Interviews and Conversations

The facilitation of this interview by the Dallas Opera and by the Houston Grand Opera is gratefully acknowledged: For the first part of this inteview, see: Rising Stars: An Interview with Laura Claycomb, Part 1. [Below: Laura Claycomb as Gilda; edited image, based on a Karen Almond photograph, courtesy of the Dallas Opera.] Wm: In … Read more

The facilitation of this interview by the Dallas Opera and by the Houston Grand Opera is gratefully acknowledged: [Below: Coloratura soprano Laura Claycomb, promotional photograph, courtesy of Laura Claycomb.] Wm: Although born in Corpus Christi, you grew up in Metropolitan Dallas, Texas, where your mother gave music lessons in your home and you sang in … Read more

The facilitation of this interview by the San Diego Opera and by the Dallas Opera is gratefully acknowledged. For the first part of this conversation, see: Rising Stars: An Interview with Stephen Costello, Part 1. Wm: In my interviews with John Relyea and Brandon Jovanovich, I have asked both about the impact of receiving the Richard … Read more

The facilitation of this interview by the San Diego Opera and by the Dallas Opera is gratefully acknowledged. Wm: You are from Philadelphia, a city with a long tradition in presenting opera, yet you’ve reported that your earliest musical memories are of Elvis Presley. At what point did you come to know about opera, and … Read more

For the first part of the interview, see: An Interview with Conductor James Conlon, Part 1. The facilitation of this interview by the Los Angeles Opera is gratefully acknowledged. Wm:  It has been written that it was in Cologne you made your commitment to the “recovered voices” – composers whose lives were lost or careers … Read more

This interview was conducted in Maestro Conlon’s office at the Los Angeles Opera, whose facilitation is gratefully acknowledged: ***** [Below: Maestro James Conlon; resized image, based on a photograph, courtesy of the Los Angeles Opera.] Wm: Many of the American vocal artists I have interviewed did not choose musical careers until well into their college … Read more

The facilitation of this interview with Coloratura Soprano Sarah Coburn by the Los Angeles and Seattle Operas is gratefully acknowledged. ***** Wm: It might surprise the operatic world as to how many international opera stars hail from the U.S.A.’s Central Plains states. We know that Leona Mitchell discovered she had a voice as a young … Read more

[William: This is the second part of an interview, most of which was conducted in June 2010 in the Press Room of the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, with supplementary information provided through recent communications between William and Mr Delavan.  The first part of the interview can be accessed at The Dawning of a New Wotan: … Read more

[William – This is the second part of an interview with bass-baritone John Relyea, most of which took place at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco in June, 2010. For the first part, see: Rising Stars: An Interview With John Relyea, Part 1.] Wm: Recently, you have become associated with the “villain” roles, … Read more

[Note from William: The second part of my interview with basso cantante Raymond Aceto took place in San Diego at the administrative offices of the San Diego Opera, where he was appearing as Zaccaria in Verdi’s “Nabucco” and in London, England, where he was performing Sparafucile in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at the Royal Opera House, Covent … Read more

William: 75 years ago this fall, “Porgy and Bess” had its premiere. The following is the second part of an interview for operawarhorses.com with Gershwin biographer Walter Rimler. The first part of the interview may be accessed at “Porgy and Bess” at 75 Years: An Interview with Gershwin Biographer Walter Rimler, Part I.] * * … Read more

William: 75 years ago this fall, “Porgy and Bess” had its premiere. The following interview for operawarhorses.com is with Gershwin biographer Walter Rimler. * * * * * Wm: 2010 is the 75th anniversary year for George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess”. You are the author of a major recent biography of the composer, George … Read more

Part I of this interview may be found at: Heartland Heartthrob: An Interview with Nathan Gunn, Part I.   [Below: Nathan Gunn; edited image, based on a photograph from www.texasperformingarts.com.] Wm: One of your colleagues in one of my interviews suggested that your physical exercise regimen and your physical appearance have put pressure on other operatic males … Read more

[The following interview with baritone Nathan Gunn was conducted in August, 2010.] Wm: You grew up in South Bend in Northern Indiana, and now reside in Champagne-Urbana, in East Central Illinois. Yet you spend a part of each year in the world’s great cosmopolitan cities, even while you are paterfamilias for a large family back … Read more

William’s note: I first interviewed Conductor Antony Walker at the new offices of the Pittsburgh Opera (in the historic building that was originally part of the factory of the Westinghouse Brake Company. (See: Interviewing Conductor Antony Walker on Undervalued Masterpieces – and His Unexpected Celebrity.) This second interview took place at the Santa Fe Opera … Read more

[William’s Note: the following interview with tenor Brandon Jovanovich was conducted on the “ranch” of the Santa Fe Opera for which Jovanovich is performing the role of Pinkerton in the 2010 summer festival’s new production of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”.]   Wm: You grew up in Yellowstone County, Montana and went to college near Arizona’s Grand … Read more

[The following interview took place in conjunction with Susan Graham’s participation in New Mexico’s Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival .] Wm:  This summer and for several months afterwards, you will be concentrating on concerts and presentations of song cycles at festivals, rather than operatic performances. Do you find it rejuvenating to spend several months in … Read more

[The two parts of this interview took place in the Press Room of the War Memorial Opera House, where Mark Delavan was performing the role of Wotan in the San Francisco Opera Company’s production of Wagner’s “Die Walküre”.] Wm: You came from a musical family, your father being a college-level teacher of chorale conducting and … Read more

[Both parts of the following interview took place in the Green Room (now the Press Room) of the San Francisco Opera’s War Memorial Opera House, where John Relyea was performing the role of Mephistopheles in Gounod’s “Faust”.] Wm:  You were born into a operatic family in Toronto with classically trained singing parents. Your father, Gary … Read more

[This is the second part of an Interview, the first part of which took place at the Santa Fe Opera (see Rising Stars: An Interview with Elza van den Heever, Part I) in August, 2009.] Wm: In the past two years, I have reviewed your performances as Donna Anna in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” in San Francisco … Read more

Note from William: Over the past several months, I have posted occasional interviews with opera singers and other artists, whose careers are obviously in their ascendancy, reflecting worldwide interest in securing their talents for future opera seasons. The current interview is with Raymond Aceto, the basso cantante graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Company’s Lindemann Young … Read more

[Note from William: Many of the major American opera companies, and their counterparts elsewhere in the world, have “Young Artists” programs for developing the opera singers of the future (as well as covering roles and singing the smaller parts of the season’s operas). With this interview with the San Francisco Opera Center’s director, Sheri Greenawald, … Read more

[Note from William: As part of my “Rising Stars” series of interviews of major new talents in the field of opera, I conducted an interview with stage director José Maria Condemi.] Wm: For the Seattle Opera “Trovatore” you are utilizing Allen Moyer’s sets from the Minnesota Opera and John Conklin’s costumes from a previous Seattle … Read more

This post follows: An Interview with San Francisco Opera’s David Gockley, Part 1. [Below: San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley; edited image, based on a photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.] Wm: You have had a long association with Francesca Zambello, and, in a difficult period, stepped in to assure that her conceptualization of … Read more

[A note from William: this website began its existence in November 2005, less than two months before David Gockley became the sixth General Director in the history of the San Francisco Opera. Over the past four years, I have reviewed each of the productions that has been presented in San Francisco during the “Gockley Era”. … Read more