The latest news on your website is that, as well as Facebook, you can now also be found on Twitter. Why do you consider it important to appear on community sites?
Don?t look for a philosophical explanation. It?s only that I like to try new things. Life is also about learning about the world and meeting new people. I find some of the Twitter users I follow much more interesting than myself. It?s only an experiment: I am up there, music is up there through me, and we?ll see what happens.
Are you this interested in new technology and the possibilities offered by new media?
I am a fan of technological innovations because they are interesting, even useful, in education, in increasing social conscience. If we talk about classical music or opera, it is almost unforgivable to pass them up when we could instead open up and win new audiences for the genre. To me, new technology and new media mean the power of possibilities and that is not primarily about technology but about getting quick and easy access to everything, to our past and present.
Now that you mention the past and traditions: how did the idea for Song of America come about?
We must know our roots in order to be able to define ourselves, to know who we are. Tradition to me means that I know where I come from, what happened where I come from and this can define my future. Mahler once said that tradition is the passing of fire and not the worship of ashes. All new technology can help in this. The audience in the concert hall can only hear a song but when someone visits the website for A Song of America in any part of the world, they can get access to a large amount of information about what made America what it is and how it happened.
What does the American baritone tradition mean to you?
Pride and responsibility, since I must follow in the path of some great predecessors and I must meet the standards they have set.
Your repertoire is expansive. Are you still looking for new roles?
In the next season, I will sing Francesco in Verdi?s opera I masnadieri in Zurich. (The performance will be conducted by Ádám Fischer and László Polgár will appear in the role of Massimiliano ? ed.) A year later, I will sing Jago in the same place and in September 2011, I will have a very important premiere in San Francisco. It will be the world premiere of an opera by Christopher Theofanidis about 9/11, focusing on heroism.
You have been in Budapest in the past but this will be the first time that you sing at the Hungarian State Opera. Are you keeping a count on how many operas you have performed in?
Not any more. The main difference between performing in a concert hall and an opera house is not technical but spiritual. That?s why I?m really looking forward to singing again in Budapest, but this time at the Opera House. This city is essential if we talk about musical traditions in Central Europe. I admire Hungarian musical culture and it is always a pleasure to work with Hungarian colleagues. I hope this time I?ll have the time to get to know Budapest better, to wander around, because I had very positive impressions about the city.
You have recently been elected a member of the US Academy of Sciences.
Yes, that was one of the most important moments in my life. You do not expect, hope for or even dream about such invitations. But once they happen, you are overcome with great joy. The next moment is pride, and after that you suddenly realise the weight of tradition. I would like to do everything in my power so that when I appear on stage, the intellectual power of the US can be heard and seen through me. It is a great opportunity to participate in an intellectual and real dialogue: it comes with responsibility but also a reward.
And what about teaching?
There is nothing more rewarding for an artist. Teaching can mean educating audiences during a performance but it can also mean the training of future generation of singers. In both cases it is about dialogue, about sharing experience. They can be done at very different levels but different points of view can result in new achievements. Singing techniques can be learnt, but teaching is not about declaring an absolute truth but about searching for the right way, both for the master and for the student. I enjoy working with young colleagues. There are some with whom I shared my experiences at master courses ten or fifteen years ago and by today we both have achieved international careers. The German work Bildung perfectly expresses the fact that this process is based on real-life experiences, it is about sharing thoughts and experiences, in order to enrich each other. There are many people who do not think the arts have any use. The world can be described with the help of fixed formulas, which are great but cannot be used to get to know ourselves and our roots.
Interviewer: Tímea Papp / Source: fidelio.hu
