Speaking of Don Giovanni…

OperaMetro (OM) had the privilege to speak with Rod Gomez (RG), who conceived and will direct the Bronx Opera’s 2020 production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Brian Alvarado (BA), who sings the central role of Leporello. Though not exactly a round table discussion, it’s framed as such here. My questions, their responses…works for me, so why not?

OM: Good morning, gentlemen, and thank you for agreeing to be a part of my previews for the Bronx Opera! Rod, nice to have you to chat with again!

RG & BA: Good morning! Thank you for having us!

OM: Channeling Police Squad, the “word on the street” is that the BxO’s Don Giovanni is going to be updated, relocated, and maybe even with graffiti on the walls. Any comments on this, gentlemen?

RG: Sure, happy to. I am updating this production to the greater New York area/the Tri-State region at the turn of the 21st Century, so about 20 years ago. I want to make the visual palate one that combines images that are familiar to audiences with the hopes, as always when one updates, of making the situations and characters more recognizable and relatable. You might say I hope to tap into some kind of collective pop-culture unconscious. When first conceiving how I wanted the show to look, my initial inspirations were the terrific television series The Sopranos with a little American Psycho mixed in, as well as many of Manhattan’s wonderful public parks/plazas/courtyards, like Union Square/Washington Square/Gramercy Park, that area. These possess the elements of the world I want this Don Giovanni to come from.

OM: If into the 21st century, then we’re just around the corner in time from the MeToo movement and a new (at least American) sexual consciousness. How does today impact your thoughts on this tale?

RG: Yes, given the MeToo movement, I would say there are nods to the recent shifts in our landscape, references to a collective voicelessness...but really people will have to see it to find out!

OM: Although actually the story itself, as written by Da Ponte, presages MeToo in the sense that such behavior does not go unpunished.

RG: Good point.

OM: Then, as another aside here, I confess to being curious how you’re going to mix in a ‘little American Psycho.’ I read the book, sometimes even with my eyes closed it was so gruesome. I haven’t yet found the moment to see the film.

RG: Again, you’ll have to see it to find out! As an aside for me, but relevant: I have seen, multiple times the Peter Sellars’ Mozart/da Ponte trilogy, liking Così fan tutte the most...

OM: Hands down the best of the three. I actually saw that Così fan tutte on stage in July of 1986 at Pepsico Summerfare in Purchase, NY.

RG: Can you believe that the Trump Tower was the home for Sellars’ Nozze de Figaro? Let’s just say I find it more than ironic that some of the actual goings-on mirror the linear plot of Nozze. I know that was the point at the time, but today there is this added layer and becomes, in retrospect life imitating art imitating life. The mind reels.

OM: Absolutely. But like the other two Da Ponte/Mozart operas, Don Giovanni has its humor. It’s called a dramma giocoso, meaning a drama with comedic elements, or a comedy with dramatic elements…or a mixed grill of various humors…It implies some comedy, si?

RG: Dramma giocoso might be called a dramedy by today’s standards. But in this production I can’t say I resort to overt broad comedy. The comic elements in Don Giovanni are always tinged with darkness to them. Irony abounds. In other words, this is not comedia dell’arte or even opera buffo.

OM: But there are semi-comic characters.

RG: I would say Don Giovanni’s right-hand man Leporello and the working-class duo of Zerlina and Masetto are the most obviously comic within the ensemble.

Brian Alvarado sings Leporello in BxO’s Don Giovanni

OM: I’d maybe put Donna Elvira on the boundary, though she is more serious than either of the three mentioned above. Leporello is the one who more clearly crosses the line into comedy. Brian?

BA: Leporello’s an intriguing guy and a fun role to sing. There’s lots of patter, plenty of quips and asides, and a real spectrum of emotions showcased throughout his ongoing grapple with morality. I think Ben Spierman really hit the nail on the head in pointing out how every other principal reacts pretty directly to the Don in their solo/ensemble moments. Madamina, il catalogo è questo, Leporello’s first solo in Act I, is no different. He’s expressing his admiration for the Don’s exploits, even awe and amusement, and though musically it’s very satisfying to sing, in its onstage context, it’s actually pretty rude, even if he, the character, seems to find it funny. I think Rod’s staging will make this evident.

RG: No contest: the aria is funny, pathetic, and heartbreaking all at once.

OM: He runs through the list of the Don’s conquests and preferences pretty much in Donna Elvira’s face. How rude! Aida Carducci referred to this scene in our interview.

BA: But if there’s one thing in particular that Leporello’s character adds to this whole dynamic, it’s his propensity for breaking the fourth wall with well-timed 'asides,' generally at the expense of every other character in this show at some point.

OM: Yes, of course, even right from the very beginning Leporello is talking to the audience!

BA: And he’s often the butt of Don Giovanni’s jibes. He proclaims several times throughout the show that he has had it up to here with Giovanni’s antics. His survival in the Don’s company must involve a weird amalgamation of disgust and desensitivity, offset by envy as well, if not for the women, then certainly for the other comforts associated with the Don's lifestyle. Like something to eat and a comfy place to sleep. Note that he ultimately never leaves. He might fear for his life, sure, but above all, I think it is Giovanni’s charismatic influence, which we see and hear about at various points, that has rubbed off on him. It gives Leporello not only a sense of stability, but perhaps also purpose and goal.

OM: So Brian, it’s well known that a voice tailored for Leporello probably can handle the role of Don Giovanni. Have you done Giovanni?

BA: No. And yes, you’re right, many low voices may be fortunate to sing both at some point! But no, alas, I have not tackled the Don yet. Mind you, I would fight a duel with a real life Commendatore to do so! I did sing Leporello for the first time two years ago in Italian and I’m excited to do it again on stage.

OM: This time in English. How’s that transition going?

BA: Well, I have some advantage in knowing pitches and rhythms of the role, so the arias and ensembles in English are not so hard to put together, but, I have to say I find it a worthy challenge in getting those pesky recits down! This being said, getting them down in Italian was no easier!

OM: Tell us about the English translation.

BA: The translation we’re using is pretty faithful to the Italian, but it’s been modernized to a 1990s vernacular. I don’t think I made any groundbreaking discoveries about the character this time around outside of some select moments where he’s really being an unapologetic jerk. The ‘jerk’ aspect really shines through in this translation. I think this translation and its modernized colloquialisms will prove to be very effective for local audiences. In this, Leporello’s text simply has more bite, and it doesn't always want to make you want to chuckle. Actually, if I ever do get to do this role again in Italian, I'll certainly have to hit the books for those recitatives especially, but with a much stronger command of not only the versi sciolti, but the subtext as well.

OM: The operas in English change your relationship with the audience.

BA: Absolutely! One of the biggest advantages of performing an opera in English for audiences, especially those younger, or new to it, is that they’re able to hone their focus on the stage, rather than share the action and voice on stage with the supertitles above them

OM: Back to Rod’s mention of the Sellars’ Così fan tutte, I really wish there had been English subtitles. I recall that BxO runs the simultaneous supertitles in English.

BA: Right, but I’d be hard-pressed to believe that they’re at all a necessity for the audience to connect with the characters and story. The schoolchildren who come to our community reach-out performance seem, in addition to astutely identifying the characters, also ask insightful questions at the end. Their behavior certainly helps to validate the choice of singing in English in an English speaking community.

OM: I remember seeing you before. Der Freischütz?

BA: Yes! As Kuno. Greatly appreciate the mention in your review.

OM: Impressive production.

BA: So this is my fifth show with my hometown Bronx Opera! I sang Corporal Nym and covered Master Page in their production of Vaughan-Williams’ Sir John in Love, in addition to singing Kuno, I covered Ottokar in Der Freischütz, I sang Pish-Tush in The Mikado last May, and Cesar in a Rossini pastische co-produced with Hudson Guild Theatre, entitled The Theft of a Smile.

OM: Bet that was fun!

BA: Indeed.

OM: Favorite roles, new roles?

BA: Oh my, well, in addition to Leporello, some fun roles in the past have been Dandini in La Cenerentola, Schaunard in La bohéme, Papageno in The Magic Flute, and the title roles in G&S’s The Sorcerer, and Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

OM: All wonderful roles. I’ll bet Sweeney was a great one to do!

BA: Of course. Big role! I’ve also been fortunate to have done a fair share of fun comprimario roles as well, with my favorites including Silvano in Un Ballo in Maschera, Zaretzky and the Captain in Eugene Onegin, Sciarrone in Tosca, and something like six characters in a concert Macbeth. There are, of course, certain desirable lyric and cavalier roles that I aspire to study and perform, and having just turned 28 last month, I am curious, excited, and a tad bit anxious to see where my vocal adventures and discoveries may lead me.

