San Diego Opera, ranked by Opera America as one of the top 10 U.S. companies, is a widely respected member of the international opera community. Much of this success is thanks to the work of Ian Campbell, who joined SDO as general manager in 1983 after stints as head of the Australian Opera Company and as artistic administrator of the Met. Mr. Campbell began his career as a tenor, so he knows the life of a working singer. Here is what he said about himself and his company when he spoke with Classical Singer by phone from his harbor-view office high above San Diego last February.
Please tell us something of your background.
I was born in Brisbane, Australia, but moved to that country’s far north when I was a year old. It was there that I started singing. I loved singing the songs of Mario Lanza and Eddie Fisher. Eventually, I sang concerts and was on a radio show. One teacher used to call me “the young Caruso,” but since I had never heard of Enrico, I thought he meant Robinson Crusoe.
When I started high school, we moved to Sydney, and my voice changed from soprano to light tenor. A teacher there, named Mary Emery, wanted to put on a musical—and she picked me to sing one of the leads. Singing was then still a major interest of mine, but not my intended profession. A scholarship enabled me to go on to college, and thanks to Mary, I was able to study voice on the side. Since I found that performing in musicals was a good way of meeting girls, I did quite a few [musicals].
After I got my bachelor’s degree, I had expected to go to law school, but I ended up joining the brand new Australian Opera Company, instead. I stayed with them a total of seven years, singing mostly comprimario roles, such as Valzacchi, Spoletta and Trabucco. The company toured to Australia’s larger cities, and we had wonderful principal artists to work with, like Tito Gobbi, Antonietta Stella and Marie Collier.
I was paid a reasonable weekly salary, but by 1973, I had begun to think of doing something besides singing. At that time the Australia Council, which is the equivalent of the National Endowment for the Arts in this country, had an opening for a senior music officer. One week after leaving singing, I was on that council, dispensing grants to musical organizations.
A year later, I visited Europe, and because of the stature I had gained from being on the council, I was able to spend time with some of the most influential people in opera, both in Britain and in France. When I returned, I became general director of Adelaide’s New Opera Company, which was then in a state of financial distress. Seven years later, when I left, it had become the country’s second-best company.
Singers certainly should feel relatively comfortable when they audition for you. What do you look for when you audition them?
Voice is the first requirement, but there has to be an engaging personality to go with it. Sheer vocalism is no longer enough on the stage. Siphiwe McKenzie, whom I auditioned two-and-a-half years ago in a room in Berlin, is a good example. I was looking for an Adele with a big personality for our 2005 “Fledermaus.” She had not yet joined the company in Nürnberg, where she is now a member of the ensemble, and when she started to sing, she was rather reserved. I asked her to try a few ideas, and suddenly, there it was! Everything I wanted was present—so I engaged her, believing rightly, as it turned out, that there would be immediate growth the moment she started performing regularly.
Another essential requirement is intelligence. Conductors and stage directors often need you to make quick changes in your performance. You can’t be a person who only sees things one way. I can detect intelligence by the way I audition people: I interrupt them. If a singer has started under pitch or without enough involvement, I stop him after a minute and ask him to follow a specific direction. I’m not out to hurt auditioners. I want to find the talent they have. When I ask them to follow directions, I get a reading on who they are.
If the auditor says, “I’d like to hear something like this,” the singer should go along with it, unless it is totally beyond his ability. I look at an artist’s ability to accede to requests as an example of his intelligence, and of his knowledge of his own vocal abilities. Although I am not a voice teacher, I can hear errors in technique. I’m a trained singer, and I’ve heard a great many voices during my 38 years in the business. Sometimes I hear an artist constricting the voice, or doing something silly that is the result of nerves. If I get him to calm down, he becomes a much better singer.
So—voice, personality, intelligence and adaptability are all important. Then, when I do engage you, I will also be considering whether or not I will hire you again. I’m looking for team players. If you don’t fit into this institution because you’re too aggressive, or you won’t attend receptions that are vital to paying your own fee, you don’t get rehired. We don’t abuse singers in any way—but like every other company, we expect cooperation when it comes to having a photo taken with a donor, or attending a dinner that doesn’t interfere with rehearsal time in order to thank someone for donating a few hundred thousand dollars.
I also look at singers’ consistency from performance to performance. I need to see if you are only good on opening night, or if you take a couple of performances to find your feet, which is not good. I don’t ask artists back if they are erratic from show to show. Even if you are a little under the weather or you have had a problem at home, you need to be consistent. You have to go on stage determined to please the audience.
How important is appearance?
As for “Ariadne” and the “little black dress,” I would have found a bigger black dress. If the voice and the person fit the role, they don’t have to fit the dress. However, a physique that would be acceptable for Ariadne would not work well as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro. Singers also have to remember that they are athletes. Rehearsals are demanding, not alone performances, so the more fit singers are, the better.
What are some common mistakes singers should be careful to avoid?
Don’t be obsessive about your fee. Recognize that each company has its own budget and will pay you what it can afford. If you make $5,000 at one company and $3,000 at another, and the latter company gives you more work, that might be a good deal for you in the long run. Above all, insist that your agent tell you about every offer you get.
When you are engaged, be sure you turn up knowing your role, otherwise you insult your colleagues and you won’t be rehired. Don’t cancel arbitrarily because you got a better offer, either. If the later offer is a genuine step forward, call the general director yourself, and explain the situation, but be prepared to accept a negative answer. You don’t have a right to be released, but directors are sympathetic. Early in her career, I released Renée Fleming from a Don Giovanni so that she could make her La Scala debut. I asked her merely to wait for the release until I found a suitable replacement. I found one, and [Fleming] sang in Milan.
If you get a similar favor, be sure to write a “thank you” letter.
