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Bloomberg, Mar 5, 2013 |
By Zinta Lundborg |
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Jonas Kaufmann’s Tough Roles Fueled by Water, Gummi Bears
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Jonas Kaufmann is at the top of his game. |
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The world’s greatest Wagnerian tenor, he goes onstage tonight in the
title role in Francois Girard’s new production of “Parsifal” at the
Metropolitan Opera.
Kaufmann, 43, has no trouble with the
grueling 5-plus hour stint as the holy fool who resists temptation,
defeats the evil sorcerer and saves the Knights of the Holy Grail.
The hard part for him is standing still. Sporting a crisp blue shirt,
his signature curls mussed, Kaufmann radiates quicksilver energy. We
spoke in an aerie at the Metropolitan Opera.
Lundborg:
How do you prepare for a long night like “Parsifal?”
Kaufmann: I had some problems with low blood pressure years ago
-- dizziness on stage -- so I drink a lot of salted water, which helps
keep the mineral level up. I also like Scottish shortbread.
Lundborg: So, a bread and water regimen?
Kaufmann: Plus Gummi Bears. I love Gummi Bears.
Lundborg: What’s the toughest thing about a role like
this?
Kaufmann: Of course, you need to have the
right technique, you need to know how to sing these phrases, you need to
memorize it. You also need to keep concentrated for all these hours
-- I’d say this is more challenging than singing it all through. If you
add it up, my singing lasts about 30 minutes: The waiting time in
between the phrases is what makes it so difficult.
Alert
Goalie I compare it to being a goalie who is waiting for 85
out of 90 minutes and there’s not one shot to the goal -- it’s so
difficult to keep 100 percent on power level without having anything to
do.
Lundborg: In the second act of this
production, there’s a big red cave, the floor running in blood, entered
through a slit. Where are you?
Kaufmann: The
projections at the end of the first act are skin -- it looks like a
desert but it’s skin. And then in Act 2, the stage opens and it’s
actually the wound. You could call the Flower Maidens the bacteria
infecting the wound, and I’m the right antibiotic to kick them out and
heal Amfortas.
Lundborg: You’ve been singing for
two decades -- what’s the most fun for you now?
Quick
Learner Kaufmann: I’m a quick learner,
thank God, so I’m not spending so much time in the studio to learn the
music or the words or in the rehearsal room for the staging. What I
really like is the performance because you’re actually free to really
act and slip into the character -- be that person and live the life of
that person. It’s never exactly the same. I treat the words that I’m
singing as fresh and new and out of that moment. And you can influence
your colleagues and they can influence you -- it’s like a game.
Lundborg: What’s happening with Tristan?
Kaufmann: Tristan will sit in his box for quite a
while. It’s not that I’m frightened of that part. I know that the third
act is extremely demanding. I believe I could sing it now because my
voice is very solid, sustainable. I can sing for a long, long time
without getting tired or stressed. Tristan is also very low, and
tenors often tend to force their voice in the middle register to be
heard enough. That is also not necessary because I have a very long
voice -- I can sing almost the bass register till Sarastro.
Pandora’s Box
Lundborg: So, why
not do it?
Kaufmann: When you open this
Pandora’s box of Tristan, you’ll never get back to normal parts. All the
houses will force you to do it, and that’s what will kill you.
Lundborg: How do you pick and choose what you do?
Kaufmann: I want to know who the director is, the
conductor, the other singers. I actually make suggestions myself, whom I
want to direct, conduct, sing with -- it makes life much easier and
increases the fun factor onstage. Many general managers have realized
that when they give me the possibility to be part of the process, it’s
actually also my baby that we’ve created. It’s my heart’s blood, my
ideas which are in that as well, so it’s a guarantee for them to keep me
attracted to the project.
Lundborg: Are you
going to go on as long as Placido Domingo?
Kaufmann:
No, I think there’s life after opera.
Lundborg:
What will you do -- run an opera house? Direct?
Kaufmann:
I don’t want to say, “Never, ever.” Many times my colleagues say I
should be a director because I have so many thoughts about these things.
But as long as I’m having fun onstage, I’ll keep doing it.
Lundborg: On your new Wagner CD, did you pick your
favorite bits?
Kaufmann: Yes, especially the
Wesendonck lieder. Wagner has written them for a female voice, but I
love those songs so much. He set his girlfriend’s poetry, but she was
talking out of his heart and soul. Why not give Wagner a male voice
to express his feelings?
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