Interview
1. The 2015 - 2016 season saw you debut at your home country’s National Opera House in Lisbon, in Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmelites. How was this received and how did it feel for you?
It was a very special moment for me. The Opera House is a beautiful late XVIIIth century theatre and it’s an absolutely incredible space. There’s so much tradition on that stage that knowing I was singing a role on stage that has seen the likes of Callas, Corelli, Caballé, Cappuccilli was a very inspiring experience for me. The rehearsal process was one of the most pleasant I’ve every experienced, with everyone absolutely on top of their game from day 1 and that meant that by the time we got to the performances, the show was grounded and mature. It was extremely well received, we sold out every single night and people were queueing in the Theatre Square for returns. It was a truly special moment in my life and career.
2. Is your family musical?
I’m the only musician in my family. My mother used to sing in choirs and I think that might have been where my musicality came from, but I can’t say that I have a musical family at all.
3. Who was your first music teacher?
My first music teacher was called Conceição who taught me the piano at a local music school where I first started studying music at age 9.
4. You had a London premieres of Saverio Mercadante’s Don Chisciotte at Leighton House Museum. How was this received in this intimate venue?
It was a riot of fun! ‘Opera Prelude’ put together a company of singers and we semi-staged most of the opera. For me it was a thrill to perform some of Mercadante’s music, since he is one of my favourite composers. I have huge passion for obscure Bel Canto repertoire and for me it was a real honour to be involved in the London premiere of such a work. The audience loved it! It’s a fun piece with all the things you would expect from a comic BelCanto opera (lovers singing incredibly florid music, comic roles alternating between fiendish coloratura and patter), but as with all things Mercadante, it’s got these really crazy harmonic twists which you just don’t expect.
5. You regularly give Lecture-Recitals at London’s Cadogan Hall, having recently completed a cycle of lectures where you researched and explored the impact of Censorship and Political Propaganda in Operatic Performance and Composition from the Baroque period through to the Second World War. What sparked your interest in the interplay between operatic performance and political restrictions? Do you think sometimes this attempt by state can lead to compositions of extra fire?
I’ve always been a very curious singer. Whenever I’m learning a piece, I don’t just learn the music and the words. I go a bit beyond and read about the composer, what the composer was doing at that point in his life and the society he was a part of. This lead to a gathering of knowledge all over the years about the troubled circumstances under which some works were premiered. Based on that, and because I get to choose the subjects of my lectures, I decided to do a first lecture about opera and censorship from the Baroque to the Romantic period. That was very well received by the audience and at the Q&A afterwards, a member suggested something that I had already thought of: continuing beyond the Romantic Period and digging deep into the Nazi, Mussolini and Stalin Regimes and also the case of Portugal that lived for 43 years under one of the most oppressive fascist regimes of the XXth century. I discovered some tremendous music which was censored by these regimes and it was also very upsetting to read further into music performance at Concentration Camps and the sort of misery that Shostakovich was inflicted upon him when he fell out of grace.
I think this lecture was of particular importance because sometimes people need to be reminded of Humanity’s past, which is true now more than ever. The world seems to be falling again into the sort of segregationist mentality of ‘us vs. them’ that triggered the bloodiest conflict that Europe has a memory of.
In any case, it’s always inspiring to read about the resilience of artists who rebel against the status quo and against the regime, and end up producing some of their most monumental works of Art. I remember choking up seeing Viktor Ulmann’s ‘Der Keiser Von Atlantis’ which he composed while he was at the Theresienstadt Camp. Being aware of this person’s circumstances when composing this opera and reading those words written by a librettist who was also a prisoner, is something that inevitably gets to you and, for my part, it made want to remind and educate people as much as I can, so that we don’t find ourselves in those circumstances ever again.
6. You started your musical studies with the Brazilian soprano Juracyara Baptista. How did this master guide and inspire you on this path?
Professor Juracyara was an incredibly important figure in my early development. Not only is she one of the finest Dramatic Coloratura Sopranos I have EVER heard in my life (and I’ve heard a few), but she had the patience to educate me on all the different styles (Opera, Art Song, Oratorio) and also the generosity to share everything she knew with me. She taught me German phonetics and gave me such a good broad knowledge of things that when I continued my studies at an Undergraduate level, I was very well prepared from a stylistic point of view.
