Adam Plachetka and His First Don Giovanni in Vienna

It has been barely a few hours since the last spectators of Mozart’s Don Giovanni left the Vienna State Opera auditorium and Adam Plachetka shut the door of his dressing room in that theatre. He has just given a demanding performance, one of the most important in his career so far. He had sung Don Giovanni in Wiener Staatsoper for the first time, since he was asked by the theatre management to step in late last week and sing all four September performances.

Good morning from Prague, how was the performance last night? Can you share some of your reflections with us?

First of all, I realized that I would sing certain parts differently next time. Overall, I was very pleased with the general support , and that I could simply be enjoying the performance. Let me tell you, it was a wonderful evening, and I would like to thank again my colleagues and the audience.

What about your colleagues on the stage? How did you feel singing under the baton of Patrick Lange?

My colleagues were outstanding. In my opinion, we have got a very good cast. It is a pity that for various reasons, like strikes in Italy, the performance of our chorus in La Scala, sickness, and last minute cast changes, we were unable to do a full rehearsal till Monday. Even though we had a week to refresh our knowledge of the score, the rehearsals were rather makeshift, depending on who was available at the moment. Also, right from the onset, it looked like I was only stepping in during the rehearsals, and that someone else would be singing the actual performance. I felt like I was only helping with the rehearsals instead of getting myself prepared for the real thing. Previously I had already sung Masetto twice with Patrick, so I am familiar with his approach to the work, and it was thus easy to find common ground. His pace is brisk, so the performance runs nicely.

And how was the audience?

It took some time for them to warm up during the evening. At the end, they looked pleased. I’d rather keep this answer short, since the atmosphere in the audience is better gauged from there than from the stage.

Were you nervous during the performance? Did you feel the stage fright?

I do not suffer from stage fright. When I feel that the role was not hastily patched together, fortunately not a frequent occurence, I am always looking forward to be on the stage. There is no doubt that the role of Don Giovanni is generally considered more seriously, but in my view it is the Mozart role as the others. So I simply said to myself: Instead of Figaro in December, it is now Giovanni in September. Should it not be good enough, I would hit the crunch several months later anyway. Truth to be said, the long list of those who sang on the Vienna State Opera stage in the past in quite impressive. However, one cannot be stressed by that too much, since all has already been seen and heard there, and the challenge is how to succeed here currently.

How did you spend the day of the performance? Do you need some extra concentration? Or some special ritual?

On the day of the performance I usually rehearse in the morning. However, the house rules prohibit that in case of principal roles, so I had lots of free time and honestly was not sure how to spend it best. I did not go jogging, not to sprain an ankle and to conserve the energy for the evening. I was considering seeing another rehearsal but nothing particularly interesting was going on that day, so I went once more over the score and my notes and was looking forward to the evening. I am not keen on rituals, only if I am to perform at night, I start gradually to warm up my voice in the morning to save some time and be ready in the evening. That is about all.

By now, you must be quite familiar with the Vienna State Opera, having already spent a year on the roster there. You also sang the role of Masetto in the current production. Was it of some help last night – perhaps providing more inner peace? Or was it rather confining?

I have got a confidence boost mainly from my colleagues and the members of the opera fan club. Well before the cast decision was made in my favour, quite a few people came to ask me whether I would be singing that role and that they would like to see me in it. Therefore I felt that I had nothing to prove and could simply be enjoying the evening.

How long did you have to think it over before accepting the offer to replace Bo Skovhus? Did it make any difference having already been a cover for that role since the first night of this production last December?

I did not have to think twice. I knew from the very beginning that it was my favourite role and I wanted to sing it as often as possible in as many places. I realized already during the general rehearsal where I was almost stepping in for Ildebrando, that anything could happen and that I could be called in at the last moment to sing in the evening. This time, I was waiting for the management’s decision whether they would entrust myself with role or look for someone else, perhaps more famous. Along with Don Giovanni, I was also rehearsing the role of Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and it was rather difficult to do both well at the same time. At the end, I had to give up Il Barbiere and concentrate solely on Giovanni.

This may sound a bit insidious, but I’ll ask anyway: How satisfied are you with your Tuesday night performance? Are you able to say which parts of the role gave you most satisfaction and vice versa? How was your mental and physical condition then?

