Home of Constitution Hall, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, Philadelphia claims a central place in American history. Along with the freshly imported panetone found in the Italian Market and the authentic Philly steak sandwich found on virtually every corner, you can also find a rich abundance of classical music, particularly fine singing. Such renowned academic institutions as the Academy of Vocal Arts, Curtis Institute of Music, and Temple University produce top quality musicians.
In the midst of this rich historical and cultural center sits the Opera Company of Philadelphia. The area’s only producer of grand opera, the company boasts a long tradition of bringing in big-name stars, as well as rising talent. This season has been particularly noteworthy, with the East Coast premiere of Margaret Garner, a new American work by Grammy-winning composer Richard Danielpour and libretto by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison commissioned in tandem with Cincinnati
Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre.
As classical singers from sea to shining sea and beyond prepare for the Classical Singer Convention in Philadelphia next month, CS sat down with Robert Driver, general and artistic director of the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Just days after the opening of Margaret Garner, Mr. Driver spoke with CS and shared the reason—as the OCP website says—“Philadelphia’s operatic tradition is strong, and its future bright.”
Tell me a little about your background.
I grew up in South America, in Brazil. My parents were North Americans and I came to boarding school in Virginia. Then I went to college at the University of Virginia and studied literature and music as a minor. I spent my junior year in Munich and fell in love with the city. I went back later to study and got my first job in opera as an assistant stage director with the Munich Opera, where I really trained and learned the craft.
I actually was planning to make my career in Europe, because in those days the only significant American opera companies were the Met, San Francisco and Chicago. So I really thought Europe would be where I would live. But I got talked into coming back, and my first job in the United States was with the Kentucky Opera Association. The founding director was German and he’d heard about me and convinced me to come and take over from him.
The first company I ever ran was in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1975. Then I started adding companies to try and bring finances together to make opera work. I combined Syracuse, Indianapolis, and Memphis [Tenn.]. That was in the ‘80s and it was the first time three companies had come together to be under one artistic and general director. They gave young singers a lot of performances but with one concept and one production, so they weren’t spending a month and then going for their typical two performance weekends. This way, they spent three weeks preparing and they went from one city to the next. The sets, the costumes, the director, the conductor, everything stayed the same, except for the chorus and orchestra.
The three cities got a much higher quality than they could individually ever afford. It’s the kind of thing you can do when you’re young. It was a lot of traveling. After about 10 years, that was enough. I came to Philadelphia in ’91, but I’ve continued to enjoy a relationship with those companies.
Our recent production of Margaret Garner came because of my close association with David DiChiera in Detroit, Mich. [founder and general director of Michigan Opera Theatre]. We’d been looking for something to do together because we both understood the advantage of cooperative works. So that’s what we did on Margaret Garner. Cincinnati came in on it also. It was much more than any of us could have afforded individually.
A newly commissioned work like Margaret Garner is a big undertaking. How has the work been received?
What I think is exciting and enormously encouraging for the industry is that even in a very conservative city like Philadelphia, a new work like this has been embraced. It’s absolutely sold out. People are really excited about it, about the experience and also about the piece. The cast has been very warmly received, but also the librettist and composer.
How do you think the subject matter ofMargaret Garner—Underground Railroad, slavery, murder—affected its reception?
I think at the beginning the subject matter was almost an obstacle, because [both] the black community and the white community … didn’t want to face that. There’s the great American tragedy, if you will, that no one wants to talk about. But when you get someone of Tony Morrison’s stature writing a libretto, and the caliber of [Richard] Danielpour’s writing, that flips over. We used that to present it to our community and to our board—and it got a tremendous outpouring.
Would you say that you play an active role in discovering talent and finding the singers you want?
I would say that’s been my primary signature, and that’s what I really enjoy. I’ve brought established artists here, but I find far greater satisfaction bringing young artists here that then become internationally known singers. We hired Anna Netrebko not many years out of the San Francisco program. Ironically, she did sing at the Met first, but we had hired her years before. She sang War and Peace at the Met and came here the following week for I Capuleti e i Montecchi.
I also like to introduce new directors. We introduced Stefano Vizzioli seven years ago to the United States and now he directs all over. We also have a great advantage, having Curtis and AVA in our backyard. It’s such a great resource.
How do the three of you interface together? Do you use a lot of their singers?
Oh yes. Mikael Eliasen at Curtis encourages his singers to take supporting roles with us. Corrado Rovaris, our music director, brings a nice Italian flavor to our company. He also is very committed to young singers and really enjoys working with them.
How has the appointment of Corrado Rovaris, your first music director, changed OCP?
Having a resident music director has been enormous. Everyone has noticed it—the orchestra and the community. That continuity in working with the orchestra has been hugely important. But also, he is so well connected, so well respected in Europe, not just Italy, but Switzerland. That’s a great contact for us, with artists and other producers. Juan Diego Florez chose to make his American debut with us, not only for his connection with Curtis and the city of Philadelphia, but also having sung with Maestro Rovaris.
You are both artistic and general director. Is it difficult to juggle both of those roles?
