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Troyanos Talks: A World-Class Prima Donna Discusses Opera Today Article #:12579 Section:THE ARTS - MUSIC Author: Gregory Speck Gregory Speck is a freelance arts writer based in New York City. Through the medium of television, the once esoteric and rarified world of grand opera has been lifted out of the exclusive realm of moneyed society and brought into the living rooms of middle America. With this new awareness of the most complete of art forms, a recognition of its leading performers has sprung up among audiences who twenty years ago might not have heard of Enrico Caruso, Maria Callas, or even Birgit Nilsson. The contemporary prima donna has thus, through the telecast, achieved a kind of overnight celebrity formerly limited to the cognoscenti of the great cities and aficionados of classical music recordings. The ranks of the world-class prima donna are composed of perhaps fewer than a dozen divas, each of whom has acquired a devoted following, but only two or three of whom have attained the status of cult figures. Celebrated for her striking performances as Carmen as well as for her convincing portrayals of the "pants roles," Tatiana Troyanos has established herself not only as one of the most sought-after mezzo-sopranos in the world, but also as one of the very few American-born singers to have achieved international standing both for her singing and her dramatic ability. Her performances are consistently sold out; her schedule is planned four or five years in advance; and her star continues to rise. In 1987 alone, she has appeared in three different productions at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Troyanos has a reputation of being a high-keyed presence on stage as well as an exceedingly private person offstage. She is noted for her courage in tackling the most demanding roles in the repertoire of opera today. I met recently with Ms. Troyanos in her spacious Manhattan apartment for a long talk about her career and her recommendations for young people seeking to go into opera today. Gregory Speck: Much has already been written about your early life, but I would imagine that there must still be areas of your life in which the public would be interested. Tatiana Troyanos: What I find so incredible are some of the people I met while I was still just a child. Margaret and Bill See, for example. This last summer I spent a good deal of time together with them. They recalled to me something that happened while I was studying with them. They asked all the students what we wanted to be when we grew up. They tell me I looked up and said, at the ripe age of eight, "I want to be an opera singer." They were stunned, of course. Speck: I understand that your teacher, Hans Heinz, and your neighbor Lillie Levine more or less adopted you. Troyanos: Hans was the major influence in my life. His belief in me was total. Our work together built the foundation that was so essential to my career. I met Lillie Levine through a mutual friend in New York fourteen years ago. She has a beautiful apartment on Riverside Drive, with a piano, and I used to go there to practice. Now she is eighty-eight, and is an extraordinary person. Speck: Along the way I believe you worked at a number of different jobs before coming to your present career. Troyanos: That's right. When I was in high school I knew I had to learn something as a means of supporting myself. So I took courses in typing and stenography. I was hired by a publicity director at Random House as a secretary. I told her I wanted to be an opera singer one day. The woman just looked at me, believed me, and took a great liking to me. She didn't need to give me that job, but she did, and I've always been very grateful. Speck: When you left Random House, did you go straight to Juilliard? Troyanos: Yes, but first I went to the preparatory school, and stayed there for three years. I finally left because I felt I wasn't sounding the way I thought I should. I wanted to work with Hans Heinz, but unfortunately he didn't have the time then. Later on, I went to him when he could take me. Speck: This was the time when you used to go to the stage door at the Met and wait to see stars like Tebaldi and Corelli when they came out? Troyanos: That must have been in the fifties or the early sixties. In the late fifties I was in the chorus of The Sound of Music on Broadway starring Mary Martin. There were about eighteen of us in the chorus. Many had had Fulbright scholarships in Europe - Richard Rodgers had wanted to have classically trained singers. It was an amazing experience being with those girls; every night was like a lesson for me....I realized I didn't want to stay in the chorus. I discovered I wasn't comfortable singing with twenty other girls. Speck: Was that your only experience on Broadway? Troyanos: Before that I had performed in musicals at Jones Beach, in summer stock. But after The Sound of Music I returned to Juilliard. And in 1963 I made my debut at the City Opera, after a number of auditions. I was hired because my old friend Felix Popper had jotted my name down in his book. When the City Opera was looking for someone to sing Hippolita in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Popper suggested calling me. I had prepared arias I knew Julius Rudel would like to hear; one was the Jocasta aria from Oedipus Rex. He asked me to come to a rehearsal one morning. The woman who was to sing that same aria was not well prepared, so he pointed to me. I