U OUGHT TO KNOW.

Byline: - Sandra Barrera

Maria Bayo

Profession: Opera singer and Grammy-nominated recording artist.

U ought to know: Before she leaves Los Angeles, where she is currently at work in the L.A. Opera production of Gluck's ``Orfeo ed Euridice,'' through Dec. 21, Spanish soprano Maria Bayo says she hopes to learn English. About all she can muster as she moves toward the doorway of her dressing room, backstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, is ``hello.''

Bayo, wearing a suit jacket and black slacks, greets her guest warmly. Her hair is short and slightly wavy, with just a touch of highlights all over.

Though she refuses to say just how old she is, Bayo appears much younger and more attractive in person than in the promotional photos taken for ``Orfeo ed Euridice,'' the mythological story in which Orfeo descends into the Underworld to retrieve his dearly departed Euridice.

The opera marks Bayo's return to L.A. In 2001, she played Susanna in ``Le nozze di Figaro,'' the role that more than a decade before helped established her career as an opera singer.

Since turning professional, she has performed at opera houses from Hamburg to London to Buenos Aires. She's even recorded several albums, one of which was a disc of Handel arias nominated for a Grammy in 2000.

U don't say: Bayo comes from Fitero, a small town in Navarre, Spain. She claims to have inherited singing from her father, now 82, whose strong tenor never ceases to amaze her.

``Incredible,'' she says, again and again, ``the instinct.''

She uses ``instinct'' to describe her own singing voice, which, as you'll read, never dawned on her as opera-worthy until she was in the midst of studying music at the conservatory.

In fact, she had another pursuit in mind altogether.

The reluctant soprano: ``I never really wanted a singing career. I wanted to study classical guitar.''

But you studied voice. Why? ``Because there were no classes for guitar at the conservatory where I attended. I decided that since I liked singing and wanted to continue singing with the chorale (like I had) as a soloist, I would take two years of voice. That's where my professor heard me and told me I had potential.''

This soprano's life: ``Opera is a fast-paced career. You go from one opera to the next; one country to the next ... It's nonstop. I always say this is an egocentric career because everybody in your life has to revolve around you. There's no other way - especially if you want to have an international career.''

In opera, why is it sopranos always play the victim? ``They always die, don't they? The heroines always die, not like the contraltos. They're much stronger.''

And Euridice? ``Oh, no, she's not a victim. I've always heard that Euridice was a weak person, an ethereal person, a person who doesn't live in reality. And when I began to study the opera, I realized it was impossible to have this image of her.''

The real Euridice: ``She's a very strong woman, very strong. ... Can you tell I like strong characters?'' she asks with a laugh. ``Or maybe this is just how I see them because I'm the same way.''

Where U can see her: Maria Bayo is co-starring in ``Orfeo ed Euridice,'' now playing at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Remaining show times are 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 19 and 2 p.m. Dec. 21. Call: [phone] or www.ticketmaster.com.

U want more? Go to www.mariabayo.com.

Sandra Barrera, [phone]

sandra.barrera(at)dailynews.com

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no caption (Maria Bayo)