The search for truth on the stage has been the catalyst behind many an unusual staging of operas deemed too conventional even for a “conventional” mise-en-scène. In trying to capture the reality of the drama, opera or theater directors have resorted to various unconventional, even shocking approaches, admired by some audiences, rejected by others. But what happens when you take a true film director, less familiar with opera, along with three opera stars renowned for their acting as well as their amazing voices, and decide to bring opera to the big screen? It was producer Daniel Toscan Du Plantier’s vision that combined the talents of French film director Benoit Jacquot and the famous couple of Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu, joined by Ruggero Raimondi, in creating an innovative opera film, Tosca, which opened last summer in New York movie theaters.
The following interviews offer two different perspectives on working as an opera singer in film. Can film lend opera its “real” dimension? It’s a difficult question, but Mr. Benoit couldn’t have said it better: after all, if “the music was the screenplay…” then isn’t singing “just the same as speaking a dialogue?”
How did this project come into being?
Angela Gheorghiu: I was singing in a new production of La Traviata in Paris and the film’s producer, Daniel Toscan Du Plantier, came to me after the performance and told me: “You are Tosca!” This was in 1997. It was understood that Roberto would be Mario. As for the director, Daniel wanted a true film director, without preconceived ideas about opera. Benoit Jaqcuot, who was friends with Daniel, was completely “fresh” in this respect; his ideas were new and innovative, and he didn’t care about others’ opinions about how an opera film should be done.
Mr. Jacquot mentioned that you came on the set with clear ideas about your character, and it was easy for him to work with you, since he didn’t have to give you too many directions.
AG: Yes, that’s true. I admired him also because he came completely prepared. Every move of the camera, the lights, every angle…he knew it beforehand.
The film is extremely innovative as it approaches the subject from three perspectives…
AG: Benoit had a vision of the score as these white sheets covered with notes dating back one hundred years… He wanted to show how the characters, the story, and the different settings are born from the score, but to show it as a painter’s palette—better said, a work palette that audiences are not acquainted with. Not just the story, but other aspects of creating an opera film that he wanted to present to the public—and he had the courage to do that!
The duet scenes give the impression that you are dancing with one another. Whose idea was this?
AG: It was an idea that was created between Roberto and the director.
Roberto Alagna: Benoit just came to me and whispered: “Make her dance!” I liked the thought and tried it out during the duet scenes.
AG: We understood immediately what he was trying to say. He didn’t have to show us what to do in terms of gestures, expressions, movements…
RA: Yes, through this very simple idea, we knew what he wanted to see, and we knew he wanted it to be natural and simple—nothing extra was needed—just a dance.
How was the lip-synching experience? Did you have to sing out on the set during filming?
AG: We sang sometimes. In close-up moments, it had to be very believable. If, for a second, your mind went in another direction, the character escaped you. You always have to be very present to be believable.
RA: That applies to every time you sing, but especially when you’re filming, it takes so much concentration because the camera will expose the slightest nuance.
AG: You know, you were right when you said before that it was easier with the two of us, because many scenes came naturally. However, Benoit had this idea that he wanted the film to be a whole, and he didn’t want a clear-cut separation between the principal scenes or the arias and the moments in between. He just didn’t want to interrupt the characters and break our flow. It was hard to be so concentrated because one camera was moving—there were so many lights, and a huge crowd of people—I remember for “Vissi d’arte,” there were fifteen people in front of me.
RA: And not only do you have to maintain the character but also to synchronize yourself with the lip-synching. We rehearsed [lip-synching] every day for one and a half hours before make-up.
Making an opera film is no doubt a very different experience for an opera singer used to the grandeur of the stage. How would you sum up this difference between acting on camera and acting on the stage?
AG: Even though I was singing Tosca for the first time in the recording for this film, it wasn’t the first time that I was on camera, because I had filmed a lot of opera scenes in Bucharest, Romania. The difficulty is to construct an entire role during several weeks. However, there is nothing more difficult than being on stage and singing. To make a movie is easier work. The hard part for me was just to wait, and wait, and be prepared for a few moments of filming. It’s completely another type of work. But I love the camera.
RA: Well, on the stage you also have to become immersed in the character, you have to feel it and breathe it. Even in a concert version like this Romeo et Juliette we’re doing here [in Salzburg], we act our parts. It’s very natural. Just like we are at home!
Where does vocal technique come in? Do you ever help each other in that respect?
RA: We seldom speak of our profession, technically!
AG: We don’t really talk about technique at all.
RA: Technique is something very personal. Everyone is different.
