{"id":56141,"date":"2018-10-06T12:16:17","date_gmt":"2018-10-06T16:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=56141"},"modified":"2018-10-07T10:49:24","modified_gmt":"2018-10-07T14:49:24","slug":"interview-gordon-bintner-wants-onegin-to-be-one-of-his-signature-roles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/10\/06\/interview-gordon-bintner-wants-onegin-to-be-one-of-his-signature-roles\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Gordon Bintner Wants Onegin To Be One Of His Signature Roles"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gordon
Canadian Bass-Baritone Gordon Bintner chats about his return to Toronto to sing the title role in The Canadian Opera Company’s production of Eugene Onegin, and the process which informs his artistic practice. (Photo: Taylor Long)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>he first time Toronto heard the promising bass-baritone Gordon Bintner was in July 2011, at the Toronto Summer Music Festival\u2019s Art of the Song masterclass.\u00a0 Now seven years later, Bintner is no longer promising but has arrived. On the roster of Oper Frankfurt as a fest<\/em> artist, he\u2019s singing major roles the likes of Papageno, Belcore, Chorebe, Der Graf (Capriccio<\/em>), Count Almaviva, and Harlekin. He is represented by none other than the big time agency, Columbia Artists Management. \u00a0According to his CAMI page, Mr. Bintner has upcoming debuts at Covent Garden, the Met, and Lyric Opera of Chicago: \u201cYes, but I\u2019m not allowed to say in what roles\u2026\u201d replied Bintner when we recently met for a chat at the Four Seasons Centre. He\u2019s in town singing his first Onegin<\/a>, a role that suits his voice and temperament very well.<\/p>\n

We saw the dress last evening \u2014 it was excellent! Really enjoyed your Onegin.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you. It\u2019s challenging in many ways, but it\u2019s coming together.<\/p>\n

Challenging vocally or dramatically?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A bit of both. It\u2019s a big role and dramatically intense. The challenge is mostly in balancing the dramatic and vocal demands, and in the pacing \u2014 where you can conserve and where to let the emotions pour out. It\u2019s a great role, a perfect fit. My personality in real life is quite quiet and reserved; it plays well into his stoic character. There\u2019s a stoic and stately quality about Onegin that\u2019s something I\u2019m striving for.<\/p>\n

“Stoic\u201d is one way of putting it! Others would describe him as icy.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, I know, although I think his intentions are sincere. \u00a0I don\u2019t think he\u2019s intentionally cold or cruel to Tatiana. He has her best interest at heart. In Act One she has fallen completely in love with him. She\u2019s so young; it\u2019s a young love. He\u2019s saying: \u2018look, I want to be honest with you and not lead you on. I can\u2019t return your love; you\u2019ll have other loves.\u2019 It seems like a cruel rejection, and it is because she\u2019s so invested, so overwhelmed by her passion for him. In my aria, I\u2019m saying \u2018I am not worthy of your love. I am not in a place in my life where I can return your love.\u2019 Onegin in Act One is 26.\u00a0 In Act 3 he is 30. As it turns out I\u2019m 30 right now. It’s fun to play my age. It makes it authentic in some way.<\/p>\n

Who coached you in Onegin?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I worked with Richard Epp, a wonderful coach in BC. But first I brought it to (soprano and Russian language coach) Natalya Gennadi in Toronto. We spoke through it, and she recorded the entire text twice on tape for me. She\u2019s amazing. Then I went to Richard Epp, who\u2019s a fantastic coach. I\u2019ve prepared some roles with him in the past. When I came to the COC, there\u2019s an incredible staff here, with wonderful coaches at our disposal.<\/p>\n

When you are learning a role like Onegin, do you listen to recordings?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Not in the beginning, ever. I always start with the text and the pronunciation. When I started with Natalya, I had heard the opera, but I hadn\u2019t started listening to recordings. I wanted the text to be the priority. It helps me to learn quicker. In Mozart, it\u2019s the same. I work on the recits, just the text, the rhythm of the text, the stress of the text. Then adding music is easy. The melodies aren\u2019t difficult. I do listen to Hvorostovsky \u2014 such a beautiful voice and interpretation. He has that stoic quality, that strong character about him. \u00a0The reason I don\u2019t listen to many recordings is because I\u00a0want to produce my own unique Onegin. I don\u2019t want to try to sound like someone else. I want to give my most authentic individual portrayal. [Not listening to recordings means] you\u2019re not bound by pre-existing interpretations. It\u2019s nice to organically create something as if it\u2019s for the first time.<\/p>\n

Do you foresee Onegin becoming a staple in your repertoire? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I certainly hope so. It\u2019s such a fulfilling role. Dramatically it fits so well. It requires thought and study, but just naturally I feel I can step onstage and become Onegin.<\/p>\n