7. You then continued studying at the University of Aveiro with the Portuguese bass-baritone António Salgado. How did this mentor help realise your potential and your abiding memories of this institution?
I’ve got very fond memories of the University both at a personal and professional level. António is still up to this date the most important singing teacher I ever had. He built my voice technically from scratch, note by note and vowel by vowel, and is also up to this date, one of the most remarkable vocal technicians I ever worked with. All of the people I studied with afterwards built on the strong core he helped me create and he’s not only the reason I know how to make my voice work, but also the reason why I love teaching so much.
8. You currently study with Laura Sarti and Dennis O’Neill. How is this progressing?
Laura was the natural progression from António and I met her precisely because he used to organise masterclasses with her back in Portugal. She’s a wonderful and inspiring human being and was crucial in helping me make the most of my voice, by helping release it and fine tuning it to the repertoire that I always felt more inclined for (Italian and French). She’s an incredibly demanding lady who taught me the principles of good and healthy BelCanto singing.
I find that working with both her and Dennis helps me a lot, because they provide me with information that compliments each other and he has been a guiding beacon as my voice transitions into heavier repertoire, ensuring that I don’t go down the easy path of pushing my way through Verdi.
9. How often do your practice?
It depends on how busy I am performance wise. If I’m in the middle of a tour, performing 3 times a week, I only really sing when I have to, because I need to rest. But aim to practice at least 5 times a week and allow 2 days off now and then.
10. Would you consider teaching music in the future?
Absolutely. Teaching is another big passion of mine. I’ve got a very analytical mind and I love solving puzzles and that’s basically what teaching singing is: you look at someone’s very broad canvas and slowly put each piece together. I think that the fact that I never had an easy voice and had to build it from zero, note by note, vowel by vowel, made me develop a very accurate ear for problems. Also, because to a certain extent I’ve faced those problems and had to learn how to fix them, I’m able to help people with objective and scientific information to fix those issues.
11. Who would your dream duet or accompanist be, from the present or past?
I would have LOVED to sing with Alfredo Kraus. He’s one of my favourite tenors of all time and it would be amazing to have been alive at the same time as him.
12. How do you balance your time commitments in terms of study, research, performance? What are the biggest sacrifices?
I think I’ve been more neurotic about my singing than I am now. Fortunately, I find myself in a position today where although I know the work that I still need to do, I also finally learned to trust the work that I’ve done before. In terms of balancing everything... what can I say? I just try to keep a very organised diary so that I know where I have to be and what I have to prepare. I like to think that I approach singing with the objectiveness used to run a business. Study and work to be competent and meet the deadlines. I don’t think it’s mentally healthy to ‘sacrifice everything’ for your singing. I’m very passionate about it, but you also need life experience and to go through life’s emotions in order to convey them, so I think that the main sacrifices one would do for singing aren’t that different from the things you need to do to be in good health.
13. What advice would you give music students, particularly vocal, at the beginning of their journey?
Study. Study. Study. Learn your music, learn your words, learn about the composer and his/her life. Arrive prepared at the first rehearsal completely off-copy because you don’t want to be that singer where a Rossini recitative rehearsal keeps stopping while you go and look at the score. Being professional and prepared is one of the greatest gifts you can give your colleagues because that will allow everyone’s work to evolve quickly and you’ll end up with a better show. On the subject of colleagues, be nice to people (cast & crew) and easy to work with.
The market is increasingly competitive and it’s no longer enough to sing the right notes and the right words. You have to find that something that’s going to set you apart and the odds are you’ll spend most of your life trying to find it and failing miserably at it (yes, I’m looking at myself in the mirror at this point). Be prepared to work at every single type of job because you WILL need that extra cash. It will be a bumpy ride and there will be times when you want to give up, but if you find it within you to pull through those, there will come that moment on stage where it’s all worth it and it will feel awesome. And most importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself and give yourself the space to let go and give up if that’s what you need to be happy. No one can be unhappy at their job and singing isn’t an exception, so give yourself the space to go and be happy doing something else. At the end of the day, you’ll still be a singer at heart and will to an extent or another pass on this incredible Legacy we’re all part of.
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