INTERVIEW: Celebrated tenor Raúl Melo to perform Radames role in NJ ‘Aida’
Raúl Melo, the celebrated tenor who has played the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, will bring his interpretation of Radames to the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida this weekend. The special performance will take place Sunday, April 23 at 3 p.m. at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey.
Melo has graced the top opera stages around the world, bringing life to some of the most iconic roles in the repertoire. He has performed in 19 countries and 39 U.S. states. For Radames, Melo needs to reacquaint himself with the material.
“I have to re-memorize, re-familiarize myself,” the singer said in a recent phone interview. “The themes, the text can get quite dense sometimes, so it’s a tedious but very necessary process to try to get it all back in my head again.”
Melo opened up about his life on the road as an opera singer and what audiences can expect at the BergenPAC. Here is a sample of what he had to say:
On preparing for Radames …
“It’s not easy. It relies on a pretty big part of the voice … the spot of the voice between where it’s really high and the part where it’s more like normal speaking, so it’s a very easy spot to get lost in. It takes a lot of patience and staying on top of it and not getting too excited to make sure you don’t go astray and go hoarse, which I’ve seen happen to other people.”
On performing at the Metropolitan Opera …
“Well, that was, of course, the Metropolitan Opera. You can’t even talk about that as an American. It’s just one of those things. It would be as if you were British and working in Covent Garden. Washington would maybe quibble, but it is in some ways our national theater, our national opera theater. It’s certainly the biggest, and so it’s always been something I’ve seen on TV since a kid. … I went to the same stage that Luciano Pavarotti did, and there I was singing the Duca of Rigoletto.”
On touring around the world …
“As a singer, my very first job and the very first three weeks was fascinating, exciting. It was in Austria. It was very different. Then past that, it can be a real grind, so as I’ve been doing this for a while, there’s certain things I’d like to have, like my own kitchen and a little bit of free time. But that’s oftentimes beyond the control of the company. They can only give me what they have, so, yeah, it can be a grind. I prefer to have a day off, a week or two off between trips, but sometimes that’s just not possible.
“Like right now, I’m in New Mexico. Before that, I was in Russia. Before that, I was performing in Manhattan. … Monday I was on a plane to Moscow. I came back from Moscow on the following Monday, and Tuesday I was on a plane to New Mexico. I go back to New York Sunday night on the red eye, and Monday morning I’m in rehearsal for Aida. It can get a little tiring.”
On keeping his voice strong …
“I was visiting with my host here. … First I went to dinner with an old colleague from the Met, and then I was here with my host. So I was chattering between 6 and 10 p.m., and then at the end of that, I realized I better shut up because I have a show tonight actually. So I said goodnight. I got to go. I can’t talk anymore, and I just went back to my quarters. I have a separate quarters in this house, and I didn’t go to bed. I just didn’t talk anymore. … There’s no right or wrong with that kind of thing. I’m more along the lines it’s better if I don’t talk.”
On living his dream …
“I remember having this conversation with Anthony Minghella. I worked with him on the new [Madame] Butterfly they did at the Met. … I was rehearsing with him. We had a lot of private time together, and he said to me, ‘I have never met any performer, any actor’ — and he’s worked with everybody — ‘that’s happy with where they are in their career.’ So there’s a bit of truth to that for everyone. I’m a very rare thing, which is a working singer. There’s so many singers that aren’t working right now. … I’ve dedicated my life to this. I’ve been doing this for a while. I have absolutely no regrets.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Raúl Melo will perform in Aida as part of the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera engagement Sunday, April 23 at 3 p.m. at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets. Top photo courtesy of Marilyn Monsanto.
