their lives feel meaningful? I’ve spent my career moving between diplomacy, nonprofits, Church and business. And the most interesting people I meet in any of those arenas always have one thing in common. They have a bigger why. Not just a career or collecting accomplishments. But something deeper driving everything. A sense of vocation, of beauty, of responsibility to something larger than themselves. And that quality makes the way they live their lives reflect its true meaning and weight.  My name is Anna Fata Shemin and this is Gravitas. I interview   meaningful people doing meaningful things in meaningful places.  Each episode I sit down with someone accomplished, from diplomats and business leaders to artists and thinkers, and ask them the question at the heart of everything.  What gives your life gravitas? Season 1 begins May 12th. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts. Keep in touch by joining my newsletter: http://annafatashemin.substack.com/ [http://annafatashemin.substack.com/] Follow us at @GravitasPodcast on Instagram. And you can always write me directly at anna@thegravitaspodcast.com [anna@thegravitaspodcast.com] Thank you for being here.