N.S. soprano Barbara Hannigan on her Grammy-winning album, gender in the music industry

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She's got starlight. She's got sweet dreams. Who could ask for anything more?

For her album Crazy Girl Crazy, a doozy of a recording that begins with experimental Italian composer Luciano Berio's out-there Sequenza III for voice and ends with the show tune I Got Rhythm, the fearless Nova Scotian soprano Barbara Hannigan won a Grammy on Sunday for best classical solo vocal album.

The disc represents the agile, adventurous and cool-headed singer's studio debut as both a conductor and vocalist, with her leading the Amsterdam-based Ludwig Orchestra through Alban Berg's demanding Lulu Suite and selections from the Gershwin musical Girl Crazy. Hannigan spoke to The Globe and Mail from Hamburg, Germany, where's she's currently starring in a production of the opera Lulu.

You're in Hamburg. Were you able to watch the Grammy ceremony?

I watched the pre-telecast ceremony on the internet. I had it streaming on my computer with the sound off. I saw the classical categories come up. I was interested because I had a lot of friends named in various categories. I saw that violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja won. After a few more categories, it was the vocal category.

You were more interested in your friends' nominations, rather than your own?

It was a total shock. I really didn't expect to win at all. I was just so thrilled that we were nominated.

But the critics loved the album. It's not like you didn't have a shot of winning.

I know. But it's Luciano Berio. It's pretty hard-core stuff, you know?

The album, Crazy Girl Crazy, was described by one critic as the perfect Friday-night-bourbon-drinking record. Did you have a drink when you learned the album won a Grammy?

No, no. [Laughs.] I was alone. I was sitting in my pajamas and had a glass of white wine. That's a nice description of the album, but I have to stay in top athletic form. I wasn't going to open a bottle of Champagne. There are times, you know. But I have to sing tomorrow night.

There was a lot of post-Grammy talk about of the lack of female winners in the major categories, with just a few nominations. In response, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said that women who want to be part of the industry need to 'step up,' in his words. Any response to that?

I didn't step up because I'm a woman. I'm a musician. I'm used to doing what it is I do, which is to make music. I have a very strong personal need to do that. I'm just being true to myself. I don't want to be seen as a female conductor or musician.

Do you have a choice? There are so few female conductors.

I realize there are repercussions to that. When I'm a conductor, I do get a lot of questions. And I know there's a certain responsibility. On the other hand, I don't want to put the gender label on it. Once you put that label on it, you're taking away from the concentration of your work. You're bringing the focus on my gender instead of my work. All the conductors I work with, they don't have to deal with being called male conductors. They're just conductors.

Well, that's the point, that men have that privileged, accepted position.

I know there's a movement happening. It's important to talk about how people deal with power and how power is distributed and how we collaborate with one another. These are the things I'm experiencing through music with my colleagues. I can safely say I'm definitely doing my part. I don't have to make a statement. I just have to show up and do what I do. And that's an example.

Let's talk about the album that earned you the Grammy. Crazy Girl Crazy sounds like a memoir I'd like to read.

That's funny. Well, it's 'girl crazy' because of the Gershwin musical. And 'crazy girl,' because I wanted to have a mirror form – a kind of palindrome. Because Alban Berg uses the mirror form so much in his opera, it's an homage to that. Also I like the sound of it. You don't know which way is up. Everything is topsy-turvy.

In a good way?

It depends. Crazy is a word used to discredit women – to take away their voice. And crazy can also be used to describe something that is amazing. It can be complimentary. Also, to have a singer conduct the album is crazy. There's no category for that. Maybe some day there will be.

This interview has been edited and condensed.