MILAN – American tenor Brian Jagde was simply wrapping up Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” in Barcelona final month when he obtained a last-minute provide to sing the identical function in La Scala’s gala season premiere this Saturday, arguably the opera world’s most prestigious gig.
Jagde’s look as Don Alvaro reverse soprano Anna Netrebko will mark his third efficiency at Milan’s storied Teatro alla Scala. He appeared twice instead tenor reverse Netrebko, changing Roberto Alagna in “Turandot” this summer season, and now he’ll substitute Jonas Kaufmann within the coveted season opener.
“I’m blissful to be their man,’’ Jagde instructed The Related Press in a telephone interview.
Whereas it’s not extraordinary for People to sing on La Scala’s opening evening, a spotlight of the European cultural calendar, it stays a rarity in an opera home the place Europeans are inclined to dominate.
Beside Maria Callas final century, American Brian Hymel opened the 2016 season in “Madame Butterfly” and Lisette Oropesa was solid in “Lucia di Lammermoor” however sang in a gala live performance to an empty theater when the 2020 season premiere was shuttered by the pandemic.
In 2008, American tenor Stuart Neill was promoted from understudy to the “Don Carlo” opening evening solid after the headlining tenor made too many gown rehearsal errors. Neill obtained beneficiant applause from the robust La Scala crowd.
“It is undoubtedly one of many issues that each artist desires about,’’ Jagde mentioned. “I believe it’s concerning the artist and assembly the second on the proper time. I believe that’s extra of what it is about than essentially the place they’re from.”
Jagde mentioned singers are drawn to La Scala’s “wealthy custom.”
“Each artist desires to not simply carry out there, however have nice success there,” Jagde mentioned. “The general public is thought to be a really devoted fanship — they usually can love you or they will hate you. You actually need to be embraced by that viewers particularly.”
Up to now, the opinions from La Scala’s higher balconies of exacting opera followers have been optimistic on his earlier two outings, Jagde mentioned, including that artists ought to settle for all suggestions.
“It’s our job as artists to embrace the truth that we’re making individuals really feel one thing. No matter they really feel is suitable to them,” he mentioned.
Jagde, 45, grew up outdoors of New York Metropolis, and began singing in musicals in excessive colleges and choirs in school, however by no means gave a thought to the opera. He began finding out laptop science and enterprise upstate however then a classical music program at Buy School nearer to dwelling grabbed his consideration, considering it’d lead him to Broadway.
“I didn’t know on the time that classical voice meant opera,” he mentioned laughing. He obtained accepted off the ready record, and rapidly fell in love with opera because the purest expression of the unadulterated voice.
“I keep in mind being on stage and experiencing one thing I had by no means skilled on stage earlier than, which was a very acoustic, magical sound,” Jagde mentioned. “This was utterly pure, listening to an orchestra beneath me, and my voice carrying over that. I keep in mind committing full-heartedly (to opera) on stage in the meanwhile.”
His school academics pegged him as a baritone, and he spent eight years doing auditions and artists packages in that vary till he realized that “I used to be nonetheless warming as much as excessive Cs and nonetheless had no low notes.”
As soon as he began auditioning as a tenor, the gives began rolling in. He made his principal function debut on the Metropolitan opera in 2021 within the function of Cavaradossi in “Tosca,” and has sung on such famend phases because the Paris Opera, the Vienna Staatsoper and Naples’ Teatro di San Carlo.
Through the 2023/24 season, he warmed up his Don Alvaro on the Metropolitan Opera Home and London’s Royal Opera Home. His La Scala debut final spring was as Turiddu in “Cavalleria rusticana.”
La Scala normal supervisor Dominique Meyer mentioned his solely consideration in casting an opera is whether or not a singer “is as much as the function.” Jagde, he mentioned, is amongst 5 or 6 tenors who may sing the Don Alvaro function, “and he was accessible.”
Jagde completed his Barcelona performances on Nov. 18, and confirmed up for rehearsals at La Scala the following day. Don Alvaro, he mentioned, is a job, “that has type of grown with me, as I’ve grown as an artist.”
Jagde mentioned singing alongside a world opera star like Netrebko for the second time this 12 months will assist take a few of the jitters out of the gala premiere.
“She is an excellent colleague. She is an efficient particular person to work with, all the time accessible to you. She is nothing however smiles and enjoyable,” he mentioned.
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