The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: How hard is it to sing nine high C’s? Tenor Javier Abreu talks about the feat he will perform in the Madison Opera’s premiere production of Donizetti’s “La Fille du Regiment” this weekend.

By Jacob Stockinger

This coming Friday night and Sunday afternoon, the Madison Opera performs its premiere production of Gaetano Donizetti’s “The Daughter of the Regiment” in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center for the Arts.

Performances are at 8 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The opera will be sung in the original French with English surtitles. The sets come from an acclaimed production by the Virginia Opera (below):

Tickets are $25-$107 with student and group discounts available. They are available at the Overture Center box office, 201 State St., Madison, WI; by calling (608) 258-4141; and by visiting http://www.madisonopera.org

As a Madison Opera press release says: “ “The Daughter of the Regiment” is a sweet romantic comedy, with vocal pyrotechnics and beautiful melodies interlaced with charm and humor.

“The plot is simple: Marie, an orphan who was raised by the 21st Regiment, is in love with Tonio, who joins the army so he can marry her. When Marie’s new-found aunt takes her away from her beloved regiment, she despairs. Fortunately, all ends happily ever after.

“I adore this opera,” says Kathryn Smith (below), Madison Opera’s general director. “Sometimes all we want from a night at the opera is entertainment, and  ‘Daughter’ delivers. I fell in love with the show’s music years ago, and it’s a pure delight to bring this work to Madison Opera for the first time in the company’s 53-year history. It’s a perfect show for everyone, from opera novices to opera omnivores, from 8-year-olds to 88-year-olds.”

“At last we are bringing Donizetti’s comic masterpiece to our audience, with its scintillating score and adorably zany plot,” says John DeMain (below in a photo by Prasad), Madison Opera’s artistic director who will conduct the performances. “I’ve so loved my encounters with this opera in the past and so look forward to Madison’s first outing with such a marvelous cast, the Madison Opera chorus, and the Madison Symphony Orchestra. This is the way to  escape from any winter doldrums.”

Appleton native Caitlin Cisler, who charmed audiences as the page Oscar in A Masked Ball and at Opera in the Park last season, returns to Madison Opera as Marie.

Tenor Javier Abreu, described by Opera News as “a natural Rossini singer,” makes his local debut as the high-C-prone Tonio. Nathan Stark, who was a chilling Commendatore in “Don Giovanni” last season, displays his comic side as Sulpice, one of Marie’s many “fathers.”

Local favorite Allisanne Apple (below) returns as The Marquise of Berkenfield. She is joined by Douglas Swenson as Hortensius. Christopher Apfelbach plays a Corporal, Katrina Brunner is The Duchess of Krakenthorp, and Robert Goderich is a Peasant.

David Lefkowich (below), who directed Handel’s “Acis and Galatea” here in 2013, directs this traditional staging, set in the Tyrol around 1820.

The opera is also one which many tenor careers – occluding those of Luciano Pavarotti and Juan Diego Florez — have been built because of the nine high C the tenor must sing.

To find out more about such athletic singing, The Ear used an email interview to talk about it with tenor Javier Abreu (below):

Can you briefly introduce yourself and your career? When did you start music lessons and how did you get into opera?

I started singing when I was a child in Catholic school. My parents were involved in church choir, and I started picking it up then. As I started getting into my teen years, and my voice started changing, my mom decided to let me take some voice lessons, to make the transition a little easier. I was interested in singing pop at that point, but my voice teacher made sure I know how to breathe, and not to push my voice to its limits.

I didn’t get into opera until I was a sophomore in college. I was in the university choir, and a lot of my friends were doing it. I wanted to see what it was all about. I had a fantastic voice teacher during my undergrad years, and some really talented coaches. I feel very fortunate to have had the formative years that I had.

“La Fille du Regiment” is famous as a career-building opera for tenors, thanks to the 9 high C’s in “Ah, mes amis.” Luciano Pavarotti (below top) and Juan Diego Florez (below bottom) whose exciting show-stopping performance can be heard in a YouTube video at the bottom) come immediately to mind. How hard is do you find to sing those high notes and how successful have you been with the aria?

I started working on the aria at the age of 22. I knew it was something I wanted to sing at some point, but I decided to not take it lightly. The great thing about this role is that can be sung by many types of tenor. Everyone has their own strength to showcase.

That said, having the C’s in the aria is always essential.  I find that I need to treat this aria like any other piece. It’s just one more aria with a few high notes.  Giving too much importance to the fact that it’s high puts too much pressure on the moment.  It is, after all, only 60 seconds of a 2-1/2 hour show. There’s plenty of show left after that.

What makes singing the high C’s so hard – the pitch, the length of the notes and breathing, whatever?

Tessitura certainly plays a big role in making this aria one of the most challenging in the repertoire. There is a certain finesse that bel canto requires, which takes plenty of effort. Add to that the fact that most roles don’t demand such fireworks from the tenor in such a short period of time.

The tenor in a Rossini opera will be required to sing plenty of C’s, but they are spread out through the show. The mere fact that it happens in such a short period of time requires from the tenor a certain stamina and control, making this sort of a specialized role.

What are the challenges of Donizetti’s “bel canto” style, versus say Baroque or Verismo opera, for you as a tenor and for the whole cast?

It is hard to compare all of these styles, because they are so different, though one is informed by the other. If we go chronologically, baroque certainly informed the bel canto style.  The beauty of lines, and the exposed vocal fireworks transitioned from the baroque into the bel canto style very smoothly. Verismo came later, as an answer to what had come before.

The focus in bel canto – of “beautiful singing” — is the beauty of line, and the finesse from passage to passage. It’s the great combination of vocal prowess, and story telling.  As a singer, I get to showcase what I do best, and cadenzas tend to be tailored to the specific abilities of the singer.

That is one of my favorite things about bel canto. It’s a great collaboration between, singer, stage director, maestro, and orchestra.  It can be some of the most thrilling theater-music combination there is.

What makes this opera popular with audiences in general? The happy endings? The characters? The plot? The impressive and accessible lightness of the bel canto style? Some other element?

People like light stories.  Add to that the fact that Donizetti was a masterful composer, and chose librettos that appealed to the masses. Who does not want to see the “good ol’ boy” get the girl?

There is a complexity to the show that is present in the great masterpieces by Donizetti (below). There are very light moments, in which you feel like you are in an operetta, in juxtaposition with moments of great sadness that are reminiscent of his great serious works. This show brings a lot of the elements that made Donizetti a master of his time.

How would you compare your role and this particular interpretation of it to other roles and to what other tenors have done with yours?

What I love about live theater and opera is the fact that every person interpreting a role is going to bring something different to it. To me, comparing two tenors singing the same role is like comparing two different beers. While they have many of the same kind of qualities, they will never be the same.

That’s what makes it interesting to me. Every interpretation is informed by the single individual who gets to perform it at any given time.

What us your sense of the ensemble spirit in the cast and production so far? Is there anything you s want to say about the Madison Opera and this production? (Below is a set from the Virginia Opera’s production that will be used.)

One of the best things about this show is the fact that it has a small cast. That allows us to really get to work with each other in a more intimate way, and form bonds that make the show more interesting.

This production is a lot of fun, and each of the cast members has their own quirky take on their role.  That has made it more exciting, and hopefully it will translate as more fun for the audience.

As an audience member, I always enjoy a show in which the filial love of the cast is palpable. It makes a comedy really shine. Our director and conductor have done a great job at trying to use our individual strengths, and showcase them through out the show. It is full of tender moments, and I’m so excited to be a part of it. I think Madison will really like this beloved classic of the opera repertoire.