got up on the stage and the role was mine. Actually, that incident contributed to why I eventually left the City Opera - because I didn't think people should be treated in such an arbitrary way. I wanted the kind of setting where I could grow and even fall on my face on occasion. I wasn't ready yet to be a star performer and I knew it. Speck: Did you audition for the Met after your City Opera debut? Troyanos: I auditioned for the Met's National touring company, thanks to Rise Stevens. I sang for her in a room at the old Met. She was so taken with me that she said, "Yes, I want you to sing for me, but you've got to sing for Mr. Bing as well. I'm going to arrange for an audition." Well, I did sing for Mr. Bing, and some weeks later I received an offer from the Metropolitan Opera. But it only was to sing very small roles and do a lot of stand-ins, which was not what I wanted. So, I turned the Met's offer down and went off to Europe. Speck: This was the time you were offered the title role in Carmen by the City Opera, only to have the offer withdrawn, wasn't it? Troyanos: Something like that. I've done Carmens so many times by now it doesn't matter. I think I've sung that role in three different languages. Anyway, I took off for Europe. My debut was at the Hamburg Staatsoper as Preziosilla in Verdi's La Forza del Destino. I followed that with just about every mezzo role around. That first year I also sang Carmen in a Wieland Wagner production in German. Once, later on, I found myself singing one of the arias in French while everyone else was singing in German [she lets out a swooping laugh]. I love Hamburg; I went back there last spring to sing Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito and the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos. Rolf Lieberman is an old friend - he had invited me to come back. Speck: You've performed a number of so-called "pants" roles over the years. Troyanos: One of my favorites was Romeo in Bellini's I Capuleti e I Montecchi opposite Beverly Sills for the Opera Company of Boston. I recently performed it again in Chicago. Speck: What problems do you find in playing the role of a man? Troyanos: It does require some effort, as it is a real acting challenge. I enjoy that kind of experience more now than I ever did before. There parts have always suited me. You know, colleagues have said to me, "Now, Tatiana, another pants role? For heaven's sake, there're so many other roles for you to sing." But I love the role of Octavian [in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier] because it's really a part of my personality. In March 1986 I celebrated my tenth year at the Met in my debut role, Octavian. Speck: Did you experience the same kind of excitement when you sang Romeo? Troyanos: Octavian is a far easier role for me than Romeo, because I'm more at ease singing in German that Italian. But there's a problem in singing Octavian, as my friends always remind me. It's a terribly long part, so by the time you get to the third act, you've got to show what you've got left. I mean vocally. Strauss wrote for Octavian. It's very easy to overexert yourself before reaching those climatic scenes. I'm not a great believer in saving myself, however. If you're singing in an ensemble, for example, and you're not feeling well, all right, you can save yourself a bit. But if you're in form, then I think you should go for it. Speck: There are two schools of thought on that subject, I believe: one personified perhaps by Robert Merrill, who has always held back, and had a very long career, and the other by divas like Renata Scotto and Hildegard Behrens, who may have shortened their careers by giving too much of themselves to their roles. Troyanos: I am fascinated by singers - how they go about performing, the choices they make. I can understand them. If I were to think about it, the first thing that comes to mind is how lucky I am to be a mezzo, meaning that I sing where I speak. That gives me more time. I expect to go on singing for quite a time. I think that there are still roles I am going to sing because I want to sing them. Because they'll be good for me. But not the one that Renata or Beverly sang. I couldn't suddenly move into the soprano range. You know, I can sing the notes of Norma, but that's not a real reason for my doing it. I would like to sing Fidelio, as it would suit my personality, although not my voice. It's a demanding part though, and at this point in my career I want to go on singing what's right for me. This means more concerts and lieder repertoire. As for Leonore [Fidelio], I would like to hear a dramatic soprano sing it. Speck: You consider yourself a lyric, not a dramatic mezzo-soprano? Troyanos: Yes, I prefer thinking of myself as a lyric mezzo, but I don't rule out the possibility of doing other kinds of repertoire. Speck: One of my favorite records is the Carmen you performed with Kiri Te Kanawa and Placido Domingo under the direction of George Solti, for London Records. Troyanos: That was about the most satisfying of my many Carmens. Janine Reiss did a brilliant job as my language coach on that record. I am always happy to listen to her advice. I think that's how I've changed over the years; these days I'm willing to try new things, take suggestions, be more flexible. Speck: Maybe this comes with the maturing of artistic sensibility. As you become more secure and gain recognition, as you acquire a sense of your own identity, suggestions no longer seem as challenging or as threatening. Troyanos: