So German!

You appeared on stage in Germany, in Wiesbaden, last spring in the play Arabella from Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss.
Was that your first visit to Germany?
No, I have been to Germany quite a bit. I actually lived in Germany for a few years.
I was in Berlin for one year where I was a permanent employee at the Deutsche Oper for one season and I also sang at the Bayreuth Festival, probably the most popular opera place people in Germany would know, [as well as in] Leipzig, Hamburg and Dresden.

Did you like it? Did you learn something about German culture?
I do very much. I often travel with my family, my wife and my three children, and they really like it there too. We also spent a few summers in Bayreuth. I earned a lot of things in Germany. Generally, I find that the country is very family-friendly. For example at a restaurant, you can easily bring your children. You can have your family anywhere. My daughter is now four years old and she loves to be in Germany because we let her go play by herself with some friends. In the United States often children are not allowed to be by themselves. That is a nice thing about being in Germany.

Are there any similarities with Canada?
I have not spent too much time in Canada but definitely in terms of politics, Germany and Canada are a little bit more progressive than where I am from in the United States. Also, both countries offer more of social safety net, and I think the arts are really important as they represent a big part of culture.

Is that a challenge for you? Did you have any difficulties in the beginning?
Not too much. My first long-term job in Germany was in Leipzig and my German was not very good yet, it is still not really good, but I really could not talk and have conversations at all. Leipzig was interesting. I had to learn quickly because not many people speak English there. Then, when I moved to Berlin it seemed like everybody speaks English. It is almost hard to find someone that will practice German with you.
So language was a little bit difficult in the beginning, but I found it to be a nice place because it is not too different compared to other countries. I spent a lot of time in places around the world, and Germany is pretty easy to navigate. There are a couple of things like grocery stores, food and transportation that are a little different but I enjoyed it.

You will return to Bayreuth Festival in summer 2019 to reprise your performances of Amfortas in Parsifal, also a play from Wagner. Are you looking forward to that?
Yes, very much. I love being in Bayreuth. I love that the audience is very knowledgeable. They know the operas very well. They have a wonderful opera house, and I love to sing there. The equipment is amazing, and the orchestra is wonderful. And I really like being there for the summer. Bayreuth is like a “fränkisch Dorf” [Franconian village], a little place that becomes popular once a year.

 Which German composer is your favorite?
Definitely Wagner. I sang a lot of Richard Strauss and a few other things here and there but I think Wagner wrote some of the best music anyone has ever written, and it fits my voice so I really enjoy singing it.

You have an upcoming performance here in Montreal, in Das Rheingold. Well, we can surely agree that Das Rheingold inspired the story of the world-famous books and later movies The Lord of the Rings. Have you read the books or watched the movies?
Yes, I have. When I was a young boy I read all of the books and later I also have seen the movies. I think it is interesting, I recently read an interview in which it says J. R. R. Tolkien didn’t steal the story from Wagner, but I am sure he knew about it. There are many similarities.

What is your opinion on the story? Is there a major difference between the plot of Wagner and the book?
Of course they have some similar characters but the actual plot is quite different. The book centers on one characters trying to get this ring back whereas Wagners opera shifts from character to character. It is not always about one character, you might say that Das Rheingold is about Alberich and Wotan mainly. Die Walküre is more about Brunhilde and Siegfried about Siegfried. Both the opera and the book follow different paths but both of them are very huge pieces and very epic.

Would you recommend the opera to fans of the book?
I definitely would. I mean it is not the same plot, but you will see some of the same characters.
Another movie that comes up more and more now is Thor, based on the Marvel Comics character. Thor’s world has almost all of the same characters. Thor is Donner, Odin is Wotan and Loki is Logan. Lots of people are using the same mythology that Wagner did.

What do you think about the concept of sparking peoples’ interest in older literature by writing or producing new modern versions of their stories? Do you think that can help, especially younger generations, familiarize themselves with literature and art of the past?
Yes I think so. The opera was very popular when Wagners Rheingold was written. Nowadays, we make it seem too serious and difficult. That is why people do not want to come and see it, but it can still be entertaining. You don’t have to get a PhD to be able to enjoy Wagner.
I do like new productions that show a relevance of the story or also movies that change the story and make it popular, but I think there is something really unique about the opera and that is the live singing.

Richard Wagner once said “music is the template, theatre is the engine”. In 1876, the tetralogy inaugurated his first festival in Bayreuth with the orchestra under the stage. Do you prefer having the orchestra playing under the stage or on stage?
Well, in most cases the orchestra in the United States will play in pits – below the stage but not covered like in Bayreuth. I think that what I do love about Bayreuth is that when you are in the audience you cannot see the orchestra. You can only hear them, so it kind of makes you more in the story and it also changes the sound a little bit. Bayreuth is one of the best places to hear Wagner operas, and I think music is obviously the most important part of these pieces, but Wagner really wanted them to be theatre pieces and not just concerts. It was really important to him that the audience was engaged in the play.

We would like to thank Mr. Ryan McKinny for this interview.