I am very rarely entirely satisfied with my performances. Not that I would always be saying that it was not that great, but I always feel certain reserves. Regarding my fitness, it looks like a double sword here. They keep us very busy which does not allow the voice to ‘fall asleep,’ so to say, but one has to be constantly conscious of the right vocal technique not to get burnt out and end the career prematurely. I was slightly running that risk initially, when I arrived here a year ago. Every day, I went through two rehearsals and then studied new repertoire for next day at night. Previously, I was not used to work like that at all and found it quite overwhelming during the first several weeks. Fortunately, I realized fast that it was not the way to go, and started to emphasize unconditionally the technique before the expression, and found other ways how to achieve the same effect using less energy.

Regarding the performance last night, I already went last week carefully through two piano versions of the score, and was looking for spots where I did not get it right previously, either in the text or musically. I found very minor things that 99% of the listeners would not notice but still, it was enough to fill two letter-size pages. Some of them I managed to correct already, some others will take more time because they have been in my head for so long. Some time ago, I read and interview where a colleague of mine mentioned that he knew a certain role so well that he did not have to rehearse it at all. Regretfully, I can only envy him, since even if I study a role continuously, sooner or later at least a small glitch will come up.

Let’s recall all your performances of Don Giovanni in some imaginary ranking and how well you did. Where would you place your latest performance in Vienna?

I feel myself that my voice is constantly evolving. Obviously, I cannot perceive that objectively. It is up to the audience to judge. Personally speaking, every performance reveals to me new details in every role, and in case of Don Giovanni, that evolution seems to have no limits. That is why I am convinced that every future performance is better and more complex. But let me emphasize once more that it is only my feeling and my way to deeper understand a role, and I only hope that the audience will feel the same. At the same time, I cannot forget my first production of Don Giovanni in Znojmo (a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic, near the border with Lower Austria) directed by Jana Janěková. She helped me tremendously to understand the psychological part of the role. I would say that just because of that particular production, it became so much easier for me to work in all those that followed.

Have you got any feedback, either from your colleagues, or the opera house management yet?

So far, I have heard only good things. Obviously I am not aware of what is being said in the theatre, but immediately after the performance, I felt that the general manager and others were satisfied.

Let’s not play ostrich here: We live in the Czech Republic, and it is a well known fact that individual success is often met by jealousy here. To what extent are you willing to admit it? Do you find it rather stressful or is it something that drives you to perform even better?

Personally, I do not find it stressful at all. It goes without saying that our profession includes a lot of space in the limelight where we step willingly and the report cards cannot be always only favourable. Let us not forget first that art cannot be judged by concrete measures, it always follows personal perceptions. It would be rather said if everybody like the same thing. Logically, one cannot endear to all people. In my books, there are two types of negative comments. It can be constructive criticism that I always appreciate; even though it is more palatable to hear it while sipping a cup of coffee than reading it in a discussion forum. I always ponder any reproach to my person, no matter how illogical it may initially sound. Every opinion, or most of them, contain some element of truth, and taking them seriously is a good way for further self-improvement. The other type of comment is, rather unfortunately, vague and broad dropping of insults under the guise of anonymity. I need to admit that comments like that, especially with regard to ‘hot’ topics, like concerts of foreign interpreters in the Czech Republic or Met broadcasts, unnecessarily take away the enjoyment of the discussion forum, and I quickly lose interest to read them. As far as the comments under the article announcing my taking over of the Don Giovanni role go (assuming that was the reason for your question), let me say just this: I never take personally any unconstructive criticism. If anybody has a need to feel better by spreading anonymous hate, I wish them at least those ‘little pleasures’ in their lives. Any prognosis regarding the career future is easy to come up with, much harder to fulfill. Obviously, I am quite aware of the fact that my career could end next month or at the age of seventy. Should it happen within next ten years, the person who predicted that could tell me ‘I told you so,’ but would they have a recipe how to last longer? And would they manage better, should they have the right opportunity to do so? I can assure you that my life is more precious to myself than to all members of all the discussion forums, and I always carefully ponder future offers, my career and discuss it with the people whom I trust. The end result is uncertain but I do all I can to make it happen, to be able to give better performances for the enjoyment of those who come to see me in the theatre.

All the best, and not only in Vienna, and thank you for the interview.

Conducted by Vít Dvořák

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