Tenor Brian Jagde previews San Francisco opera’s new season
Feature
More Questions for the Calaf: A Conversation with Brian Jagde
This is going to be a smash season opener with a wonderful cast of colleagues, and what else can one say about the epic sound of the chorus and orchestra of the San Francisco Opera? They are what made me fall in love with this opera the first time I heard it as an Adler Fellow, with Luisotti conducting. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Wm: You are currently rehearsing the role of Calaf in Puccini’s “Turandot” at the San Francisco Opera’s home, the War Memorial Opera House. Maestro Nicola Luisotti is the conductor. You have worked with Maestro Nicola Luisotti on several of your “bread and butter” roles [A Maestro of Music and Metaphor: An Interview with Nicola Luisotti].
These roles include Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini’s “Tosca”, Pinkerton in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” in San Francisco [House of Puccini: Jun Kaneko’s Enchanting “Madama Butterfly” Soars at War Memorial – San Francisco Opera, June 15, 2014] and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Radames in Verdi’s “Aida” [Review: Zambello’s Spectacular “Aida”, San Francisco Opera, November 5, 2016 ], in San Francisco. He also conducted Verdi’s “Nabucco” at the Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain in which you sang Ismaele.
BJ: Maestro Luisotti and I have really started a long-term process of putting these pieces into my repertoire, working together. Many years ago, singers could spend ample time with a conductor before they even arrived at the first rehearsal, and now there just doesn’t seem to be enough time for conductors and singers to collaborate in a one-on-one setting in advance.I’m so grateful to Maestro for always taking the time to work through pieces even once we’ve already begun rehearsals. He has always believed in me, since the first time I sang for him on the main stage at San Francisco Opera.
We’re already talking about finding times in our busy schedules to meet up for our next projects – more Verdi and Puccini – and both will be role debuts for me. His expertise is almost impossible to quantify, except to say that it’s made me a better singer and performer in ways I didn’t even know were possible.
As for Calaf, it’s a role I know I will do throughout my career, and we’ve already begun shaping it and making it our version. There isn’t a conductor in the world who knows my voice like Luisotti. He pushes me just far enough to make me excel every time.
This is going to be a smash season opener with a wonderful cast of colleagues, and what else can one say about the epic sound of the chorus and orchestra of the San Francisco Opera? They are what made me fall in love with this opera the first time I heard it as an Adler Fellow, with Luisotti conducting. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Wm: In mid-August you took part in a series of concert performance of Verdi’s “Macbeth” at the Teatro Real in Madrid in which Plácido Domingo sang the title role and you sang the role of Macduff. What did that experience mean to you?
BJ: I was really honored to be making my Teatro Real debut singing alongside the legendary Maestro Plácido Domingo for the first time. It was a great privilege for many reasons. I am a proud alum of Domingo’s Operalia Competition, which has had an incredible impact on my career.
Also, to be sharing the stage with someone who has sung every role I hope to do in my career was invaluable, even to spend a short time with him. We even got to have a mini sword fight before his eventual death in the opera! These are things tenors of my generation dream about. Working with and learning from living legends.