In the roles of women dependent on men

Although you were brought up in a classical music milieu, you apparently don’t think in terms of categories such as ‘pop music’ and ‘classical music’. You even like heavy metal …

As far as I am concerned, quality is what matters. The Beatles, Queen, Prince and many others wrote great music. Now I’ll even admit that on the evening before a Don Giovanni premiere in Los Angeles I went to a concert by Rammstein, a band I’ve loved for a long time (and lip-synched the numbers from beginning to end because, of course, I wasn’t allowed to sing).

You’ve had a professional singing career for 17 years. How has your voice developed over the years?

There’s not been much change in its tone. At one time I sang quite high roles, for instance Blonde from Il Seraglio. Today I am far closer to Konstanze. My voice has become stronger, somewhat deeper, and more able to meet the challenge of singing with a full orchestra; I have been receiving genuine lead roles more recently, roles such as Susanna from The Marriage of Figaro and Sophie from Der Rosenkavalier.

Do you have any dream roles?

I would love to sing the title role of Lulu in the Alban Berg opera, although I am still not ready for it (I have been offered the part on several occasions, though). I could learn it – that wouldn’t be a problem – but the long, difficult parts demand considerable stamina. I would also like to be Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo. I would really love to sing Cleopatra in Händel’s Giulio Cesare; Debussy’s Mélisande is likewise one of my absolute dream roles.

Photo: Patrick Walter

You are bringing a Baroque programme to Budapest but you sing many different styles of music. What are your favourite periods and who are your favourite composers?

I have great fondness for Wagner although I know that I will never sing the great Wagner roles. I think that as a singer I perhaps now feel closest to Purcell; it is as though with him I feel I don’t have to do anything, he is so suited to my voice. I am a fan of Schubert, particularly the sadder, more melancholic songs. We are soon to set out on a tour with two Salve Reginas, Pergolesi’s and Schubert’s; in the latter the soprano part is accompanied by a string quartet. From the 20th century, I feel most attracted to the crystal clear music of Webern: you’ve always got to sing long phrases even though the music is extremely fragmented. This is what makes it so beautiful. Yes, I think these three are my favourites: Purcell, Schubert and Webern.

Your Budapest programme is built around the personalities of two great female figures, Dido and Cleopatra. Is there some sort of feminist message in this?

Without doubt. Irrespective of the fact that Cleopatra was a historical figure and Dido fictional, we see in both characters a woman strongly dependent on her male partner. As soon as Aeneas leaves Dido, not only does the woman collapse but all of Carthage does too. Cleopatra could only remain a strong queen alongside Julius Caesar and then Marcus Antonius. There have been a few strong female figures in history, and of course many more that we don’t know about because they weren’t able to assert themselves, but all had to pay a high price in fundamentally patriarchal societies

The question of female roles and stereotypes is frequently aired these days. As an opera singer, what are your experiences in this matter?

Opera has always been a more tolerant world, a world where talent counts first and foremost, not sexual orientation; and as for the gender roles, in principle there is much diversity here: in the beginning castrati were the heroes of opera, while homosexual artists played a defining role in the history of the genre, most probably because of their more imaginative, more delicate and sensitive nature. The majority of my friends are gay but of course that’s not why I chose them, rather because they are wonderful, generous, creative people. I have lived in Berlin since I was ten, in this extremely open, tolerant city where one can meet on the streets the most diverse couples and nobody is flustered. I’m not saying that I have never come across discriminatory behavior against women in my profession, but perhaps it is less common. For instance, when I was contracted to the Staatsoper, I received a lower salary than a tenor colleague of mine just because he was a man, despite him having the same amount of experience as me. And men are in the most influential positions, something that is most evident among the circle of conductors, although things are changing here as well, albeit slowly. Women have to make a far greater eff ort in everything, and often they are judged very unfairly. If a woman wants something, then she has to be sweet and compliant because if she dare raise her voice or express herself more forcefully, then she is immediately written off as being hysterical. If a man does the same thing, then everyone nods understandingly, commenting on what ‘authority’ he has. It is far harder for us to acquire this ‘authority’; if women fight for their rights, if they question why they don’t receive the same freedoms, why nobody takes account of the fact that they bring up children, why they have to work for less money, or if they simply express a different opinion about something, they are immediately asked: “why are you being so aggressive?”. This has to change.

Judit Rácz