OM: If you ever relax...

BA: Wait, time for one more thing: I can happily share that in February, I will be in a production of The Mother of Us All, the link is: The Mother of Us All, co-produced by the New York Philharmonic and Juilliard, and taking place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

OM: That’s not relaxing, Brian.

BA: What’s a guy to do? Lately, there hasn’t been much downtime between rehearsals, and the rush of holiday church services, but…I like to give myself time to write when I can. I received my BA in Creative Writing, so that will likely always be a crucial outlet for me. Other strong interests include playing with guitars and synthesizers, sampling craft beers (Stouts, Porters, and Belgian ales in particular), listening to copious subgenres of Heavy Metal, longboarding, promoting urban education reform, following the Yankees' season, and watching professional wrestling with my mother.

OM: Interesting mix! Impressive! Thank you, gentlemen, for your thoughtful words, observations and insights. Wishing you the best for BxO’s Don Giovanni!

BxO’s Don Giovanni is performed at the Lovinger Theatre, Lehman College, on Saturday, January 11 @ 7:30 and Sunday, 1/12 @ 2:30, then again the following weekend, Friday, January 17 @ 7:30 and Saturday, 1/18 at 2:30. The Lovinger Theatre is at 250 Bedford Park West in the Bronx. Check out the Bronx Opera’s website for tickets and more information.

Mark on your calendar: Smetana’s The Bartered Bride is performed in May 2 @ 7:30/May 3 @ 2:30/ then May 9 @ 7:30 and May 10 @ 2:30.

Support your local opera! Happy January to all!!!!!!!

OM

On creating a dramatic relationship…

OperaMetro (OM) caught up again with sopranos Christine Lyons (CL) and Alina Tamborini (AT), the two principal sopranos in Teatro Nuovo’s production of Vincenzo Bellini’s dark drama La straniera.* It’s a ‘wait please, sorry my dear friends, just one more question…’ sort of thing.

The ‘one more question’ was prompted by comments these artists offered about their preparation for La straniera. The operas mounted by Teatro Nuovo are semi-staged, which means that, in the absence of sets of a castle, a cabin in the forest, a lake, the Loch Ness Monster (rumored to be swimming in the lake), etc., the singers by their vocals, their inflections, their gestures and their interpersonal spacing must communicate the essentials of the plot. But more than just this: through their coaching at Teatro Nuovo, the singers are encouraged not only to dig deeply into their characters, but also, in their expression, take charge, within reason, of the flow of the dramatic moment without the iron hand of a conductor on the podium. Each moment potentially becomes a real-time creation, rather than a strictly scripted over-learned exercise. It opens opportunities for spontaneous dramatic insights to emerge in the heat of a performance.

Therefore OM asks these wonderful singers to discuss how each understands her character and the other, her dramatic counterpart.

OM: So you’ve had this conversation?

AT: Yes, Christine and I talked about this! We both agreed that, at least in our interpretation, neither Alaide (aka la straniera) nor Isoletta hate the other. In spite of what Isoletta says earlier in the opera, I don't think that she completely blames Alaide for her fiancé's wandering heart at all. For one thing, Isoletta's marriage to Arturo is arranged. I think that she wants him to love her and she wants to love him in return. During her aria in Act II, when she is looking at her locket, I feel that for a moment she believes maybe somewhere there is hope. But she also fears deep down that this is not possible: when she's with him, she can see the distance between them in his eyes and feel it in his hands. She fears that the strange woman, who seems to appear on the lake out of the mists, has captured his heart and soul.

Alina Tamborini sings Isoletta in La straniera

CL: There is no bad blood between the two women in the libretto of Romani. We also know that in Charles Victor Prévost’s romance L’Etrangère, which is the source material for La straniera, Alaide and Isoletta eventually become close friends after Arturo’s death.

OM: Really? Interesting! And that information about their ultimate friendship could color one’s interpretation of the text of the final scene?

CL: Absolutely.

OM: But at the moment of the final scene the characters couldn’t know this eventuality.

CL: No, of course not, but the seeds of that path could be hinted at. It’d be a subtle touch.

AT: Up until that final scene, Isoletta vacillates between hopes for his return and fears that Alaide is compromising Arturo’s relationship with her. The two women finally meet at the wedding.

OM: How does this come about?

CL: Prior to the wedding, a deal is made between Arturo and Alaide’s brother Valdeburgo in which they agree that Arturo will go through with his wedding to Isoletta, so as ease Alaide’s distress. Arturo consents only on the condition that Alaide attends the wedding. At the ceremony, she is hidden as a veiled presence.

Chistine Lyons is Alaide in La straniera

AT: Isoletta is cautiously ecstatic at the news of Arturo’s intention to return to her, but his behavior is ultimately not convincing.

OM: For instance?

AT: She observes that he has grown pale, he is distracted, he hesitates to enter the church. In fact, knowing Alaide, as agreed, is somewhere nearby and fearing his lack of self-control, Arturo says Ma son tuo... Ecco la mano! Stringila omai... ti affretta pria che tolta ti venga. He’s essentially saying "I'm yours, here is my hand. Clasp it before it is taken away from you." These are not really the words you want to hear from your husband to be!

OM: Certainly not!

AT: During the ensuing quartet, Isoletta, saddened, tells Arturo that he is free and he should leave. What makes this quartet so special is that Arturo, Alaide (still veiled), and Isoletta all sing the same text with our individual motivations; we are all singing with our own sorrows.

CL: At this point Alaide lifts her veil to reveal herself. She speaks up with a resounding “Stop!” to cease the discord between the betrothed pair. The most pointed exchange between the two women is here.

AT: Shocked, Isoletta asks, “Why have you come?”

OM: Probably a number of different ways to accent this question.

CL: Yes and also to accent the answer. Alaide replies, “To give you heart.” I interpret this as “To give you heart and courage knowing that you love this man and that this union is meant to be.” I think this unexpected and unplanned gesture of Alaide’s could be inspired by many things: perhaps a moment of overwhelming compassion towards Isoletta.

AT: Which goes to show that Alaide is no home wrecker, at least not by her own actions

OM: Which might be the seed toward their ultimate friendship, si?

AT: It might, sure.

CL: Sure. Perhaps Alaide is feeling a jolt to action in order to avoid the wrath of God should their wedding ceremony not go through. Perhaps she is feeling an insufferable fear for Arturo’s fate and for her own, should he not keep his vow to Isoletta. Though she has an ill wanted love for Arturo, she doesn’t wish to be responsible for their misery. Upon revealing to Isoletta that she is the elusive La Straniera, she takes Arturo and Isoletta by the hand and leads them to the altar.

OM: The stage directions say that she raises her hands to Heaven.

CL:  It’s one of the most heartbreaking arias: she prays to the heavens, saying that if her tears have not formerly placated the wrath of God, then she hopes that this sacrifice of the heart by giving Arturo over will.

OM: But Arturo can’t part from her and leaves Isoletta at the alter. He is devastated when he learns that Alaide is really Agnese, now the lawful wife to King Philippe-Auguste.

CL: This presents me another interpretive option as an actor: perhaps her gesture was the ultimate offering to God. In the very moment before she says, “Stop!” she has decided that this sacrifice was the key to her salvation.

OM: How do you decide which way to interpret it?

CL: Audiences will have to come to the show to find out which way the atmosphere swings!

French soprano Henriette Méric Lalande created the role of Alaide in La straniera at La Scala in 1829. Her other creations included Bianca in Bellini’s earlier Bianca e Gernando, Imogene is Bellini’s Il pirata, Zaira in Bellini’s opera of the same name, and Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia.

Photos: Christine Lyons by Matt Medelsohn; Alina Tamborini by Tyler James with Tyler James Photography.

Bellini’s La straniera will to be performed, don’t miss it, on the evening of Saturday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, Purchase, NY, and the evening of Wednesday, July 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. Will Crutchfield, who is Artistic and General Director, is Maestro al cembalo; Jakob Lehmann is Co-Director and Concert Master.

Support your local opera.

Happy 4th of July!

OM.

Teatro Nuovo’s star tenor Santiago Ballerini

OperaMetro (OM) is privileged to chat with tenor Santiago Ballerini (SB), who stars in performances of Rossini’s Tancredi at Teatro Nuovo at the Performing Arts Center of Purchase College on 735 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase, NY.

Once again I’d like to say we were chatting on the campus of Purchase College on a clear, sunny day in July, though not as hot as the last few days…but it’s an email interview, hopefully each of typing in a cool shaded place.

