Gender identity, American opera, and a world premiere with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo
06/12/21 • 42 min
Celebrated countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo will channel Dracula and Dionysus when he makes his Santa Fe Opera debut this season in the world premiere of The Lord of Cries.
Host (and uber fan-girl) Jane Trembley chats with Anthony about what it’s like having a lead role crafted especially for him by composer John Corigliano, with libretto by Mark Adamo. The pair also discuss why this heart-stopping production is the perfect opera with which to entice audiences back to the Crosby Theatre.
For those scratching their heads at the term countertenor, you know it when you hear it - and you’ve heard it. Think Prince, the BeeGees, and even Justin Timberlake “just done in a more full-throated way,” Anthony explains.
He traces the style’s origins back to the castrati popular in 16th-century opera. Those performers were widely revered as the rockstars of their time. The vocal range of countertenors is our modern equivalent, minus the castration, of course. Their high-voltage sound lends itself well to characters who occupy a more mysterious realm. “Contained within the countertenor’s voice are all of these questions of, really, identity as it relates to gender, as it relates to sexuality,” says Anthony, adding, “now we live in a time when everyone is thinking in a more open-minded way.”
The Lord of Cries takes full advantage of Anthony’s dynamic talents. John Corigliano, whom Anthony has known for 20 years, wrote his first opera, The Ghost of Versailles, in 1991. He hadn’t written a second opera, until now.
The piece poses complex questions about the human condition against an unsettling, ethereal backdrop. It’s a thrilling and terrifying space to play in as there’s no precedent, no previous productions from which Anthony might draw insight. “It's like having a suit that is tailor-made for your own body.”
As for making his debut on the legendary desert stage in the lead role of a new work, Anthony says, “Santa Fe has been at the forefront of bringing American opera to fruition, you know, new operas, new composers, and making it happen, and that's been so thrilling.”
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Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.
Mixed by: Edwin R. Ruiz
Hosted by: Jane Trembley
Anthony Roth Costanzo, American Countertenor
***
Learn more about the Santa Fe Opera and plan your visit at http://www.santafeopera.org.
We'd love for you to join us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok @santafeopera.
Celebrated countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo will channel Dracula and Dionysus when he makes his Santa Fe Opera debut this season in the world premiere of The Lord of Cries.
Host (and uber fan-girl) Jane Trembley chats with Anthony about what it’s like having a lead role crafted especially for him by composer John Corigliano, with libretto by Mark Adamo. The pair also discuss why this heart-stopping production is the perfect opera with which to entice audiences back to the Crosby Theatre.
For those scratching their heads at the term countertenor, you know it when you hear it - and you’ve heard it. Think Prince, the BeeGees, and even Justin Timberlake “just done in a more full-throated way,” Anthony explains.
He traces the style’s origins back to the castrati popular in 16th-century opera. Those performers were widely revered as the rockstars of their time. The vocal range of countertenors is our modern equivalent, minus the castration, of course. Their high-voltage sound lends itself well to characters who occupy a more mysterious realm. “Contained within the countertenor’s voice are all of these questions of, really, identity as it relates to gender, as it relates to sexuality,” says Anthony, adding, “now we live in a time when everyone is thinking in a more open-minded way.”
The Lord of Cries takes full advantage of Anthony’s dynamic talents. John Corigliano, whom Anthony has known for 20 years, wrote his first opera, The Ghost of Versailles, in 1991. He hadn’t written a second opera, until now.
The piece poses complex questions about the human condition against an unsettling, ethereal backdrop. It’s a thrilling and terrifying space to play in as there’s no precedent, no previous productions from which Anthony might draw insight. “It's like having a suit that is tailor-made for your own body.”
As for making his debut on the legendary desert stage in the lead role of a new work, Anthony says, “Santa Fe has been at the forefront of bringing American opera to fruition, you know, new operas, new composers, and making it happen, and that's been so thrilling.”
***
Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.
Mixed by: Edwin R. Ruiz
Hosted by: Jane Trembley
Anthony Roth Costanzo, American Countertenor
***
Learn more about the Santa Fe Opera and plan your visit at http://www.santafeopera.org.
We'd love for you to join us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok @santafeopera.
Previous Episode
Shattering glass and other opera singer stories with Colombian-American soprano Vanessa Vasquez
Even folks who’ve never seen a performance of The Marriage of Figaro will instantly recognize its famous overture from numerous films, commercials and cartoons.
