Steve Davislim (tenor)

I have noticed in your biography that you played French horn early in your career. A layman would consider that a definitive advantage when studying singing with regard to the breath technique, would it not? Do you still play French horn nowadays?

No unfortunately the instrument is not compatible with singing as it closes the throat and no one wants to hear a tenor with a closed throat! A great shame as I love the instrument still and I often feel melancholy when there are beautiful horn parts in the orchestra. There were some advantages with the breathing in long phrases but also some disadvantages as I had to unlearn things that were different, especially with coloratura.

I have got a first chance to see you perform in Dresden as a wonderful Tom in successful production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Do you still recall that role and to what extent Has Tom really become something very dear to you?

I do love that opera, the wonderful libretto, the role is so satisfying to play and sing too. It is not every day you can be married to a bearded lady. Stravinsky created a masterpiece that should be performed far more often.

Two years ago in Baden-Baden you performed the role of Max in Weber’s Der Freischutz. You considered that role as the highlight of your career. Why? The role of Max is considered by many tenors to be rather difficult. How difficult was it for you?

I was most fortunate to sing the role with Thomas Hengelbrock who had a very clear early-ish romantic vision of the work. It is a difficult role but it made more musical sense to me when it was allowed to have Schubertian nuances from both the voice and orchestra instead of the usual overblown late romantic we are used to hearing today.

You still sing many Mozartean roles. How does it feel to return to that repertoire after having sung Max? Do you share the concern of some of your colleagues that the voice can become heavier? Or that it might lose some flexibility?

I think there is a tendency for singers to be put into overly simplistic categories. Yes my voice has developed with the years but I am, as some of my colleagues are, very conscious of keeping the voice supple and not singing too much, too often on the heavy side. I did much work with Gösta Windberg who had a similar weight voice (he said something to this effect at the time). He sung heavier roles later in his career but also maintained the Mozart and indeed Bach roles. He is quite a role model for me.

Could you describe the cooperation with the director Robert Wilson when preparing Der Freischutz in Baden-Baden? Many a singer have expressed a complaint that Wilson’s staging is often quite contradictory to the phrases of music.

I would not describe Robert Wilson’s staging as contradictory but sometimes detached by design from the the music at hand. He has a very clear theatrical aesthetic that oftentimes relegates the music to role of ‘parallel universe’. He goes to great trouble to explain his aesthetic manifesto at the beginning of a production which he traces back to an artistic revelation he had back in the 60s.

This type of detachment can sometimes reveal musical aspects that were previously hidden, then other times madden the listener (and the performer) while trying to enjoy an opera while simultaneously being forced to watch/play a Western style Japanese ‘Noh’ theater.

Your future plans also include the role of Michel in the Martinu’s opera Julietta to be performed in Geneva. Have you already sung that role or will it be for the first time? How do you like that kind of music and do you consder it difficult for a singer?

I simply love this role and music! I was completely surprised the first time I heard this work as I knew some of his orchestral pieces. The imagination, theatrical skill and sheer beauty makes it now one of my favourite works. It is challenging as Michel but not more so than other parts of the genre. Yes, I performed as part of the recording with Charles Mackerras in Prague and then with Thomas Netopil with the Berlin Philharmonic, a wonderful performance that the audience were thrilled with. I look forward to Geneva and hopefully many other performances.

Does you current repertoir include any other Czech music, or are there any plans to include it in the near future?

Unfortunately not but I will have to address this issue!

Which performance or career highlight do you treasure most so far?

It would have to be the opening of the La Scala season 2005 when I sang the protagonist in Mozart’s Idomeneo.

Prague concert goers will get a chance to hear you perform Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in October. Will that be your first concert in Prague?

The only other time was, as I mentioned the Juliette with Mackerras and I hope not the last in your lovely city.

Besides the already mentioned Julietta, what are your plans for the upcoming season? Are you preparing any new roles?

The biggest role coming up is my debut as Titus in Dresden. Can’t wait.

You hail from Australia but Switzerland is not a stange territory for you. You studied in Zurich and – as far as I know – you currently reside there. Do you consider Switzerland your home for now? Don’t you miss Australia that seems to be so different from Europe?

After the studio I was in the Zurich opera house ensemble for 7 years till 2000 and in Europe for 21 years now. Although there are many aspects that I miss about Australia the musical and cultural life in Europe is so rich I have the impression that I still need another lifetime to see and experience the things I would still like to. I have so far lived in Italy, Greece, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and have spent considerable time with my work in the major cities of Europe and America. Now I am in Vienna. I’ll have to see where I am off to next.

Thank you for the interview and good luck.

www.stevedavislim.com