{"id":103359,"date":"2024-04-16T14:32:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T18:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=103359"},"modified":"2024-04-16T14:32:36","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T18:32:36","slug":"interview-baritone-alfred-walker-soprano-janai-brugger-talk-about-singing-cherubinis-medea-with-the-coc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/04\/16\/interview-baritone-alfred-walker-soprano-janai-brugger-talk-about-singing-cherubinis-medea-with-the-coc\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Baritone Alfred Walker & Soprano Janai Brugger Talk About Singing Cherubini\u2019s Medea With The COC"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L:
L: Baritone Alfred Walker; R: Soprano Janai Brugger (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto audiences will be offered a rare opportunity with the Canadian Opera Company\u2019s very first production of Cherubini\u2019s Medea. The notoriously challenging work stars soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role, and remounts director Sir David McVicar\u2019s staging of 2022.<\/p>\n

The opera is a co-production of the Metropolitan Opera, Greek National Opera, Canadian Opera Company, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Matthew Polenzani co-stars at Giasone, with Zoie Reams as Neris, Janai Brugger as Glauce, and Alfred Walker as King Creonte.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a unique opportunity to see an opera that\u2019s rarely done,\u201d says baritone Alfred Walker.<\/p>\n

The Opera<\/h2>\n

Luigi Cherubini premiered Medea on March 13, 1797 in Paris. The opera was based on Euripides tragedy of the same name, and had a half-hearted initial reception that led to it languishing in relative obscurity for decades, despite a translation into German and a handful of German productions. Originally written in French, an Italian version has become the standard since the 20th century.<\/p>\n

A long lost aria was discovered by researchers using x-rays to reveal areas of the original manuscript that had been blackened out. Performed sporadically over the first two centuries, its first major revival came at the hands of legendary soprano Maria Callas, who took on the title role in 1953, and made it one of her signature pieces through the 1960s.<\/p>\n

\"Medea
Medea at The Metropolitan Opera, 2022 (Photo: Marty Sohl)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Story<\/h3>\n

\u201cIf you’re looking for a happy ending, this is not the opera for that,\u201d notes Janai Brugger. Overall, it\u2019s an intense and emotional story. \u201cThere’s a lot of tension between all the characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

In ancient Corinth, preparations are being made for the wedding of Giasone (Jason, he of the Argonauts) and the princess Glauce, but all is not as happy as it seems. Medea, a sorceress who went to great lengths to ensure Giasone\u2019s victory and return to the throne, is on her way for a reckoning. Giasone assures Glauce that he\u2019s no longer interested in Medea, but the sorceress will go to extreme lengths to make sure if she can\u2019t have him, he will never again live in peace.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as bloody and vengeful as Greek mythology gets.<\/p>\n

Alfred Walker & Janai Brugger<\/h2>\n

Baritone Alfred Walker<\/strong> portrays King Creonte, Glauce\u2019s father, and the attempted peacemaker between the vengeful Medea and the wedding party. Soprano Janai Brugger<\/strong> portrays Glauce, the unlucky princess of Conrinth who is preparing for her wedding to Giasone as Medea arrives to darken the day.<\/p>\n

Walker<\/strong> is a native of New Orleans, and a graduate of Dillard University, Loyola University, and the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Program. He\u2019s won several awards, including the George London Foundation, Palm Beach Opera Competition, Houston Opera Studio’s Eleanor McCollum Competition, and the Sullivan Foundation career grant.<\/p>\n

Soprano Janai Brugger<\/strong> was the 2012 winner of Operalia and of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera the same year. Since then, she has performed with Palm Beach Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and many other companies across the United States and Europe. In 2022, she made her TV debut with on the HBO series Lovecraft Country.<\/p>\n

The Interview<\/h2>\n

Singing King Creonte<\/h3>\n

Baritone Alfred Walker sang the role of King Creonte in France several years ago, perhaps ironically using the Italian version. \u201cI know where the bodies are buried, I know the piece,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s been interesting. I\u2019m a much different singer now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning to the role was a process of its own. \u201cI like to think, because I work hard at this, that I\u2019m constantly improving,\u201d Alfred says. It means coming back to it with new skills. \u201cTo be freer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The role of King Creonte is one that requires a certain sense of presence. \u201cI think I bring that to it,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing older, I have more nobility,\u201d he adds. Life experience adds to dramatic skills. \u201cWhen you\u2019re younger, you\u2019re constantly trying to impress people with your voice. When you get older, it becomes a different process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Age, as he notes, while it\u2019s feared by many singers, can add different dimensions to your voice in terms of subtleties and character definition. \u201cMy voice has gotten, over time, deeper and more complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

His take on the role is changed, and his analysis of the role. \u201cI think […] the strength to me is in the recitatives \u2013 to really make something of that,\u201d he says. The set arias are less crucial to his role.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe music is pretty,\u201d Alfred adds. As he explains it, the recitatives impart information, but as a singer, you get a chance to really make something of the language, and what is being said. \u201cI think that\u2019s very important to this opera.\u201d<\/p>\n

The role offers welcome challenges. \u201cIt\u2019s different than anything I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d Alfred says. \u201cI don\u2019t know anything quite like it.\u201d<\/p>\n