Opera japonica/Juan Diego Florez

Juan Diego Flórez

Since his 1996 operatic debut at the Rossini Festival at Pesaro in Italy, the young belcanto tenor, Juan Diego Flórez, has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of his profession.

He will sing Almaviva in the star-studded production of Il barbiere di Siviglia - including Vasselina Kasarova as Rosina, Leo Nucci as Figaro, and Giovanni Furlanetto as Don Basilio - being presented in Otsu (Kyoto) and Tokyo during the Bologna Opera's tour of Japan in May and June.

Opera japonica's Maria Nockin spoke to him in Stockholm from her home in Arizona, by telephone, on 16 February. They discussed his musical background in Peru, education in America and the successful launching of his career in Italy.

Maria Nockin: Have many opera singers come from Peru?

Juan Diego FLÓREZ: We have had some other tenors from there, Luigi Alva, Ernesto Palacio, In the 1920s and 30s we had Alessandro Granda, a favorite of Toscanini and of Mascagni. He sang everywhere: La Scala, and everywhere in Europe. It is strange, though, that we have only had tenors. No sopranos and no mezzos have come from my country, the operatic tradition is not strong there.

Nockin: Do you have an opera company in Lima?

FLÓREZ: We have an opera season run by Alva every year. We also have concerts and concert presentations of opera run by Ernesto Palacio, so I go there to sing sometimes. Last year we did Semiramide with some great singers.

Nockin: Was your father a professional singer?

FLÓREZ: Yes, my father, Rubén Florez, was a professional singer. He sang Peruvian music, usually music from the coast which is different from the better known Andean music. The music from the shore is closer to Spanish music. I sang that kind of music at home and I had a rock band. I used to do solo ballads and composed my own songs. I listened to music in various styles other than classical.

Juan Diego Flórez as Elvino in La sonnambula in Turin

Nockin: What made you decide to embark on a career as a singer?

FLÓREZ: I always wanted to do something with music. In high school I used to sing in the chorus and I played little concerts in piano bars. Then I was doing festivals and things like that. I wanted to learn more about singing so the chorus master at the high school gave me some lessons. He sang in an operatic manner and I began to imitate him.

He taught me two pieces, one was 'Questa o quella' from Rigoletto and the other was the Schubert 'Ave Maria'. With them I entered the Conservatorio Nacional de Lima where I could learn music . . . music as a whole, not just singing. When I began to study there I did not know whether I wanted to do opera or pop music. I gradually decided to do classical music.

Nockin: Where did you go from there?

FLÓREZ: In 1993 I went to the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia because I was ready for a higher level of education and I wanted to see other parts of the world. There, I studied with Marlena Malas and we used to do complete operas.

In 1994, on a vacation in Lima, I met Ernesto Palacio who is now my manager. He was a singer himself at that time, but he was interested in helping me, in nourishing my career. He started to supervise my studies at Curtis step by step. He advised me on what I was singing there, sometimes over the phone. Occasionally, I would go to Italy to prepare roles that I was to do at Curtis, such as Il barbiere di Siviglia and Il viaggio a Reims, so I think my professional and technical career began when I met him.

Nockin: How did you get from Curtis to Pesaro?

FLÓREZ: I studied three years at Curtis. While I was still a student there, at the age of 23, I auditioned for the Rossini Festival where I was given a small role. That year I finished school and went to Italy to rehearse. We were singing an opera called Ricciardo e Zoraide. I only had a small part, but I was the cover for the leading role which meant that I sometimes sang the main aria and I was heard by many people in the opera company.

Two weeks before the opening of the 1996 Rossini Festival at Pesaro the tenor who was to sing the main role in Matilde di Shabran fell ill and canceled. There was some desperation as the opera company tried to find a suitable substitute. The artistic director asked me if I would do it and I said, "Let me look at the part". Without a great deal of thought I came back and said yes, being young and a bit naive. Only afterwards did I realize how difficult it was and how long, but by then I was already on board ship and had to sail ahead. It went well, so that was the beginning of my career.

Nockin: I have heard that Riccardo Muti was helpful to you. How did that come about?