OM: Thank you for consenting to answer my questions, Santiago!

SB: No problem! Thank you for contacting me.

OM: It’s safe to say that you’re a member of Will Crutchfield’s performing team. At what stage of your career did you come in contact with Maestro Crutchfield and what has been the impact of your professional relationship with him?

SB: I met Will at the beginning of my career. He trusted my singing from the start and is one of the most generous persons that I’ve met since. He knows Bel Canto perfectly, and I have learned a lot working with him. He has really clear ideas of what he wants, but remains absolutely flexible to other ideas to create the music.

OM: What were the signs in your youth that signaled perhaps you had a career as a professional vocalist?

SB: I was a pianist for 9 years before getting into singing and only began focusing on a vocal career at almost 26 years-old. A voice teacher told me, “you should try, you have a beautiful voice.” And now, here I am! I love this way of expression and communication! Singing is absolutely different from communicating with the piano, but having the keyboard background has helped me to understand scores in different ways.

Santiago Ballerini sings in Rossini's Tancredi

OM: What is the path of your training from then to now?

SB: Every single day is working, thinking, and training. If I imagine that I’m in this career for only a few years, the best thing I can do is to focus on my instrument, find my personal sound, and my own technique. One always learns a lot from working with great coaches, directors, and colleagues, but you always have to have the goal of concentrating on yourself.

OM: Along the way, what were the signs that this pursuit should aim toward opera, as opposed to Broadway, jazz or popular music?

SB: I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. When I’m not studying, I listen to jazz, Bossa Nova, flamenco, French music, whatever I’m in the mood for! But I don’t sing in these other styles--I just enjoy them.

OM: When you’re not hard at work with the voice, what is your day like?

SB: I’m not really good at taking a day off. But actually I have started painting, for one thing, I guess, to continue exploring other ways of communication. Also the painting is for me a way to make sure that in my time off I force myself to stop studying and working.

OM: You’ve sung styles other than those of Rossini. But now you’re singing in Tancredi. Tell me about the challenges you, as a young singer, face with these stylistic differences.

SB: My role in Tancredi is Argirio; it’s not an easy role by any means. It’s quite demanding: four arias, one duet, and two finales. It isn’t the most technically challenging role I have ever sung, but it’s quite a lot of music and if you don’t concentrate, you won’t make it to the end vocally.

OM: Have there been roles, either in the studying and/or in the performing, which clearly to you represented a divergence from your imagined path?

SB: We are in a specialization time, so you cannot sing Bel Canto the same way you sing Verdi, Mozart, or Haydn. I have sung and worked in Italian Bel Canto more than any other style. As an Italian/Argentinian, my grandfather spoke Italian at home, so singing in Bel Canto is like singing in one of my native languages, which makes a lot of difference as opposed to studying a foreign language and singing it through phonetics. Every single style has its challenge. And the differences you do with other languages are huge because you either vibrate with it or not. Currently, I’m working on my French!

OM: Tres bon! Well, does performing in these different styles help to guide your career and is performing in Tancredi a welcome challenge, as opposed to, say, studying Arturo in I Puritani, the Duke in Rigoletto or Rodolfo in La Bohème?

SB: I do one thing at a time. I don’t need to--nor do I want to--be in a rush. I work every single day to be a good option for the industry. But as I say above, every single role has its own difficulties and specificities, and it’s always a challenge to find just the right “voice” of the character you’re performing. No one single role has the same communication style. Of course, it’s the same instrument, but the way of using it to communicate each role can be different. I love the challenge: the amazing thing about singing different styles is getting the chance to learn from each of them!

OM: Related to this, who in your coaching support staff is the guide for the next step?

SB: I have a team, so I cannot say that only one person is a guide. I have a voice teacher and a coach on my team; we are all on the path together. However, you know, the final decision on a direction is mine. It’s my instrument, my body, and I know its development better than anyone. I also have my agent that supports me on the business side of my career. 

OM: Apart from the obvious highs of career success, fan adulation, and personal pride in accomplishment, what are the down sides of a career in opera? At what point do uncertainties surface, and what are the characteristics of these?

SB: I wouldn’t say it’s a downside, but I think that the most difficult part of this career is loneliness. You are traveling, rehearsing, and studying so much by yourself. I’m from Argentina, but I don’t live there anymore because it’s so far away from the US and European opera industry. In order to make it in this career, you have to constantly leave home, your family, and your friends. But regardless, I’d chose every single thing about this career. Of course, we as singers are exposed, and people can say good things and bad things about you. I have to not think about that and stay focused on what I’m doing now and continue to do better and better projects.

 OM: I hear what you are saying from many singers. Especially distance from home and long weeks during rehearsal and performance in a distant city. But, moving on, when you’re not learning and rehearsing a well known but not very frequently performed Rossini opera (e.g., Tancredi), how do you unwind, relax, chill, have fun, etc.? What are your off-stage interests and passions?

SB: I play tennis, hang out with my friends and family, and I paint. My father is the best BBQ chef you can imagine, and my friends are always happy to join! Jajaja!

OM: Santiago, I look forward to your Argirio in Tancredi and shaking your hand afterward. All the best wishes for you.

SB: Thank you!

Santiago Ballerini performs in Rossini's Tancredi on Saturday evening, July 28, which is the opening night of Teatro Nuovo's premiere season, and on Friday, August 3, each at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are available online @ teatronuovo.org, or by telephone at the PAC box office (914.251.6200)

An Interview with John Nelson

OperaMetro (OM) had the privilege to talk opera with conductor John Nelson (JN), who led literally a small village of artists in the new Erato recording of Hector Berlioz’s massive Les Troyens. From the chilly north, OM chatted with Maestro Nelson in probably much more comfortable Florida by telephone. Since OM has fleeting fingers on the keyboard, the following is actually pretty close to verbatim.

John Nelson conducts Les Troyens

OM: Thank you for agreeing to this interview!

JN: You’re welcome!

OM: You’ve had a long standing love affair with Les Troyens, and you’ve now fulfilled a dream with this wonderful new recording. Tell us about your path to this point.

JN: Yes indeed! Like most deep loves, I’m not sure if I chose it or it chose me. First let me say for starters that Les Troyens is a marvelous work, for me it’s the pinnacle of 19th century French opera. Sadly, it was neglected for decades, probably because of its complexity, its large cast and orchestra, its length, all of which put substantial obstacles in the way of performing it…or it could have been the irascible old Berlioz himself, who was misunderstood and had enemies in high places. But the more I studied the score the more fascinated I became with the music. It is incredible music! Though there had been truncated performances here and there after the war, Boston, San Francisco, Covent Garden in London, the first complete recording in 1969 by Sir Colin Davis introduced the opera to the wider modern world.

OM: I remember many evenings back then listening to it over and over again. Apart from reading about it, all I’d known from it was the Royal Hunt and Storm interlude.

JN: Right, as was the case for most of us. I began preparing the score and subsequently made my Carnegie Hall debut in 1972 conducting the complete opera in concert. This led to my appointment as an assistant in the musical and choral preparation for the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere production of Les Troyens in October of 1973 under the Met’s first appointed Music Director, Rafael Kubelík. He made his Met debut conducting its opening night.

OM: I saw that production in ’73…Drove all the way from Delaware to be there! I’ll never forget the thrill of hearing the score live in the house…but also the cast, Jon Vickers, Christa Ludwig, Shirley Verrett, and of course Kubelík. It was eye and ear opening!

JN: It was certainly a big event at the Met.

OM: But then you took over for Kubelík at the eleventh hour for two performances soon after the opening.

JN: Yes, with not much more than a day’s notice. But I had prepared and conducted it at Carnegie, Kubelík and I had worked on the preparation together for a whole year before, and as an assistant I had rehearsed the chorus and soloists at length, so it was an honor to be at the helm, not in any way stressful.

OM: What was your experience preparing the score with Kubelík?

JN: The man was a genius, insightful, knowledgeable, perceptive, passionate. I learned so much about the score…you know, some years later I heard a broadcast of my Carnegie Hall Troyens, which WNYC had taped. I was shocked, even embarrassed! I mean, it was well received by the critics at the time, but they didn’t know the piece, very few knew it, apart from the recording, and they, like everyone else apparently, were overwhelmed by the sheer experience of it all. Frankly I’m so glad now I didn’t push to record it in the studio, tempting as it may have been back then.