Exactly. You don't want to remain in a tight little box with the attitude that "this is the way I do it." You slowly get out of that mind-set, opening yourself to those you trust; they can get you to think differently about something. Speck: Along with Marilyn Horne and Montserrat Caballe, you are often credited with reviving interest in the Baroque and bel canto roles, which have provided so many superlative vehicles for Joan Sutherland. What do you think about the role of Giovanna, Lady Jane Seymour, in Donizetti's Anna Bolena? Troyanos: Well, I certainly wouldn't do it again. It's a very difficult role and not terribly gratifying. For that matter, I sang Orsini, another pants role, in Lucrezia Borgia and Sara in Roberto Devereux, both works by Donizetti, as you know. But I don't think I'll ever sing them again. In the future, I'd like to perform a Handel opera every year. Speck: I saw your performance in the title role in Ariodante in 1984 at Carnegie Hall, and thought you were dazzling. Troyanos: That is a beautiful opera and it is a good part for me. I sang it again in Geneva in February 1986. Handel is like honey for the voice. His music helps a singer retain flexibility and evenness of sound, yet demands a very solid technique. Thanks to the great revival of interest in Handel, we're performing it differently from the way it was done even ten years ago. Getting together with Raymond Leppard for Ariodante was wonderful. It was like a breath of fresh air for me. I'd love to do a fully staged Ariodante and a Giulio Cesare here because they suit the higher mezzo. I could never do the roles that Jackie [Marilyn Horne] performs, like Rinaldo and Orlando [Handel operas bearing as titles the names of Tasso's crusader heroes - Ed.] As a matter of fact, we don't overlap in many roles. You have to look hard for leading roles for the mezzo-soprano because there simply aren't that many. So you go out and find them, as Marilyn does, and as I am beginning to do now as well. Speck: I wonder if you would agree with me that Bizet, whose career was cut short because of the hostility of Paris music critics before he could create more than a few operas, was the true heir to Mozart - that he wrote some of the most refined, sublime music of his century? Troyanos: As a matter of fact, I'm including a number of little-known Bizet songs in my recitals for that very reason. Jennie Tourel has also performed a lot of his music, so I'm looking through her repertoire for material. It was a great tragedy that Bizet didn't live long enough to see Carmen and The Pearl Fishers become so popular and beloved. Speck: What about your performance as Prince Orlofsky [in Strauss' Die Fledermaus]? Troyanos: It is a wonderful acting role. I think that if I had not become a singer I would have been an actress. But to return to Richard Strauss, if I may - isn't he a wonderful composer? His music fits me like a glove, as it does a certain kind of singer, for there is great breadth to his music. If you have that kind of expansion in your voice, and a willingness to get into the text, then Strauss is right for you. I love the feeling of riding on the crest of the orchestra. Speck: This year you performed a number of roles at the Met, including that of Kundry in Parsifal. What do you think of roles in Wagnerian opera? Troyanos: You know, someone once asked me, "Why do you bother with the Wagner repertoire? Why are you wasting your time with that?" She wanted to know why I sang Brangaene, a part that once was a real friend to me at a time when I needed to get onto the stage, but not really in the limelight. Accepting the role of Kundry was always a difficult decision for me; ultimately I decided to go out for it. It's one of those borderline parts in the sense that it suits a dramatic soprano, or a mezzo-soprano with good high notes, as well as an interesting actress. Whenever I see Leonie Rysanek do it, I go backstage and she always says, "Now Tatiana, you must do this role!" What about the last ten pages of the second act? I admit they are difficult. This is not a role I do that often. Speck: Your special intensity has created a certain cult around you. A great performer, I believe, must make full use of himself, show everything, hold nothing back. This is what people see in you, I think. By comparison, some of the other great divas seem to hide behind their stage personas. You don't. Troyanos: [That intensity] has always been a part of me. It is necessary, essential for me. It isn't anything that I put on. It's something I must feel deeply, or I can't perform at all. But I still try not to let it get too out of control. I can remember doing The Composer years ago in Munich, and it was wild. What I strive for in a performance is the intensity; being cool within, but all fire on the outside. If you can combine this in a performance, then I think you're doing pretty well. There are time when the balance isn't what you want, and you just have to go with it. If you watch it and try to control it all the time it can get tiresome, instead of just letting it happen. You have to have some technique, however. You have to know what you're doing, when to concentrate on one thing, and then on something else. This can create a wonderful marriage of making music and getting into the character, and having the two in balance. I'm a great believer in doing many performances of the particular roles I sing, because I believe this gives me leeway to expand as a singer/actress. Every performance is