Jane Trembley talks with Colombian-American soprano Vanessa Vasquez about her upcoming turn as Countess Almaviva in the Santa Fe Opera’s 2021 Season production of Mozart’s beloved romantic comedy. Vanessa also gives listeners a glimpse into an opera singer’s life during lockdown, including the silver linings that have kept her sane, as well as her preparations for returning to peak vocal form just in time for summer.
On its surface, The Marriage of Figaro is a comedic commentary on the social classes. Dig deeper, however, and audiences will find more than embarrassing situations set to catchy music. There’s a subtler supporting theme at play, one that coaxes Countess from listless, disparaging teenager to self-assured woman.
“I think the strongest, most resonant theme of the opera is reconciliation,” says Vanessa. The character’s personal growth has informed Vanessa’s professional development since she first began exploring the role at 19. “I learned most everything I know about long, beautifully sustained, and spinning legato lines from her,” she says fondly of Countess, adding, “she's still teaching me new things every time.”
As the staff assembles to welcome guests back to the Santa Fe Opera, Vanessa’s preparations are in full swing as well. Stamina, she says, is key to getting from rehearsals to opening night. Thanks to the new tennis hobby she took up during lockdown, she won’t have to worry about lagging energy!
Jane couldn’t let her guest go without asking what advice the gifted soprano might lend aspiring opera singers. Vanessa, who captured the Santa Fe Opera audience’s attention in 2019 with her swoon-worthy turn as Mimi in La Bohème, urges young performers to just go for it.
“Don't wait. I think personally I was sort of waiting for this moment of ‘I'm ready, I'm perfect, I feel polished.’ I was waiting for that feeling, and it never came.”
Hear Vanessa singing “Porgi, Amor”:
The Marriage of Figaro | Santa Fe Opera
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Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.
Mixed by: Edwin R. Ruiz
Hosted by: Jane Trembley
Featuring:
Vanessa Vasquez, Colombian-American soprano
***
Learn more about the Santa Fe Opera and plan your visit at http://www.santafeopera.org.
We'd love for you to join us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok @santafeopera.
Next Episode
Rising star Avery Amereau on contralto rep, advice for young singers, and Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”
Rising star Avery Amereau lends her lush contralto voice in the role of Olga in the Santa Fe Opera’s new production of Eugene Onegin, Alexander Pushkin’s story of rakes and romantic mistakes set to glorious music by Tchaikovsky.
While this marks the singer’s Santa Fe Opera debut, Avery is well acquainted with Olga and New Mexico’s great chile debate. Host Jane Trembley chats with her about the perks of possessing an authentic contralto voice, the singer’s less than traditional introduction to opera, and a favorite (shocking!) memory from her Metropolitan Opera debut.
Avery also shares wise words with novice singers about staying true to one’s voice and recommends thematic elements audiences should note while attending this sumptuous opera.
“There's an idea that contralto roles are usually, like, old ladies or nurses,” Avery laughs. Contraltos - singers whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type - are often cast as evil sisters or, as Avery likes to say, the witches and britches of the opera world. She sees teenage Olga as a bit of a flirt, a social butterfly - characteristics that will require a fresh perspective from Avery when the two meet again.
“It'll be a bit more challenging in that way than when I was at Julliard because I've lived so much more life since then,” she says, including becoming a new mother. In addition to heralding the singer’s debut with the Santa Fe Opera, Eugene Onegin also marks Avery’s return to performances after the pandemic. “I think it's very fitting to come back to this role,” she says. “It has a very special significance for me.”
Last seen at the Santa Fe Opera in 2002, Eugene Onegin allows audiences to experience Avery’s vibrant contralto in Russian. The feat required her to learn the Cyrillic alphabet and make sense of consonant clusters and diphthong pronunciations not found in standard American English. Tchaikovsky’s soaring score is worth the effort, though.
“It's a good mix,” Avery says of Olga. “I have a duet; I have an aria; I have a quartet; I have an ensemble. So, I get a nice smattering of everything possible.” Audiences will, too.
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Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.
Mixed by: Edwin R. Ruiz
Hosted by: Jane Trembley
Avery Amereau, American Contralto
***
Learn more about the Santa Fe Opera and plan your visit at http://www.santafeopera.org.
We'd love for you to join us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok @santafeopera.
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