By my studying with Kubelík, my relationship with the piece matured. It still grows each time we, I and Les Troyens, get together in the opera house. The color of the score, and therefore the individuality of the subsections, the pace, it’s all very natural, marvelous…it requires a long time to get it right. Well, I mean, all of the great compositions take a long time to get right. But because Troyens is often so big, one senses others have a tendency to think the big numbers will just play themselves, so they see the task at hand is to go from one big moment to the next, which, unfortunately, shortcuts the process of working through each section’s place in context of the whole. If it’s properly paced with exceptionally good singers, it’s all there, perfectly set out.

OM: It is a wonderful recording, John. I’m struck by two things immediately: the singers, fine as they are, seem remarkably young, but also expressive and, second, the orchestral texture is rich but not dense.

Erato's new CD release of Les Troyens 

JN: Thank you! Yes, I too feel the casting is brilliant. Alain Lanceron…

OM: Ah! Alain Lanceron! OperaMetro spoke with him a little more than a month ago on the Warner Classics release of the Remastered Live Recordings of Maria Callas!

JN: Yes, well, he knows singers like no one else in the business! And above all, because of his passion for this opera, he wanted it sung by the very best French singers available. Other recordings Les Troyens do not have near the same proportion of French singers. But I was able to lobby for the three principals: Joyce DiDonato as Dido, Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Cassandre, and Michael Spyres as Énée.

Joyce DiDonato is Dido in new Erato recording of Les Troyens

OM: They are remarkable, as I say, young sounding, fresh. Joyce DiDonato, whom I adore, is an obvious choice, but I confess I’ve not heard of the other two.

JN: All three were doing their roles for the first time, which perhaps is a good thing because we didn’t spend any time on unpacking the baggage from previous performances. We spent three intense weeks together, lots of rehearsals, several per day, but not one moment was wasted. I, they, and the rest of the cast, everyone became a part of a remarkable situation.

And you mentioned the orchestral texture: one of the joys of doing this recording was working with the excellent Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg. I’ve worked with other orchestras on this score, spending a lot of time, a struggle, actually, to get the right sound. But with this group everything flowed so naturally. I didn’t have to talk to them about style because it is in their blood.

OM: The proof is in the recording, obviously.

JN: Some reviews are positive, superlative! I was interested that Norman Lebrecht, a rather tough critic, gave it a rave review!

OM: It deserves it. On another note, you end with the “traditional” ending, the Trojan music as Dido expires on her pyre. But John Eliot Gardiner ends his Théâtre du Châtelet 2003 production of Les Troyens (with Susan Graham, Anna Caterina Antonacci, and Gregory Kunde)* with an extended finale. Is Les Troyans like Verdi’s Don Carlos, meaning: are there other alternate versions available or waiting to be resurrected and performed?

JN: Yes and no, but mostly no. There is a small section in an earlier scene which Berlioz did not orchestrate, and therefore it was not included in the final score. Someone scored it and performed it once maybe. The extended final scene you talk about had not been used before, but with good reason: it deflates the impact of Dido’s death and finally we get tired of what's added. The whole opera is about the Trojans and their fated journey to Italy. We retain the traditional ending.

As to that, though, his Benvenuto Cellini exists in a few versions, each quite different. But not so with Les Troyens. And Cellini, the title role, lies very high. Difficult to cast.

OM: The newcomer to Berlioz’s operas should start with Les Troyens, but where to next?

JN: Beatrice and Benedict is a jewel, full of charm and grace, not a drop of tragedy in it. Sadly it’s underperformed these days. I’d also recommend that fans read the Memoirs of Hector Berlioz.** Fascinating man, fascinating music.

OM: Yes, fascinating. I find myself thinking after I've listened to Symphonie Fantastique that it must have been composed in the 1860s, not 1830. Okay, so “record the perfect Les Troyens” is now checked off on your list of things to do really well. What then lies ahead for you, John?

JN: Well, I kind of made a commitment not do any new productions of pieces I don’t know yet. This means I’ll concentrate on what I know well, revisit the score, rethink it, and do it better. I’d love to do Debussy, more Verdi, more Massenet, maybe these are in my playbook down the line. But I’m finding I really have a difficult time in the opera world these days. The stage directors, the management, and consequently even some of the artists have too much influence. And sometimes bad ideas: I once did a Les Troyans in which Dido was more or less in the guise of Angela Merkel! Absurd! It is the conductor who holds the whole thing together. But I adore doing opera in concert and recording. Unfortunately these don’t happen very much.

OM: Looking back at my notes, because I keep notes of these things, I see that you conducted the Met’s new production of Janacek’s Jenůfa in fall of 1974.

JN: Ah yes, Jenůfa.

OM: I was at the opening performance of Jenůfa, again up from Delaware. I’ve always been a fan of Czech music, Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů, so I was very eager to see it on stage, coming well prepared from an old Supraphon recording.

JN: It was a bit of luck for me, but unfortunately, as it turned out, not so for Maestro Kubelík. He was eager to revive it here, but ultimately assigned Jenůfa to me just before he left, based on the quality of our relationship preparing Troyens.

OM: He left rather abruptly, yes? At the Met only more or less a year?

JN: Yes, but apparently there were power struggles behind the scenes. He mentioned Erich Leinsdorf.

OM: Hmmm. Well, Leinsdorf had conducted the new Schneider-Siemssen production of Tristan und Isolde in 1971 with Birgit Nilsson and Jess Thomas, then conducted a revival of Die Walküre and the new Siegfried, both with Nilsson in 1972, and he had the Tristans with Jon Vickers in the winter of '74.*** But might Leinsdorf have been more than a little miffed that Kubelík assigned the new Götterdämmerung to himself in that spring of ’74? As to that, it struck me as odd at the time that the first complete Ring cycle with the Schneider-Siemssen sets (based, you’ll remember, on the Salzburg Easter Festival production with Herbert von Karajan) in spring of 1975 was conducted by Sixten Ehrling (?).

JN: Don’t know. Still, his work with me on Jenůfa was professional and untroubled. We spent hours and hours dissecting the score, getting those intricate rhythms and orchestral balance just right. Kubelík wanted to do it in Czech, of course, but the Met probably could not have casted it with familiar big draw singers like Jon Vickers if it were not done in English. And there were no back seat subtitles then.

OM: Right. One of my several vivid memories of that opening night of Jenůfa was when, before the house lights dimmed, an elderly woman stepped into one of the side boxes and many in the audience turned, stood and applauded. She bowed gracefully. An older gentleman to my right, probably younger than we are now, John, said audibly “That’s Maria Jeritza!” I knew the name, of course. Later I found out that she was born in 1887 in Brno, Janáček’s home town, she probably met him, maybe even performed for him. She was the Met’s superstar after Geraldine Farrar retired. In addition to all of the other great things she did here, she was the first Jenůfa at the Met in 1924 (sung in German). Maybe the older gentleman had been at one of those performances as a young man…

JN: I hadn’t entered the pit yet, so, unfortunately I missed this.

OM: It was a moment, for sure. The other time I heard you conduct at the Met was in 1999 with the revival of Handel’s Giulio Cesare with Jennifer Larmore, David Daniels, Stephanie Blythe, and others. I remember thinking then, wow! Handel has really arrived! Well, best wishes to you, John Nelson and congratulations on a fine Les Troyans. Been a pleasure chatting with you.

JN: My pleasure. Thank you.

Footnotes: Among other things, John Nelson made an early splash conducting Carmen at NYCO; after his 11th hour Met debut with Les Troyans in 1973, detailed above, he was assigned Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci in October of 1974, then taking on Jenůfa in November and Il Barbiere di Siviglia in fall of 1975. Nelson was a Music Director at Caramoor Music Festival from 1983 to 1989 and also conducted P.D.Q Bach performances here and there as well as the Philharmonia in Greenwich, CT

*John Eliot Gardiner’s Les Troyens is video recorded by the BBC, released on three Opus Arte DVDs.

** My edition of the Memoirs is "a Dover edition designed for years of use! It is an unaltered, unabridged replication of Ernest Newman's drastically revised, annotated edition (1932). Paperbound edition is 1966. Not false advertising, this: mine still hasn't fallen apart.

*** The evening of January 30, 1974 was the only time Jon Vickers and Birgit Nilsson sang Tristan und Isolde together at the Met. Talk about an electric evening!!! I'm told there is an underground copy of this performance....and one of the ushers maintained that the two even offered to do a second performance on a Sunday, just to please their fans.

Interview with Taconic Opera’s creative Dan Montez

OperaMetro (OM) has the esteemed privilege to chat with Dan Montez (DM), General Manager and Artistic Director of the Taconic Opera, which, for two decades now, has been performing operas in English for the enjoyment and pleasure of those nearby. Pretty much standard repertory, right?