different. There are times when you go to the theater and you feel great, but for some reason the performance doesn't go as well as you want it to. There are other times when you feel miserable and not in the mood and you perform beautifully. That's the truth; it's one of the inexplicable things about performing. There are so many variables. It's so hard to analyze something like that. You just have to go with it. There are times onstage when you want to do something extra-special, and you start to overdo it, so you say just watch it, relax, take it as it comes. All I can say is that I hope to have many more good years ahead in which to perform my craft. Speck: You say "craft," and not "art." Troyanos: I wonder why. It's something you work at for a long time, and then maybe it becomes an art. You never stop working at it. It isn't as though you get out of bed every morning and say, "Well, I've got this great talent here." I've never looked at it that way. My work never stops. Everybody understands this, or at least ought to. Especially the young ones. If you're not willing to do the work, even if you have the talent, it isn't going to amount to much. I mean, you don't want to achieve your prime in your twenties. Speck: Do you think of yourself as being in your prime now? Troyanos: I think so. In fact, I think I'm going to get better. It's like playing tennis. I was glad when Boris Becker, the nineteen-year-old German player, didn't win the U.S. Open in 1985. He's still so young. Tennis is like opera in this sense: if you hit your prime too soon, where will you go? You've got all that pressure to deal with for the rest of your life and career. Isn't it better to go slowly? Reach that climax somewhat later? Often it is impossible to top yourself. In fact, it's difficult to maintain yourself at the top. I remember my very first success is Aix-en-Provence in 1966. I was having breakfast with Paul Schoeffler - he was thrilled with my success. I said I couldn't deal with all the adulation, having been discovered myself at twenty-six. That's pretty young to have a huge success. There I was singing next to Regine Crespin. The reviews were incredible. I couldn't wait to get back to Hamburg to be a part of our company again. It has always been very important to me to be a member of a great opera house company. I love having roots and I love growth. It's also terribly important to me to have relationships with strong conductors and strong directors. That creates a climate where I really flourish. I have always been lucky. When I was very young, my father said to me, "You're going to be an opera singer." I very much resisted the idea. Even now it's hard for me to have people tell me that I'm a diva with a cult following. Today my father is very proud of me, as is my mother, but it is hard for her to accept my success. You know, your parents must either be an important part of your life at a time when you need them, or they really cannot be later on. This is what happened to me. My life takes me all over the world now. Music has always held me together. Naturally, I have a great commitment to it. Speck: The expense of producing opera today is getting dangerously out of control, to the degree that it very survival is threatened. How would you advise young people seeking a career in opera today? Troyanos: There's no set formula or pattern. First of all, it depends on how much you want that career, and how much you are willing to give up for it. If you want instant stardom, that's just too bad. That is not where it's at. If that's want you're after, you're already on the wrong track. What I did was to go to Europe, where I got involved with a great theater which had a great man as its director. I tried to get to the strong intendants in opera - people who are interested in guiding you and giving you the right parts. If they are not, then you must learn how to fight for the right parts, so you can grow and find your center, discover where you can function best. You must be willing to give a great deal to your art, especially yourself and your time. You must take advantage of situations as they present themselves. If you run away from opportunities and say you're not up to them, well, that's not so good. You won't always feel a hundred percent all the time. You have to get over yourself, to just go ahead and do it. From the very outset of your career you must make yourself do the best you can. You won't always have circumstances that are completely right. The show must go on, as they say. It all depends on your talent, what's presented to you, what's needed in a theater, how you can make a certain kind of luck happen for yourself because you want it so much, and your own flexibility. Just find a way that works for you. It's such an individual thing. I have someone up there who guides me and I've had some very good friends. The right people have always come along at the right time in my life. The Met auditions are an outstanding way for young American talent to be discovered and promoted. Rise Stevens and everyone around her do a fabulous job. Actually, I auditioned for that program, and at twenty, I didn't even make it to the finals. I was devastated, and thought, "Well, that's that." I had already decided if I didn't make some kind of contribution by the time I was thirty, then I would do something else. I was ready to face that - that my talent might not be adequate for the career I wanted. I am realistic in that regard. Fortunately, I beat the deadline by a few years.