There are people who say Onegin is a bad guy. What do you think?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I can understand that point of view. When you are playing a \u2018bad guy\u2019 \u2013 let\u2019s say he is a bad guy \u2013 the approach shouldn\u2019t be to see him as bad.<\/p>\n

Do you look for redeeming qualities in him?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I look for redeeming qualities, and the sincerity and integrity in his point of view. He rejects Tatiana, so he\u2019s seen as an anti-hero. But I think Carsen thinks Onegin\u2019s intention is not one of cruelty, but he sincerely wants what\u2019s best for Tatiana. He\u2019s not in a place where he can reciprocate her love. He’s honest and sincere.<\/p>\n

In this production, Onegin goes from the duel scene of shooting Lensky dead to immediately getting changed for the ball without a break \u2014 it\u2019s very chilling. This Onegin is very hard; he doesn\u2019t break down. I have seen productions where he drops to his knees, touches or embraces the dead body.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I do touch him, and there\u2019s that acknowledgement of what I\u2019ve done and the inner torment that begins. Although I understand he\u2019s seen as an anti-hero, I don\u2019t approach it that way, but with sincerity and honesty.<\/p>\n

Tell us about your experience in Frankfurt. When I interviewed you a year ago for L\u2019Elisir d\u2019amore, you said you were enjoying Oper Frankfurt.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m still loving my time in Frankfurt. It\u2019s such a great opera house. It was just voted Opera House of the Year 2018 by Opernwelt.<\/em> This just happened within the last couple of days.<\/p>\n

Oh great! How does it feel to be living and working in a foreign country, with its different language, culture, food? Do you miss home?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I miss home for sure, but I\u2019ve adjusted quite well. I\u2019ve taken German courses; I make an effort to speak the language. Everyone in the opera house, from my colleagues to the backstage staff to the dressers, the makeup people, everybody is so kind and generous. There are Canadians and Americans, so I do have that connection to North America in Frankfurt. But I also make an effort to make German friends, because I think it\u2019s important to embrace the culture, to show my appreciation for the job I\u2019ve been granted. I\u2019m honestly loving being there. It\u2019s a great lifestyle, this German system.<\/p>\n

They have an opera culture that we don\u2019t have, not to the same degree anyway<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

They really do. It\u2019s a blessing to be exposed to so much opera, and to perform operas for an audience that appreciate it so deeply. The support and attendance and the love for opera is\u00a0huge.<\/p>\n

Last year you told us you sing only about 18 performances a year.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s slightly different now. I sing about 25 or more. This season alone, I sing Onegin here, then back in Frankfurt \u2014 Papageno, Harlekin, Argante in Rinaldo<\/em>, Vladislav in Dalibor<\/em>, the Count in Die ferne Klang<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Shreker\u2019s Die ferne Klang \u2014 Wow! How do you like the music?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The music is challenging to the ear. However, it turns out my role (the Count) has a beautiful aria. I have a couple of other scenes that are more challenging. Like any difficult music, it\u2019s just a matter of finding your way in.\u00a0 I did From the House of the Dead<\/em> last season. When you first listen to Janacek, it\u2019s also challenging, but after performing the piece, it\u2019s one of my favourites! When I\u2019m working on this sort of opera, I am not always in love with it, but after I learned it and performed it, I fall in love with the style.<\/p>\n

Where do you see your voice going in the next five, ten years?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know. I\u2019ll continue to stretch myself and explore different repertoires, but I just want to continue to sing in a healthy way. I\u2019ll always have Mozart in my repertoire, and I\u2019ll always keep recitals in my repertoire \u2014 that\u2019s where I started, singing German Lieder. I also enjoy the French repertoire. I sang Les Troyens,<\/em>\u00a0and I\u2019ll always sing Handel \u2014 I love to move my voice. I expect I\u2019ll keep doing these in the next five to ten years.<\/p>\n

Do you have dream roles?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe Wozzeck \u2014 something that every bass-baritone aspires to, down the line. And Billy Budd. I just want to continue to be singing in a healthy way.<\/p>\n

I want to ask you a question I asked you a year ago \u2014 your thoughts on balancing career and personal life. How does it feel having a two-career family?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We take it day-by-day. This is a difficult question… In everything we do, we put our love first, that\u2019s our number one priority. We have our own careers, our own aspirations. But through everything, our connection is the most important thing. We support each other in everything we do. If Simone is performing I\u2019m there to support her, and vice versa. We just do our best, to meet up on the road. In Frankfurt, sometimes we have three weeks or a month together, which is a complete luxury. We\u2019re both breaking into the European scene; it\u2019s a period of transition for both of us. Both of our careers are very important to us, but at the end of the day, the single most important thing is our love and our connection. We always make that our priority.<\/p>\n

Thank so much for speaking with me, and continued success to you and Simone<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

The Canadian Opera Company’s production of Eugene Onegin<\/span> runs through Nov. 3, 2018,\u00a0at the Four Seasons Centre. Details, here<\/a><\/span>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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