But wait, there’s more: this October Mr. Montez will be staging the world premiere of his very own brand new opera! Always one curious about the creative process, I asked him to discuss the project. Imagine that we’re chatting in the rear of an auditorium, on the stage of which is a rehearsal of one of his productions. Actually this is not too far from reality: he and I usually have talked there in recent years! But time and space being what they are today, and the fact that I've been away in Paris, truth is he responded to my carefully crafted questions via email. These I have reformatted below.

Dan Montez

OM: Dan, thank you for coming on board.

DM: My pleasure.

OM: So, a new opera…cool! Like most people, you just woke up one day and said, “I think I’ll compose an opera…”

DM: More or less.

OM: Please tell me about it.

DM: It’s an opera buffa, titled In Bocca al Lupo, which, translated, means Into the Mouth of the Wolf, opera’s equivalent of the theater’s “break a leg” wish for good luck. And yes, I more or less got a sudden itch to compose an opera.

OM: But I’ll bet scratching that itch is the tricky part.

DM: The plot itself was a hurdle from the very start. As you can imagine, I have the plots of all these other operas floating around in my head. What to do? But as people often say: write about what you know best! And I realized that, sure, I know the operas very well, but I also know the opera business very well, from bottom to top, from, you know, “how about we do this one next year?” to the final curtain, season over. Of course!! Operas are put on by real people (he’s knocking his head now) and there’s a lot of drama in this! Also a lot of humor. So Bocca al Lupo is about a buffoon trying to run an opera company; it takes us on a journey through the audition process, running the opera office, holding a fundraiser, musical coaching, stage directing, backstage disasters during a performance, and finally presenting the show.

OM: From back stage to on stage.

DM: Right. It’s actually an Italian opera nested within an English opera.

OM: I don’t wish anyone reading this to think that one simply wakes up and composes an opera from page to stage. You’ve lived music and opera your whole life. you wear many hats.

DM: One way to put it.

OM: A few details?

Jorge Ocasio is the Director, here as Mustafa in Rossini's Italiana 

DM: Well, among other things, early on I was trained as a conductor, but I was drawn to the stage and I had a voice, so I became a fulltime opera singer.

OM: Seems the natural thing to do.

DM: For 14 years or so I performed about sixty leading roles at locations including Lincoln Center, San Francisco Opera, and Carnegie Hall.

OM: Importantly as Tamino. Do I remember this correctly from past discussions we’ve had?

DM: Yes, I sang Tamino, other roles, of course, but the pace, the schedule was daunting. I was on the road for about ten months at a time each year…and then my dear wife got pregnant.

OM: The life of a young wandering minstrel is not an easy one for the family man.

DM: I barely saw my daughter for the first couple of months of her life. It was awful. After much soul searching and introspection, I decided to stay put locally and be with my family, which eventually numbered five.

OM: But you can’t sit still, oui?

DM: Right! And so, in 1997 I founded an opera company in Westchester, called it the Taconic Opera, and the rest is history. I’ve staged all of the operas there over the past twenty years, more than sixty and counting.

OM: Admirable resume! Conductor, performer, parent, stage director and drama coach, intellectual…wait, am I leaving anything out?

DM: Throughout I was composing as well: six major works, all liturgical oratorios and lots of other choral works, performed throughout the United States, a Trio Sonata last year for Violin, Piano and Clarinet.

OM: But…I can hear a ‘but’ coming…

Samia Bahu is Miranda Sfortunata, here as Puccini's Tosca

DM: But I got to thinking it was time to compose an opera. Do it as part of the celebration of Taconic Opera’s 20th anniversary this year. Fitting, right? Why not?

OM: Sure, why not?

DM: I thought, after writing such serious works, I needed a departure. It would be my first foray into actually creating an opera, as opposed to recreating someone else’s on stage. Once I decided to go for it, I knew I wanted to write a comic opera. Being a Rossini and bel Canto specialist, singing that repertory, also having staged a lot of them, by this time I understand how a comic opera is laid out. I ‘get’ the genre. Problem was I really didn’t want to write the opera libretto myself. I don’t feel like I’m a terrific word-smith. Yes, sure, I had written the texts for my oratorios, but would be very different.

OM: I’m hard pressed to think of last comic oratorio I heard.

DM: I thought seriously about finding a librettist. I first asked my wife, who is a wonderful, super writer, but she didn’t feel qualified. As I considered my options, in context of my limitations, the plot and the genre more or less just bubbled up.

OM: So you rolled up your sleeves…

Sarah Nordin is the Conductor, here as Isabella in Rossini's Italiana

DM: And got my hands dirty! My libretto is silly, full of rhymes, but also in English, as is our rule at Taconic.

OM: Like William S. Gilbert, of Gilbert and Sullivan?

DM: The G & S light operas are really the English bel-canto equivalent of the Donizetti and Rossini comedies and for sure their spirits are always by my side. But though to some extent these composers were my inspirations and role models, I decided I wanted to write a distinctly “American” opera buffa, not something Italian or British.

OM: Can’t wait to hear it. You’re doing the stage direction?

DM: Yes.

OM: Of course. Am I leaving anything out?

DM: I designed the sets too.

OM: Okay. Are you conducting this premiere as well?

DM: No.

OM: Ah!

DM: My wonderful music Director, Jun Nakabayashi will be conducting the opera. Doing the stage directing is hard enough, so I’ll stick to that! He is a masterful conductor—and he ‘gets’ me, I mean he really understands my methodology of stage direction. I trust him, believe me.

Jun Nakabayashi conducts

OM: The structure of the plot?

DM: As I alluded to earlier, there are basically seven scenes. We have an audition scene, an opera office scene, a coaching scene, a stage directing scene, a fundraiser, a backstage scene (during the opera), and the opera proper.

OM: You mentioned Sullivan, Donizetti, and Rossini, which begs the obvious question: will your score echo their music?

DM: It’s an interesting question because so far everyone who hears it “uncovers” something different! Most of them will clearly hear Rossini’s influence, some have told me they hear Sullivan, but then some tell me they also hear Poulenc, some Prokofiev, some Sondheim, others Puccini. I’m sure there are bits of all of them in it. I will say there is a lot of jazz influence. When I began composing this, I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to write in a style similar to my oratorios, one I’m more comfortable with, or whether I would go even more modern.

OM: It has to fit you, right?

DM: I agree. Above all I needed my opera to be fun. I didn’t want to get pretentious by making the score musically complex at the expense of my audience’s involvement. So, I wrote a buoyant and harmonically accessible work—almost a “light opera.”

OM: But actually it’s two ‘operas.’ You have the two distinct sections: backstage, then onstage in performance.

DM: Yes, and therefore, to me, my opera must have two distinct compositional styles: one for the opera company itself as real people and another for the Italian comic opera produced by the company on stage with its various characters from the company. These should be contrasting musical styles. As I wrote the Italian opera sections, I had fun lampooning Romantic Italian opera music, language and style along the way.

OM: Ha! Should bring out big smiles in the audience! Back in the day composers wrote for the strengths of specific singers. You as well here?

DM: You bet. Before I even started, I had my dream cast. The Director is being done by my favorite bass-buffo, Jorge Ocasio. He has already done my Mustafa in Rossini’s Italian Girl in Algiers, Donizetti’s Sulpice in Daughter of the Regiment and Don Pasquale. Jorge is the absolute king of this genre! It’s as if every note was lovingly written with him in mind. No one, I mean this, makes me laugh more. My soprano lead, Miranda Sfortunata, is taken by Samia Bahu, who sang roles with us for over a decade. She’s a real Verdi and Puccini heroine.

Esmerelda Bell'Odore will be sung by Tina Cody; the character of the Conductor will be sung by our coloratura mezzo, Sarah Nordin, who has done Isabella in the Italian Girl in Algiers and Falstaff…fabulous bel-canto singer! I wrote an aria crafted especially for her voice about the difficulties of being a female conductor! A new addition is tenor Adam Klein, who sings at the Metropolitan Opera. He’ll be doing the lead role of Haroldo Narciso. Tammy Smithson is sung by Kristina Cook, and finally, of course, David Richy, who has also done some of my leads at Troupers Light Opera in Connecticut. He rounds out the cast as the exploited Stage Manager. David plays a great straight man.

OM: I’m hoping all who read this will come to see the world premiere run! It’s certainly a positive thing, your new opera celebrating the 20th year of Taconic Opera. How is the artform doing in 2017?

DM: Opera is having a hard time still. The economic difficulties since 2008 have caused the doors of many opera companies to close. One of the reasons I believe we are still here, in addition to the quality of our productions, is our lack of a salaried administration. As General Director of the company, I have not taken a paycheck for running the company over the past twenty years. This is a labor of love for me.

