What did you learn as a resident artist at Opera San José and a graduate of Merola?
I did all that training, all the young artist programs. But what has really taught me the most has been just being onstage. Just singing role after role after role, learning trick after trick after trick. Things that work, things that don’t work. How to walk onstage. All that stuff you don’t learn until you’re actually doing the business.
What is one of the latest tricks you’ve picked up?
Well, I had to play an old, feeble, blind man in Turandot [Festival Opera’s most recent production]. I’ve played old men before, so I have a little limp I do that I discovered years ago doing Don Pasquale, but the blind thing was new. But it’s a matter of finding what works for you. I remember years ago being double cast and seeing the other singer do things and trying them out and finding that they really didn’t work on my body, so it’s personal.
Is there something that helps you particularly with your malevolent characters?
I do play all the devils. I must say, playing the devils comes very easily to me. I was much more concerned about acting the old man. With Mephistopheles, everything is in the score. He’s playful and he’s violent and he’s sinister. There’s also the fact that I was raised in the evangelical church and I was constantly taught the framework of good and evil, and at this point in my life I really relish going to that dark side and finding the real “gross-out” factor, the things that will really make someone’s spine shiver.
It sounds like you’re a long way from being inhibited or averse to playing the devil.
Well, part of that is leaving the church and part of that is learning to act. At this point in life, I have no inhibitions.
What was a breakthrough moment for you in learning to delve deeply into the character work of being an opera singer?
That’s a good question that I’m not sure how to answer. I can look back to the first operas I did and see that I didn’t really know what was going on. And then there was a time when I knew what was going on every single moment. But I can’t think of a moment when it all became clear. It was certainly within the first couple of years.
I came from the singing side. I fell in love with music. My first instrument was guitar, and then I fell in love with singing and with classical music. I fell in love with oratorio. I learned, by the end of my undergraduate time, that if you wanted to make a living at it, you had to do opera. So acting was something that I’ve had to learn. I still do it because I love to sing, and the acting is just what I’ve had to learn how to do. I never longed for the spotlight. It was just the singing. But now, you’ll see me leaping across the stage and smiling sardonically and, hopefully, every moment is fully formed. At least that’s the goal. And that’s for the sake of communication. It has to mean something.
Was there a moment, after having loved music, that there was a dramatic discovery of your real, operatic vocal instrument?
In college it happened very quickly. I was taught in my first semester at college to lower my larynx and as soon as that happened, I felt I could fully express my soul. I don’t think there was any question after that about what direction to go in.
Do you have a favorite role or kind of repertoire?
Concert work and oratorio really gives me the most satisfaction, but this role, Mephistopheles, is probably my favorite operatic role. This is my third time around on it. This is my 63rd production as an operatic soloist, so I’ve sung a lot of them to measure that with. Most of the roles I sing are less satisfying musically than Mephistopheles.
Why do you think that is?
I sing a number of lengthy roles. I sing Leporello, I sing Don Giovanni, I sing Figaro. But the music in this particular lengthy role is more interesting to me. A lot of the things I sing in the bass repertoire are also a lot shorter. Last summer I sang Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream and that was a very satisfying full role. But I still love Mephistopheles the best.
Do you have a clear vision for your future roles?
Most of the roles that I hope to be known, someday, for having sung, I have yet to sing — because they’re the Verdi roles, the Wagner roles. As a 36-year-old bass, I’m only starting to be taken seriously. So those things are yet another 10 years down the line. I sing those things. I take them to coachings. I’m working on Phillip [in Don Carlos] and Boris [Boris Godunov]. I’m starting on the Wotans. I have a clear path; I know that’s out there. I’m learning them so that when people look at my face and say, “You’re old enough to sing that,” I’ll be able to say, “I know it; I’ve known it for years.”
What do you do when you’re not singing?
Read.
What are you reading right now?
The poetry of John Donne, short stories by O. Henry, and a book called The Closing of the American Mind.
What do you do to make sure you’re ready on performance day?
Get enough sleep. Eat plenty of protein. Avoiding all the vices. I’m someone who sings constantly, around the house. Also, my speaking voice is like my singing voice, so I’m warming up as I speak.
Where are you based?
I don’t have a home. I sing so much that I’m almost always singing for an opera company, and on the rare occasions that I’m not, I’m either in New York in a sublet I’ve picked up because I have to be there for auditions, or I stay with a friend in San Jose.
Do you like to travel?
I love traveling. I love meeting new people and seeing new places. I don’t necessarily love being alone all the time, but the opportunity to do what I love is worth it.