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“THE VIEW FROM THE STAGE”: the Tenor speaks … |
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Page 6 of 7
And one more thing: My boss, Hr. Holender allowed me to build my repertoire according to Bergonzi's rules. I don't know if many houses would have let me sing all five acts of Verdi's French CARLOS in the same season as I was doing Nemorino! But no matter what the conservatories are telling their kids: To stay healthy, singers need to do both kinds of roles. And Hr. Holender, who was a singer himself, clearly gets it."
"Plus - just think. I‘ve sung with - and been able to learn from - the world's greatest singers - all accompanied by the Staatsoper Orchestra - with everyone from Muti to Kleiber in the pit! And sure, if on occasion I have had to cover singers I might not totally 'get,' more often I've covered - and, don't forget alternated performances with - great singers like Domingo, Shicoff, Pavarotti and the late-great Kraus - you talk about a singer with the long view!."
"True enough: singing for the Vienna public is no walk in the park. But it's a constant - and I mean constant- encouragement to keep improving my performance standards. In Vienna the fans of some singers (including singers who are friends of mine!) are not always keen on hearing anyone but their favorites. So, trust me: the pressure is on when I go on for a colleague. And that pressure motivates me to always do my best work."
"The other great thing about doing the same productions, often with the same colleagues, over and over through the years, is how much richer and deeper the cooperation becomes. For example I may have sung JÉRUSALEM with my great colleague Eliane Coelho at least 20 times - could have been more. We did the Italian original - LOMBARDI - as well together in Athens. Anyway, I always looked forward to the great duet we sing after my aria. It just kept getting better, more fun and more finely tuned. And of course, the fact that Eliane and I have sung so many other shows together - TOSCAs, BUTTERFLYs, BOHEMEs, MEFISTOFELEs, DON CARLOs, STIFFELIOs, MACBETHs, NABUCCOs- not only in Vienna -
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