OM: As well as for the others.

DM: But I think that administrative costs are what have caused many smaller companies to close their doors.

OM: What would you say to a reader who is on the fence about taking that first plunge into opera?

DM: Oh my gosh, they should take the plunge, by all means! Everyone that comes to the opera for the first time—especially at our shows, walks out saying “I had no idea this is what opera was about. This is wonderful!” And they’re soon back for more. Opera has something for everyone. There are comedies, powerful dramas, love stories, sci-fi and fantasy operas, horror operas, you name it. There are also different kinds of music for every taste. But what’s very special, certainly for those of us who love the human voice, is that visceral something about hearing singers without microphones too. It’s pure sound, straight from the singer to your ear without electronic reproduction. I find it powerful and exciting, and it must be seen live!

OM: Totally agree. I still get chills remembering the great singers I heard live on stage.

DM: Adding this last: if you are going to go to an opera for the first time, this opera is a great choice. Comic operas are meant to be entertaining. You’ll come away with a smile.

OM: Dan, thank you for talking to me.

DM: My pleasure!

OM: Into the mouth of the wolf!

Photos courtesy of Taconic Opera.

Dan Montez’s opera buffa, In Bocca al Lupo, is performed on Saturday, October 21, 2017, at 3:30 pm, Yorktown Stage, 1974 Commerce St., Yorktown Heights, NY, followed by a second performance the following day, Sunday, October 22, at 2:00 p.m., again at Yorktown Stage, 1974 Commerce St., Yorktown Heights, NY. A wide range of ticket prices are available and significant reductions are offered for seniors.  To encourage youth attendance, student prices are only $15 regardless of seating selection.  For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the company website at www.taconicopera.org or call the toll-free number: (855) 88-OPERA (855-886-7372).

In addition, a special performance for area schools is Thursday, October 19, 2017, at 10 a.m., Yorktown Stage, 1974 Commerce St., Yorktown Heights, NY. In Bocca al Lupo will be performed in both English and Italian with English supertitles projected above the stage.

Immense fun! Support your local opera!

Soon it will be fall!

Diana Damrau releases new album of Meyerbeer arias

OperaMetro had the esteemed privilege of talking with star soprano Diana Damrau about her new Warner Classics recording of arias from the operas of Giacomo Meyerbeer, but also about a whole raft of stuff…delightful artist, she! As is customary in these pages, the interview is structured as if we were chatting over hot mugs of tea in a quaint tavern in rural Connecticut after horseback riding on a brisk spring day, not unlike today.

Well, no, in reality we did it on the telephone, a wonderful chat nonetheless I must say, but the truth is I haven’t sat a gee since I was ten. She rides quite well apparently, at least once up in Connecticut, so she tells me.

OperaMetro (OM): Good to warm up a bit!

Diana Damrau (DD): Indeed! I'm good though.

OM: Diana, it is sincerely a pleasure to have this opportunity to chat with you!

DD: With you as well!

Diana Damrau. Warm!

OM: Your new album is a rich collection of arias from the Meyerbeer operas. One aria, the Shadow Song, I can whistle, grew up with it from an RCA recital LP by Anna Moffo; another I’d nail playing name-that-tune if QXR ever broadcasts it on the radio. The four big operas I know fairly well through recordings, but the others? I'll bet no one save scholars and possibly Meyerbeer’s adoring parents have ever even heard of the others. I mean, why Meyerbeer?

DD: I became fascinated with Meyerbeer’s music when I was a student in Würzburg. I was asked to sing his cantata Gli amori di Teolinda. It moved me as I was singing it, it just ‘spoke’ to me, the way he expresses emotion in the orchestra, in the vocal writing. I am a singer who likes to immerse myself in a composer's music, sometimes with their librettists too, like Mozart with Da Ponte or Strauss with Hofmannsthal. I feel that one can discover many emotional insights through such an immersion. With Meyerbeer, the deeper I went, the more riches I found. It’s unbelievable that he could write music for German, Italian and later French texts.

OM: Well, not so unique: Handel set to music German, Italian, and later English texts. Gluck composed for libretti in German, mostly in Italian, but later in French.

DD: Yes, of course, but one feels with Meyerbeer he was able to dig into the musical souls of these different peoples. His arias are connected to the dramatic moment, but in general his writing for the Italian texts is different from his writing for a German text, and both are different from the French operas. There is a certain earthiness to the German arias; I find warmth and sunlight in the Italian arias; I feel a grandeur in the French arias.

OM: I hear what you’re saying; I hear what you're singing.

DD: Like you feel the Russian soul when singing the songs of Rachmaninoff. I love these as well.

OM: Meyerbeer is known for cementing the style of Grand Opera in Paris from Robert le Diable, through Les Huguenots to Le Prophète and L’Africaine. You include two arias from this last one listed and one aria from each of the first three. Nicely done, too!

DD: Thank you! Yes, they’re all wonderful arias. I am particularly fond of Marguerite de Valois’s big aria in Les Huguenots. It’s noble, grand, as you say.

OM: Problem is, though, these operas are rarely revived these days. They’re big, I mean BIG scenically, large casts and chorus, maybe a ballet (if it’s even left in these days, production costs being what they are).

DD: Yes, big, but because of this they’re also big events when they’re staged.

OM: How many opportunities does one get to perform them? I think they deserve to be revived, though of the four I’ve seen, only one was live on a stage (at the Metropolitan Opera in January of 1977…and three times at that, because one never knows when they’ll do it again…unfortunately I missed Les Huguenots in Bard’s Summerscape a few years ago). The others I know only through DVDs. I’m particularly fond of the Robert le Diable from Covent Garden in 2012: interesting production, also my first introduction to Bryan Hymel on stage, putting the persona to the voice from his French recital on the Warner Classics CD Héroïque.

DD: Ah yes, Robert. I was to sing Isabelle in that production, but instead I was giving birth to one of my children instead.

Vittorio Grigolo and Diana Damrau in the Met's new Roméo et Juliette

OM: You’ve certainly been busy at the Met since. A hot Manon in 2015, a new Pecheurs de Perles last January, a new Roméo et Juliette this January, an important revival of I Puritani in February…wow!

DD: Ach ja! I’ve been busy.

OM: I especially looked forward to the Manon that season because a. you were singing, b. Vittorio Grigolo was Des Grieux, but c. Emmanuel Villaume was conducting, not to mention d. that it’s a favorite opera of mine. You and Vittorio have a real chemistry. I’ll go so far as to say that you and Emmanuel have a chemistry too. Tell me about these men in your artistic life.

DD: They are both particularly sensitive to the emotion and passion of the character, to the drama, and to the music. Emmanuel is a wonderful conductor to work with. He brings out nuances in the music that speak to me, the singer on stage, and as well to you in audience. You’ll hear it in the Meyerbeer album. Emmanuel was very supportive during the Manon. It’s a very tricky opera to sing, actually.

And Vittorio, ah yes, Vittorio! He is a natural, he is always 100% in the emotional moment. In the Manon, I always felt we were building up through the whole evening for the last scene, which I find so magical I never want it to end.

OM: I was very moved by that scene with you two, especially by the way he held you and cry he uttered, as if his true love had really died, not “okay, we’re done here.” I included the photo of the scene in the review on OperaMetro. Not surprised that your Roméo et Juliette together was intense as well. The Tomb Scene was equally touching.

DD: I love working with him. Vittorio wants magic, he wants to inspire all on stage, get you involved, and when he does this, wonderful things happen. We just did Antonia and Hoffmann in Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Same thing.

OM: Switching gears: more often than not, Diana, I’ve seen you at the Met in a comic opera, and I must say that you’re very funny, a natural really, particularly noticeable up close in HD, but the little comic touches also come through live in the house. Rosina, Adina, Marie, the Countess Adele in Le Comte Ory, all with Juan Diego Florez.

DD: Well, I very much love to laugh.

OM: You’re laughing right now.

DD: There is so much positive energy in laughter.

OM: I’m feeling it just talking to you.

DD: Juan Diego is a large part of the success too. I love working with him as well.

OM: So, as long as we’re on comic operas: all of the popular Italian comedies, L’Elisir d’amore, Barbiere, etc. have been recorded over and over again. Ever thought about doing a recital disc of arias from those wonderful German operas lying just below the surface of the standard repertory? I mean Der Wildschütz, Zar und Zimmermann, Martha, Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, etc.

DD: Oh dear, I love those operas! Wildschütz is marvelously fun!

OM: The entrance aria by the Baroness, Auf des Lebens raschen Wogen in Act I is my favorite.

