The soothing, classical sounds of Schoenberg and Mozart drifted throughout Dreyfoos Hall at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach last week. The music created by the Munich Symphony Orchestra and the Gloriœ Dei Cantores choir was as exquisite as the detailed gold and red velvet decor of the theater itself. Soprano Valentina Fleer, soprano Julie Cherrier, tenor Eric Barry and baritone Benjamin Bloomfield added another layer of luxurious sound to the concert.
Joonbug was able to snag an interview with the 30-year-old Spanish-American tenor after the show to talk about what its like to be a young opera singer today. Barry has a Masters Degree and Artists Diploma from Yale in Opera Performance and was featured on the PBS documentary Young Opera, which dubbed him "the next big thing in the tenor world."
How did you get into singing?
I started singing Opera my sophomore year of college…at West Texas A&M University. I played [trumpet] in the marching band for three years… One of the voice teachers heard me humming something from the radio down the hall and she was like “Oh, are you a voice student?” “No,” I said “I’m not a voice student, I’m a business major…” I introduced myself and she looked me up in the student directory and called me and said “You need to take voice lessons.” She consistently called for about 4 weeks. One day she said “I really think you need to take voice lessons. I really think you have talent. I’ll pay for them.” My first lesson was pretty stellar. Over the next few years I got more serious about studying and in 2007 decided to try it full time. I moved to New York and here I am.
Tell us about the piece that you performed with the Munich Symphony Orchestra.
It was the Mozart Requiem. It’s an interesting piece. A requiem is basically a piece narrating death, a cantata if you will. The ironic part… is that Mozart wrote it when he was dying. He actually died before he finished it, and he had an assistant who finished it for him. That makes the piece more colorful...more intense… It’s like he composed his own death.
Where do you perform most?
Most of my work is in Europe. My favorite place is probably Paris. I love Paris, but I’ve also sung in Poland, and I’ll be back there in April. I’ve sung in Spain, Germany, Austria, Serbia and of course sung in Italy. Most Opera happens in Germany, Italy and France.
What is it like to be a performer in a profession that is not generally well-known by your peers?
When I talk to people at a bar in the City, or on the street and they ask what I do and I tell them I’m an Opera singer, they usually think it’s really cool because clearly you don’t meet a lot of young Opera singers. I like what I do because it’s a real challenge. It’s interesting being a young guy and singing in Operas that are usually attended by older people but… it’s really cool on a social level. People are usually very intrigued and ask a lot of questions.
How would you describe the crowd at your performances?
It depends on where I’m singing. In Europe, it’s mixed; you’re gonna see young people, middle-aged and older people. And I think it’s the same thing on the East Coast, like if you’re singing in New York City, you’re going to see a mixed crowd as well. I like that… [some] people are dressed in tuxedos and [some] people are dressed in shorts and a button down shirt.
What does Opera have to offer for a younger crowd?
It seems like so much of our entertainment is derived from some sort of electronic piece of equipment. What I like about Opera is it’s live theater that encompasses the three major arts. You’ve got acting, you’ve got the music and you’ve got dancing… in almost every Opera. It’s really eye-opening to be in the space and to see these people singing with no amplification into a house with 3,000 people in it, over an Orchestra with 80 people in it and a full chorus on stage. That’s what intrigued me from the very beginning… That the human body can harness that much power to be able to do that. If people give it a chance and go and see it, they will be surprised with their experience.
What’s it like to be compared to Pavarotti?
It’s a compliment. Pavarotti is an iconic opera singer and his voice stands alone, I think. He was one of the most impressive voices to ever be in our craft. At the same time, it’s a little daunting because I know how good Pavarotti was and I certainly can’t fill his shoes. When I sang in Italy they called me “Pavarotti Secondo” [the Second Pavarotti] and they didn’t know anything about [my] Pavarotti of the Panhandle nickname. We do have similar sounds… We kind of look the same, you know. I’m a big guy, he was a big guy, we both have a beard, we both have dark hair and you know, I’m definitely better-looking than he was [laughs, jokingly]… Before he died I would be walking past Lincoln Center or past the Metropolitan Opera and people would just stare… they thought I was Pavarotti.
So when will we see you at the Met?
Not yet…but it’ll happen. In the United States the Metropolitan Opera is the most dynamic opera house. There are other iconic houses like La Scala in Milan, Covent Garden, the Sydney Opera House which everybody recognizes as an architectural marvel. But in the states, the Met is a good place to work. It’s kind of everybody’s goal.
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