FLÓREZ: People from La Scala, including the artistic director, were at Pesaro. They became interested in me and they wanted me to audition for Muti. So, right after my performances at the Rossini Festival, I sang for him and he picked me for Gluck's Armide in December. So my professional debut was in August and I made my La Scala debut in December.

Actually, I went to Wexford in Ireland to do Meyerbeer's L'étoile du nord between Pesaro and Milan. When I arrived in Milan I ran into another piece of luck. Maestro Muti asked me to sing the opening night performance. It was a great opportunity and I did it. Since that time he has taken me under his wing. We have done some operas together and he has been a mentor to me.

Nockin: What are the major opera houses in which you have sung?

FLÓREZ: Now that I have made my debut in New York, I can say that I have sung in the five major opera houses: La Scala in Milan, The Opéra National in Paris, the Staatsoper in Vienna, Covent Garden in London, and the Met in New York. I am fortunate to have done that.

Nockin: And how old are you?

FLÓREZ: I am 29, not so young any more! I think American singers start a bit later than I did.

Nockin: Do you do many concerts and recitals?

FLÓREZ: I do mainly complete operas, but I occasionally sing concerts and recitals. I will always do more opera, but in the future there will be a few more concerts and recitals than there are now.

Nockin: You did both a concert and a recital in Japan. What was it like going there for the first time?

FLÓREZ: It was a nice experience. The first time I was in Japan I did a recital with piano and the second time I went there I did a concert with orchestra in which I sang Rossini arias. The Japanese public is delightful. You get good communication and a good rapport with them. I will enjoy going back there to sing Barbiere.

I remember how much I wanted to speak to the audience at my recital about one piece and they clapped so much that I had to make a sign to them. They stopped immediately, in an instant . . . they are so orderly! Later, after another song, I inadvertently took a step forward and they stopped clapping all at the same time, but I did not want to say anything - so it was funny!

Nockin: What language did you use with them?

FLÓREZ: English, Almost everyone seemed to speak English there.

Nockin: What are your favorite roles?

FLÓREZ: The Barber of Seville is one of them, along with Ramiro in Cenerentola and Lindoro in L'italiana . . . maybe more Cenerentola and Barber, but I like Italiana, too. I also like Sonnambula and Fille du Regiment.

Nockin: How do you like the nine high Cs in Fille?

FLÓREZ: They are no problem. I have also sung that aria in concert and as an encore, at which point I was asked to do it AGAIN! After having sung Rossini, the Donizetti is not so difficult and the part is short compared to a major Rossini role. It's an opera in which you rest a lot and it has a nice singing line.

Nockin: What are your future roles and dates?

FLÓREZ: I am going to New York to sing Barbiere again. I go to Japan in May, then to La Scala for Barbiere and to Montpellier to do La donna del lago, which I will also do in Salzburg this summer. I will sing Cenerentola at the Met in September.

Nockin: What are your latest recordings?

FLÓREZ: My Bellini and Donizetti aria disc will be released next year. That's it for recordings at this moment.

Nockin: Do you have any time for a private life?

FLÓREZ: Yes, yes! My private life has to share time with my work and I'm always working, that's a fact . . . but I do have a girlfriend!

Nockin: Thank you and good night!

Juan Diego Flórez with Gioachino Rossini

Juan Diego Flórez's 2002 schedule

New York, Met: Barbiere, April 11,15,19, 26

Kansas City: First American recital, April 21

Lima, Peru: Rossini concert, April 30

Vienna, Staatsoper: La sonnambula, May 4, 8, 13, 16

Como: Recital, May 11

Kyoto and Tokyo, Bologna Opera in Japan: Il barbiere, May 26, 31, June 2, 6, 12

Milan, La Scala: Il barbiere, June 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, July 2, 5, 12, 16, 18

La Coruna: recital, July 7

Spoleto Festival: recital, July 10

Montpellier : La donna del lago, July 23

Perelada Festival: recital, July 27

Amsterdam: recital, August 17

Salzburg: La donna del lago, August 27, 29

Decca Recording: Bellini and Donizetti Arias, August 31 to September 4.

New York, Met: Cenerentola, September/October