DD: And the quintet in the Billiard Scene in Act II is great.

OM: Probably pretty tough to stage if the singers actually have to make all of the shots! Moving on, you’re also a master of the soprano repertory of Richard Strauss as well, having conquered the higher voices, Zerbinetta, Sophie, Aithra in Die Ägyptische Helena, and the like. What’s next for you from this wing?

DD: I’m close to embracing the Vier letzte Lieder. Ravishing music!

OM: Arabella?

DD: Yes, maybe soon, in a few years. In the more distant future the Marschallin.

OM: How distant?

DD: You know, so many roles are tempting, but each has to be right for my voice. And then, I’m always looking ahead to the time when I can fit it into my study schedule, my performance schedule, maybe recordings. I sample roles, like, for instance, I’ve been looking at Luisa Miller in Verdi’s opera. But then I think, maybe not now, yet all the while knowing as I say this that maybe I’ll miss the chance to learn it and perform it in the future because some other opportunity has come along. The choice of what to learn next is a big one. It has to be a natural fit and then also one has to find the right time for it within the arc of your career.

OM: Lovely to speak with you, dear Diana Damrau. May we meet sometime in the future.

DD: Yes. A pleasure to speak with you.

Interview date: May 5, 2017

Portrait of Ms. Damrau courtesy of Jurgen Frank; photo by Ken Howard from the Metropolitan Opera production of Roméo et Juliette, January, 2017.

The review of Manon with Diana Damrau and Vittorio Grigolo from April of 2015 is on the page Met-Fourteen-Fifteen, toward the end of the season.

“sat a gee” is a phrase in the Major General’s song from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

Couldn’t resist. Means "rode a horse"

Bathing suit weather? Unfortunately not yet...

Enjoy her new album. J

Elza van den Heever, a new presence on the world’s stage

OperaMetro (OM) had the privilege of interviewing soprano Elza van den Heever (EvdH), who stars in this season’s Idomeneo as the Princess Elettra, to be telecast in HD live from the Met’s stage on Saturday, March 25. As is my custom here, the interview is formatted as if she and I were chatting while on a break from a brisk walk through Central Park on a warm March day, the sun streaming through the trees, just wonderful...but, actually, we did this by telephone separated by miles, subfreezing temperatures, snow and sleet blowing horizontally about by a fierce gale force wind.

OM: (warmly) Elza, it’s a pleasure to talk with you.

EvdH: (warmly also) My pleasure as well.

OM: I was one of those maniacs shouting Brava! Brava! Monday night. You brought the house down.

EvdH: The Met audiences are very kind. I feel quite welcome here actually.

OM: This is your third opera at the Met, correct?

EvdH: Yes, but my fourth season. Elisabetta in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda twice, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in between and now Elettra in Idomeneo.

OM: I missed your Donna Anna, unfortunately, but your Elisabetta was for me a total conception, riveting, as is your Elettra. Do you have any special methods for getting into the personalities of your characters?

Elza van den Heever as Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo at the Met

EvdH: Well, I very much enjoy delving into the psychology of my characters, but the music always comes first. It’s not ‘oh I’d love to play this character,’ but rather ‘I’d love to sing this role,’ with an eye toward the bonus that the character also has several psychological dimensions to her. It’s wonderful when the role is rewarding both to sing and to play on stage. At the onset, then, I spend a lot of time at my piano learning the music, mastering the style of the music if it is new to me, putting the text to the vocal line. I’m always asking myself if the music really fits my voice. If it does, I keep going, if not I might set the part aside for a few years. But from there I place the music and text in context of the whole drama, and from all these elements the concept of playing the part on stage sort of evolves in my mind. But I try not think too much about the stage part beforehand. After all, I’m fitting into a director’s vision and I have to more or less fit the stage directions. I find I can be molded.

OM: Having seen previous seasons of Idomeneo here I recognize Ponnelle’s directions for Elettra. She’s a strong character, but I was aware little things you added.

EvdH: I enjoy playing edgy characters.

OM: Your voice too is interesting. Would you call yourself a dramatic soprano?

EvdH: No, but that’s not to say I’m not, just to say that I don’t wish to be voice typed. You know, once you’re boxed into this or that type of voice I feel like you’re sort of pushed into certain roles and, as a consequence, prevented from doing others. At this stage of my career I like to keep my options open. I want to call my own shots, in other words...Be creative, keep the joie of performing alive as long as I can.

OM: You did Leonore in Fidelio at Caramoor this past summer. I previewed the performance here on OperaMetro but was out of town. Leonore is getting pretty close to dramatic soprano…

EvdH: Yes, but before saying yes to that role I did a lot of soul searching. I thought to myself, ‘no, no, Leonore is not something one should sing until she is over 40. I like to err on the side of caution with these new roles, try to stay a step behind other people’s recommendations rather than a step ahead. And I’m always going back for advice to my teachers, my coaches, my manager, the team of people whom I can trust. So Fidelio, Fidelio, this is too soon to sing in Fidelio, I’m not going to touch Fidelio. The vocal line crosses back and forth over the passaggio, I mean, what was Beethoven thinking!? Be patient, just wait, everything will fall into place eventually. But I sat down at my piano and played with it…I found that my voice wants to be there, the tessitura is on the low side, a place I can live in, and the back and forth across the register break wasn’t a problem. In fact it felt really good, the role fits my voice like a glove. It was fun to do last summer.

OM: And so?

EvdH: And so now I realize that these roles, my so-called over 40 roles, are totally in my future.

OM: Cool. New Roles?

EvdH: Richard Strauss.

OM: Ah! Now you’re talking! He LOVES sopranos!

EvdH: Yes, but the roles are pretty scary, scary vocally, the chords, the intervals, just the music itself is complicated. It’s tough to wrap myself around what I’ve seen so far.

OM: What role are you looking at now?

EvdH: I’m looking at Chrysothemis, tentatively, just tentatively. There is a trick to it, and I’ll get to it, and the role someday will fit like a glove. But on this side of it, it is daunting.

OM: Do you listen to other singer’s recordings to get an idea of the role before committing to learning it?

EvdH: No, not really. I mean, I do listen to recordings, but not for the singers. I listen in order to figure out the orchestration and what the orchestra is saying at the moment to complement my singing. It wouldn’t necessarily be contained in the vocal score in front of me, maybe the dynamics, but certainly not the orchestration.

OM: Interesting.

EvdH: Actually, I find James Levine’s recordings of the operas very helpful because of the balance and articulation he gets out of the Met orchestra. I hear more of the instrumental voices in the score.

OM: And now you’ve worked with the man himself.

EvdH: It’s been wonderful working with him. He is really a singer’s conductor. It’s more than just the entrances or the cues: he worked with me, helped me achieve the style of the music, the feel for the music. And not just with me; he works with everyone on stage, in the pit, even the rehearsal pianist. Mr. Levine is amazing, inspiring, so supportive, just golden. He makes every artist feel at home at the Met.

OM: Well, as to that, Elza, what is your home theater?

EvdH: Home theater? That would be Frankfurt. I’ve had the majority of the starts there. It’s embracing, like a good old friend, like the home where you know your way around. But the Met is comfortable for me now to some degree. I know my way around here more and more. I feel happy here too.

OM: Other opera houses to conquer? Your bucket list?

EvdH: Yes and no. My criterion is I want to sing with companies that really want me, where the atmosphere is positive. So it’s not about just saying I’ve sung there.

OM: What are the biggest challenges facing young singers today?

EvdH: Honestly? Trying not to get sick. Viruses more aggressive these days, you’re in airplanes, subways, trains…closed environments. Should I go to this party during flu season? If a singer gets sick and has to cancel she doesn’t get paid. But right up there as number two is traveling 10 months out of the year, being away from family, OMG! eight countries in one year last year. Sometimes alone. And it’s fine with me, I travel comfortably, it’s an adventure for sure, but it has its lonely side too. I very much look forward to getting home for a spell.

The real Elza van den Heever, without the fright wig from Idomeneo

OM: I’ll bet. Tell me, were your family for or against this career?

EvdH: Totally for. I thank them every day. Other music students with me were told ‘oh no, don’t put all your efforts into singing, take the LSATs, have a backup plan,’ but no, my parents were totally behind me. They’re artists: my father makes documentaries, my mother was an actor, now a producer, one brother is a painter, one is a photographer, the last was a professional chef until he decided to be a hunter.

OM: What do you do for fun, apart from stress about Strauss?

EvdH: I love to walk, outdoors, not a treadmill. Walking is my great escape. If I can’t walk I think I’ll die. When I’m home and not walking, I’m in my own kitchen. It’s how I relax.

