“The perception is that the [Wagnerian] singer must be over 40. I’m in my mid-30’s. It seems as if the stumbling block is that I look too young.”
Graham Sanders is a Heldentenor working full-time in Europe with Fliegende Holländer and Siegfried already under his belt. In the 1998-1999 season alone he will be performing Dutchman, more Siegfrieds, Pagliacci and Jenufa. On a recent Saturday visit, Graham sounded both intense and philosophical about the inverse-age issue. (He also sang for us. The neighbors are still talking about it–with reverance!)
“I jumped in a few years ago, to cover a singer who was ill (in a production of Wagner). The theater was happy with my performance, and felt I was a good singer–but later, when I wanted to do another Wagner, they said ‘We think he’s a bit young for it.’ True, it was a different Wagnerian role, but I was shocked that they thought I was too young.”
The problem, Sanders went on to say, lies more in appearance and preconception than in physical limitation–perceived or otherwise. “My gut reaction is: (they) see me and they already have it in their head. Everything these days seems to be first impression; it doesn’t matter what you’ve done already.”
Sanders isn’t the only singer we spoke with who had suffered as a result of this type of preconception. A successful soprano also cited youth as a stumbling block in her early career. “I was ‘too-young’ for quite a while. I did Merola when I was 20, and have been patted on the head since then. I think that’s one reason why I moved to Europe; anyone who knew me, knew me as ‘that young thing’ and didn’t take me seriously. I know for a fact that age has been a factor in me not going on to the next round in the Met competition (twice!) since ‘I could do it again.’ It had nothing to do with whether or not I was the best singer in the competition. The first time I sang in the Met regionals, everyone but me and one older girl sounded like a mariachi singer. The other girl was just okay, but was a hometown girl, and this was her last year to be able to do the competition. Guess who won?”
It is true that the younger singer has time on their side, comparatively speaking, and does have more maneuvering room as far as age is concerned. But what about the singer with a youthful appearance? “Eventually youth is an advantage,” Sanders says quickly. “45 looks 35. But it’s a disadvantage now. If you haven’t done Tannhäuser before, they will look at you suspiciously. If you have done it before, you can do it again, but getting the first chance is difficult.”
About careers, Sanders continued, “If you’re engaging in a major career (50 times a year), you probably need to be in your 30’s, because of the physical differences between 20 years old and 30. You’ve developed the stamina and physical ability to stand up under the roles. But people take that to an extreme, thinking that for heavy roles you need to be in your 40’s, and I don’t think that’s particularly right. [Age] gets warped out of proportion. I don’t think people take all the evidence into consideration. What has the person done? If I have one dramatic role in my résumé and the rest lyric, that would be a warning sign; rather than a singer who has only dramatic roles. I don’t think people take notice of what’s really on the résumé, or take the time to talk about what the singer has done in the past five years.”
“On the other hand, if you’re hiring for a more difficult role, you may feel the need to be more cautious, and may not want to take a risk with a younger singer. Because of publicity and the high cost of operatic productions, people may feel they need to get a product that is perhaps a bit more stable in their own minds. If you’re going to invest $500,000 dollars in a bank, and you walk in and see first a 25-year-old bank manager, then a 50-year-old, which would you choose for your money? It’s difficult not to judge on a gut level, to decide that age adds some form of stability. It’s a natural prejudice, not just found in the singing world. Even so, it’s a bit of a bummer.”