Yes it is, actually. I never really intended that, but that was part of coming to the United States and learning the system here. Particularly when I was in regional companies, I found that I unfortunately had the talent of raising money. My interests were always the arts, but my father insisted I have some business training before I went into such a risky world as the arts. I resisted it, but I did it. What I didn’t realize was how important the fact that I enjoy the business of opera and making things work financially was going to be! But my No. 1 love is the artistic. So I’ve done the other to be able to improve the artistic.
It is nice in a larger company, because while I do oversee the general management and marketing and development, we have a wonderful staff so that I don’t have to do the details. I work on the large picture.
The OCP website says a singer can send materials to be considered for an audition. Have you ever actually hired a singer who has sent materials requesting an audition?
We certainly do review all the materials that come in. I cannot sit here at this moment and say for certain if we have hired someone that way, because I don’t keep track of all of that. But I have to think it has happened.
How likely is it that a singer who sends unsolicited materials would get an audition?
We read and go through everything. We do have to see patterns that interest us. Even from paper you get a good idea of how someone is doing—what training programs they’re in, where they’ve studied, with whom they’ve studied. We do tend to lean on “let’s hear them.”
What are you looking for in general terms in a singer’s package: looks, age, experience, etc.?
I think today more than ever, we pay a lot of attention to the whole package. For example, we just had several days of auditions. We had invited Gabriele Gandini, the artistic director of the XXXVI Concorso Internazionale per Cantanti Toti Dal Monte in Treviso, to hear students from Curtis, Manhattan, Juilliard, AVA, and Indiana University. He was blown away at the level of the young American singers. And that’s just it. They come well prepared in both musical interpretation and in physical interpretation. They take care of their appearance and try to look appropriate for the role. That’s important for today.
I certainly don’t want to say that everyone has to be slim and beautiful, because that’s not the way the world is. Voices are voices and there are all different shapes of people. I guess it’s a little, if you will, like a vocal Olympics. You have the voice and you have everything else and you get judged on everything. The person who brings the most is going to get hired.
What about age? Do you think age matters?
Obviously some roles call for more maturity than others. You have the syndrome so often of young baritones and basses who need to wait. Fortunately, we can age them pretty well with makeup and lights, so you don’t have to wait quite so long for the maturing roles. Obviously, there is that aspect of it.
What about on the other end? There’s the idea that if you haven’t made it by the time you’re 30 it’s too late.
I think things like that are just made to be proven wrong. It comes down to individual circumstances. There are just too many things today that govern peoples’ lives—if someone has gone more slowly or been out of it.
I think sometimes there’s a greater danger of people pushing their careers too fast. I’m a lot more concerned when I see a really wonderful talent going too fast and doing too much. I think that is far more dangerous than the other.
Among the many awards you’ve received, you were named a finalist in the Turn Around category of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Awards. Where does your strong entrepreneurial spirit come from?
I’m not from the Midwest. As you know, I grew up in South America. When I went to Indianapolis, I had no intention of going to there to work. I simply went there to help them out, and I found myself working there for 10 years. One of the reasons was this indomitable spirit they have of “we can do this.” I have always been kind of—let’s see, is there a nice way I can say this? [laughs]—persistent, I guess. I’ve always had that streak. I’ve been willing to fight for what I want—in a positive way, I hope. But that Midwest experience just before coming to Philadelphia served me well. I arrived in Philadelphia, to the established Northeast, and had to shake things up a little bit to get things going. It wasn’t always easy. Like anything, you have ups and downs. But mainly we’ve had ups.
What things are you doing to reach out to the younger generation, the future ticket buyers?
One of the first things I did here was start a Young Friends of the Opera. Diversity is also important. In the four years [we spent] creating “Margaret” we’ve worked hard to have the diverse community of Philadelphia represented. We’ve had great diversity on stage, particularly in our chorus and in our soloists. We hope to continue that. But you don’t just continue it by hoping.
Is there any hope for an unmanaged singer in today’s market?
I think it has to be said that it’s certainly tougher. But I will say that when I was in Syracuse, N.Y. in a smaller company, I would go to New York City, and a good part of the people I heard were unmanaged. I do know in that case I hired from that pool of singers. But I would say it is true that the percentage was much lower. There’s this huge body [of singers] out there and you’ve got to assume that the agents know their business and are doing prescreening. But I certainly never let that limit me.
I think that the unmanaged singer has a much better chance of breaking into the field in their various communities working through the educational institutions and their resident companies. For example, when I hear these young artists from AVA or Curtis or Manhattan or Cincinnati or Indiana, in that regard I’m paying no attention if they have agents. I could care less. I certainly don’t worry about that.
Any final words for Classical Singer readers?
If I had one bit of advice for a young singer, when you go and sing an audition, pick where you’re singing, and pick appropriate places to sing first. Don’t try to climb Mt. Everest on the first day. Don’t come and present something that you hope to sing well or because you want to prove that you can do it. Always have a margin of comfort for yourself, because when you get up for an audition, the person listening to you wants to feel that you’re not at your limit, and that you can do more.
When I was a younger person I really didn’t think there would be enough opportunity in this country. I think that’s changed enormously. I’m very proud of what’s happening, and I think this is where it’s happening now. You have to train carefully and be smart about your choices.