AG: …On the stage, I think of the text in each phrase, of the character, how to make it as credible as possible. If I can believe in the character myself, then I can make you and everyone else believe in her too.
RA: Of course it’s not just the character on stage. You have to concentrate and pay attention in certain moments when it’s more difficult vocally. If you have a high C, you can’t just sing it without preparing. It has to be thought of before, so in that sense, you are aware of your technique. Besides, every day your voice is different. It depends on everything, on your emotions…
AG: Yes, on emotional and spiritual states of mind, on your health, on how you slept… Our instrument is our body.
RA: The acoustics can affect it, the public as well…
AG: Your nerves too…it depends on whether you have good colleagues or not, good productions, conductors, everything. It’s an ensemble of factors.
Do you ever allow yourselves a break, time off from singing?
AG: I do, a little more…
RA: And I, a little less…
AG: And that is because he is not just passionate about music, he is an opera maniac, addicted to singing! But, of course, we are so busy that a small break can be good for us. Every artist is different. To tell you the truth, ever since I can remember, I have always been able to stop singing for more than a month, and without much vocalizing, I am all set to perform. That doesn’t mean it’s good or bad. Every vocal instrument responds differently, because we are all built a certain way.
RA: We all have a different technique, and everyone needs to follow whatever works for him or her. In any case, a complete singing break does not exist for us. We always have something to learn.
AG: Oh, no, a total break, no. Partially…
RA: In this profession you have to study every day if you want to maintain your level and to continue expanding.
Classical Singer is read by a lot of singers at various stages in their careers. What would you tell the beginning singer as well as the singer in mid-career, if they came to you for advice?
AG: Not to lose the pleasure…
RA: The pleasure in singing is the most important thing. And to have a good soul—if you are negative, you will not go far in this profession.
AG: In Romanian, there is this special expression, hard to translate… it’s not to be [fierce] in singing. Never lose the patience to study, to listen, and to listen to everyone! There are many young singers out there, even some of our colleagues who don’t want to listen to anyone or hear anything ever. Wrong! You can always learn. When you attend a performance, when you listen to a CD or see a video, it gets you to think…
RA: You analyze: “I should do it like this, and I didn’t like that particular expression…” and so on. You can learn from anyone, because we all have a variety of ideas. Everyone should be respected and at least listened to once.
AG: Yes, because we all work very hard in this profession, and you can’t always judge how good someone is by one performance! But those who “arrive”—I’m not talking about a level—to perform on the stage, that in itself is enormously hard: existing on the stage. So, the fact that you are even there, hired to perform, already means a great deal.
RA: Of course. No one in the world wants to perform on the stage and give their worst. They are there because they want to give the best of themselves…
AG: In every artist—not just singers—there is a human being who is exposed to many thousands of eyes, and what is extremely important is to have the self-confidence to endure that exposure and not be influenced by “well-meaning” advice and opinions, because the singer will be completely lost; it’s all so relative!
RA: And subjective! Obviously, self–confidence and innate talent are crucial but still not enough. You have to gather knowledge, to pick it up from everyone else, from all that surrounds you, because everyone and everything can teach you something.
AG: A lot of colleagues and conductors think that no one else is good, just that they are the best. Everyone says the same about themselves. But there will never be a “best.” And that is a good thing, because then we have reached the top, the limit, and it will be over. They will say: “look what Angela and Roberto are doing or what others did and are doing, that’s it, everything else is finished, there’s nothing new to be discovered!” You can never express everything in classical music.
RA: Oh, it’s never-ending!
AG: The same score has been sung so many times over and over in the whole world. But each of us comes with another idea, another personality and another voice. That’s why it’s so interesting and never boring.
I would like to thank both of you for taking the time out of the series of interviews you have ahead of you to answer my questions. I have seen you perform separately, and you have such distinct artistic personalities. However, I have also seen you perform together on several occasions, and something happens between you. You manage to maintain your uniqueness, but you become a whole. Now that I had the opportunity to speak to you together, I can say I am a direct witness to the artistic power that you two, as a couple, generate in real life as well as on stage. Life imitates art, and in your case, your art imitates your life together…
RA: You’re right!
AG: Yes, like I said before, we each have our own personal way of dealing with our voices, separately. That is a subject we leave at home, and we don’t interfere in each other’s “kitchen.” But then when we rehearse, when we are in the opera house, or we are recording, then we are in agreement.
RA: We know each other very well too, but we also share the same tastes in the method of interpretation. It’s very real to us, our life on the stage, just like our life together.
AG: And you’re right that something happens when we perform together, there is always a natural and perfect osmosis between us.
