“The fishbowl we all live in is pretty horrifying for young singers, much less the lack of opportunity,” he says. Youtunes thomas hampson professional#Despite their entering an environment where there is a dearth of ways to gain professional experience, opera’s artists are under a level of scrutiny that has never been higher. “The recording industry, the radio industry, all of that is completely different.”Īnd in the world of opera, Hampson bemoans the few and far-between chances that young singers have to learn their craft. “As a singer, as a professional, experienced singer, older colleague,” Hampson advises young singers entering the profession, “I can only say that the industry you’re in is not the industry I started in.” His impressive discography, much of which is devoted to his acclaimed interpretations of German Lied, is something that “no one on the planet today” could accomplish, even over multiple decades of work. Yet he’s aware that it’s not the same for his younger colleagues - and not just because of seniority. Hampson’s status as an operatic A-lister has earned him the clout to add his two cents to a composer as he writes a world premiere. Photo: Catherine Pisaroni/Lenny’s Studio. Thomas Hampson (Hadrian) and Isaiah Bell (Antinous) in the Canadian Opera Company’s world premiere production of Hadrian, 2018. “I essentially rewrote the second half of the trio, and was thrilled,” he says. Where Wainwright’s original writing for Hadrian was too low for Hampson to sing with maxiumum impact, the baritone made the case for revisions. “It’s really about what physical gestures mean what, and what physical gestures convey what.”Ĭreating this scene was a small part of the staggering task of creating a new opera Hampson, though he admits to minimal influence in Hadrian’s genesis, took judicious opportunities to vouch for the importance of the voice. “It was a very methodical, slow process,” says Hampson of his work with intimacy coach Siobhan Richardson. Youtunes thomas hampson skin#Regardless of whether the focus of the scene is on the physical - how much skin was shown, or how graphic the action would become - or about depicting love, a sex scene is certainly a vulnerable thing to rehearse. Though audience members may have been voyeuristic in their curiosity over the scene - and perhaps the chemistry between Hampson and up-and-coming Canadian tenor Isaiah Bell, who sings the role of Hadrian’s lover Antinous - the creative team behind Hadrian was focused instead on defining deep intimacy between the two men. “There were various contemplations of clad and unclad, for both of us.” For all the experience in Hampson’s career - three decades, over 80 roles, and 170 recordings - a homosexual love scene was a first for the famed baritone.ĭirector Peter Hinton noted that this wordless scene, musically scored with great care by Wainwright, is a rare onstage moment of tenderness and love between two men. “Nude was always off the table,” says Thomas Hampson of the much-anticipated love scene he would stage as the title role in Rufus Wainwright’s second opera, Hadrian. Talking with singers: Thomas Hampson Interview Jenna Simeonov Oct 28, 2018
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