OM: Favorite meal?

EvdH: Just whatever mood strikes me. I go to the market place, see what looks good, and invent something. Love to cook.

OM: Music?

EvdH: I LOVE country music, I just love it. Actually I don’t listen to classical music very much. I like a cappella groups, I adore Barbara Striesand more than I can say (I’d love to meet her, what an honor!) and Christmas music. I just can’t wait for the first of December. It’s my favorite time of the year.

OM: Among mine too. Elza, I wish we could chat for another hour. Thank you for talking to me, congratulations, brava! on your Elettra, and best wishes in the future. Please keep in touch.

EvdH: Thank you.

Photos: Metropolitan Opera production of Elza van den Heever in Idomeneo by Marty Sohl; Ms. van den Heever publicity photograph by Robert Glostra.

Please see OperaMetro’s review of the Met’s Idomeneo on the page Met Sixteen Seventeen. Catch the HD telecast of Idomeneo in a local theater near you.

Also have a nice day! No, we didn’t all get kidnapped and taken to the Arctic Circle during the night. It just came down to visit us Tuesday…

Met mezzo Isabel Leonard: an interview

OperaMetro had the privilege two years ago of discoursing about opera and life with the delightful mezzo soprano Isabel Leonard in November when she starred as Rosina in the Metropolitan Opera’s November 22, 2014 HD telecast of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. She has appeared at home and abroad in operas by Mozart, Rossini, Handel, Gounod, Poulenc, and also Thomas Adès. This February, Leonard performs her first Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther, opposite Vittorio Grigolo. Our conversation focused on the next steps in her career.

OM: Thank you for taking the time to talk with OperaMetro!

Isabel Leonard: My pleasure.

Isabel Leonard to star as Charlotte in Massenet's Werther in February, 2017

OM: We and, believe me, everyone around us in the audience marveled at your performance of Cherubino in the HD telecast of Figaro in October, 2014. Brava! In the backstage interview that day you came across as an exceptionally bright and articulate singer, extraverted, but also thoughtful. You talked about preparing Cherubino then, but, in general, what are some of the ways in which you make a new role your own?

IL: I try in whatever way I can to be true to myself and follow my instincts about a character. At this point I know when I’m not being true, when I’m using stock gestures. I know when something is not as centered with me as it should be and I work really hard to eliminate that kind of thing. I don’t like to fake it...it’s just not right, it’s uncomfortable. I would rather stand there and sing with no movement at all if I felt like my physical actions are not real, like I’m not communicating. So making the character “my own,” is, for me, a big part of my process.

OM: Are there personality factors at work in your planning, like “this character simply does not suit me” versus “I know this character well. I feel close to this character”?

IL: Well, there are definitely characters whom I identify with more closely than others at first glance. When I am looking at a future role, I first get to know the story and how the character fits into the story. It becomes apparent pretty quickly by their situations, their ‘stations’ in their worlds, and their choices if they are a character who falls within the spectrum of roles that would work for me. Past that, the trick for me is to find some thread of connection between the character and some facet of who I am. It’s not always easy. Sometimes it takes a while to find that common thread. But once I find it, it helps me not only to understand the character but to portray her (or him) accurately in a genuine way.

OM: As your career continues to take off, I’m sure you’re getting offers to sing all over the place. And so far the roles I’ve seen you perform at the Met have been reasonably straightforward in terms of dramatic demands. Maybe Sir Richard Eyre asked you to stretch a bit for Cherubino in the new Figaro, but Dorabella, Miranda (Thomas Adès’s The Tempest) and, earlier this week, Rosina were well within the bounds of propriety. Today, however, singers are often asked to do some pretty crazy things in some pretty crazy productions. Do you have a set of first questions you ask a director/producer about the production he or she is considering you for? Or, put another way, at what point do you draw the line in the sand, as if to say “No way am I doing ______.”

IL: Good Question!! Also, hard to answer. It’s not easy to write down a hard and fast rule for how I should accept a production or not. For now I look at everything case by case. But, like I mentioned before, I want it to be real. I am happy to stretch the boundaries of all characters and to explore different mentalities and how to find those permutations in myself. This can be really interesting: Blanche in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites is a good example. But I’m certainly not interested in ‘grotesque’ for the sake of shock value or indecency in the place of good theater. I’ve been lucky so far. I haven’t been a part of a production where my character was being used in a way that I felt was detrimental to the piece or to the integrity of the character. If, however, I am in that situation in the future, I promise to let you know how I handle it!

OM: By all means keep in touch Isabel. Let’s talk about the more distant future: are there, in your mirror-mirror-on-the-wall, images of the next phases of your career? Like, what are the to-die-for-roles you see yourself gravitating towards, the roles you feel would be deeply rewarding to do, roles you’d like to be known for years later?  

IL: This is honestly a difficult question. I feel there are so many things I would love to do in my life that are related to my career at this present moment. The best answer I can give is this: No matter what I do, and what direction I choose to go in, I want to bring my integrity and dedication to music with me. It is and has always been my first priority to remind not only myself but others that good singing, soulful singing, is what hits us in our hearts, what moves us. That is what counts to me. So, no matter what the medium, whether opera, musical theater, movies, TV, commercials, what have you, I would love to bring my music with me.   

OM: You’ve obviously had good guidance along the way. Are there any special people, singers, conductors, directors, staff who have been particularly helpful in guiding your steps along the path?

IL: Ahh, sooo many people to mention! It’s like thanking the important people in your life when you win an Oscar! But the main person who helped me develop and taught me to sing is, of course, my teacher Edith Bers. She has been not only my voice teacher, but a mentor in life and a true protector of my emotional well-being. Does that sound corny? Well, I don’t care, it’s true. She has taught me so much! I had the incredible fortune to work with Matthew Epstein and Marilyn Horne one summer at Music Academy of the West and Matthew went on to be my manager. With his careful planning and his vast knowledge of music and the business, he paved out the first decade of my career. I have learned a lot from him. There are many coaches with whom I have worked now for years, like Brian Zeger, Denise Masse, Pierre Vallet, and Warren Jones…My fabulous friend and pianist Vlad Iftinca, he and I have worked together since our Masters at Juilliard.  SO many wonderful people.  

OM: Would you share please some of the good advice you’ve received along the way, so that a younger singer reading this will benefit?

IL: Sure. Some of the helpful advice I have received is “be the chairman of your own board” and “remember what it is that you are actually saying on stage” and “it’s just an opera.”

OM: I’ll bet most people don’t exactly dream of a career in opera in pre-school, yet here you are. What were the early abilities, talents, desires, whatever you had that suggested the career path on which you are currently traveling? You obviously explored and thought through a number of things to get where you are today.

IL: I have to say I knew from a young age that I wanted to be in the theater.  I did not know how exactly, but I knew I enjoyed the process and the result.  I was however, painfully shy, and I still am deep inside. It is something I had to work through a lot. I had to learn how to feel comfortable letting myself go, so to speak, trust my instincts, trust my gut…But I had many opportunities to test these things out: I danced ballet as a child, performed in the Joffery’s Nutcracker for two seasons, I sang in choirs, sang with a jazz band, did musical theater. I also painted and did visual arts. So, for me it was all in there somehow. These experiences are still a part of me: I hope, by the end of my life, I will have revisited all of those amazing mediums and more.  

OM: As to that, you have a children’s album that was new in 2014, oui?

IL: Yes! It is called Gertrude McFuzz, one of the fantastic Dr. Seuss stories, set to music by composer Rob Kapilow. Rob really did an incredible job: he created a wonderfully bubbly score. The story is both funny and tender and it has a great moral at the end that every child, I think, should hear. Not only that, it is paired with another great story: The Polar Express, also set to music by Kapilow and performed by Nathan Gunn. GREAT for the holidays; available on Amazon too.

OM: Can’t wait to hear this! Thank you, Isabel for your time and thoughts. Best wishes, happy holidays to you and family. Your audience will love your Rosina. And we can't wait for your Charlotte...wow!

IL: Thank you.

The above was transcribed from an interview by email, the medium best suited for Ms. Leonard’s hectic rehearsal schedule leading up to the November 18, 2014, opening of the production. In fact, email has been the most frequently used medium for OM interviews. The interview was removed from OperaMetro when the site was overhauled from Pages to Blogs. 

Please find OperaMetro’s review of the opening performance of that run of Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 2014 on the page Met Fourteen Fifteen; the review of Massenet's Werther to come in February 2017 on the page Met Sixteen Seventeen.

Don't miss Werther with Grigolo and Leonard. It'll be a wonderful night! Enjoy!

JRS