If there’s one factor within the opera world that one can say with certainty, it’s the truism that “a superb tenor is difficult to seek out.” And whenever you do discover one who’s blessed with an exquisite, ringing tone, strong method, innate musicality, to not point out main man beauty and surefire dramatic instincts? Effectively, you’ve hit the jackpot!
Such was the case final February, when the Canadian Opera Firm engaged Australian Chinese language tenor Kang Wang because the second solid Rodolfo in La Boheme. Due to a number of ideas from my huge community of opera acquaintances, I made certain that I might be in the home to catch his COC debut. Mr. Wang gave an distinctive efficiency. His “Che gelida manina” was among the many finest I’ve heard in my 57 years of attending stay opera.
Toronto opera followers are very fortunate to have him again this season as Pinkerton in Madama Butterly. I had a sneak peek of it on the Bravissimo opera gala live performance on New Yr’s Eve at Roy Thomson Corridor, when he sang the Act One love duet with Japanese soprano Eri Nakamura as Cio-Cio San. It actually took my breath away.
Tenor Kang Wang
Born in Harbin, China, Wang grew up steeped in music, as each mother and father are opera singers. He attended the Royal Northern Faculty of Music in Manchester, UK, in addition to the Queensland Conservatorium in Australia. It was at Queensland that he made his operatic debut, as Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. He was additionally a member of the celebrated Lindemann’s Younger Artists Program on the Metropolitan Opera, and a finalist within the 2017 Cardiff Singer of the World.
When you missed his look in Bravissimo, he’ll be making visitor look within the Li Delun Music Basis’s Benestone East Meets West New Yr’s Live performance on January 5; information right here. Additionally to not be missed is his upcoming run of Madama Butterfly on the 4 Seasons Centre beginning on January 24.
This week, I managed to achieve him for just a little catching up.
The Interview
LvT: Welcome again to Toronto!! We’re thrilled that we’ll get to listen to your marvellous tenor.
KW: It’s such a pleasure to be again on this fantastic metropolis! Each my spouse and I liked it right here final 12 months and we’re loving it much more this time.
LvT: I learn that you simply had been born in Harbin, China, and that your mother and father are each opera singers. You will need to have grown up with a number of music at residence. Are you able to inform us a bit extra about them? What’s your earliest reminiscences of singing? When did you first begin taking singing classes? Who had been your voice academics, then and now?
KW: Sure, I used to be born in Harbin, and my mother and father are each opera singers. My father’s identify is Wen Wang, a tenor, and my mom, Dongmei Qu, a soprano. My earliest reminiscence of opera was my father enjoying VHS tapes of operas resembling Otello and Pagliacci with Mario del Monaco, Placido Domingo and others, once I was round 5 or 6, I feel. My mother and father gave me my first voice classes once I was 16 years outdated. Then I went to Australia and studied Info Expertise, and I turned a programmer as a result of my ardour had all the time been in pc programming. Throughout these years whereas working as a programmer and ending my diploma, I studied singing with a trainer named Kathy Banks. Later with the advice of a baritone buddy, I give up my job and went into formal musical coaching on the Queensland Conservatorium and studied with the very esteemed voice trainer, Joseph Ward. Whereas I used to be within the Lindemann Younger Artist program on the Met in New York, I studied with the fantastic tenor Frank Lopardo.
LvT: You might have had nice successes in competitions. I went to your YouTube channel and located your “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” from Cardiff in 2017 — wow, nice ringing tone! Bravo! What’s your secret to being so profitable in competitions?
KW: Thanks! Really, I actually struggled with competitions early on, as a result of I didn’t know what repertoire I ought to select, and I sang a variety of bizarre stuff (laughs)! I lastly sorted out my repertoire and put collectively a strong program that I felt extraordinarily assured about. Then the competitions turned just a little simpler. However in the end, there’s all the time a bit luck concerned with competitions. All you are able to do is to choose probably the most comfy program, put together it very well together with your coach and trainer, and attempt to benefit from the moments whereas performing them.
LvT: Is Pinkerton in Toronto a job debut for you? Give us your ideas on singing Pinkerton, and on singing Puccini basically. This function is a little bit of an anti-hero, and it’s fairly brief, in comparison with all the opposite roles you might be well-known for, like Rodolfo and Alfredo.
KW: Sure, that is my first time singing Pinkerton. Whereas the singing could be very satisfying and the music extraordinarily stunning, it’s not straightforward to behave like a macho navy bro when you’re not like that in actual life in any respect. I did fairly a little bit of analysis on the historic background of the story, simply to make sense of why he did what he did. Puccini gave him and Cio-Cio San such stunning melody and concord, it’s simply pure pleasure being a part of this spine-tingling music.
LvT: Do you could have a favorite composer? A favorite function?
KW: I don’t have a favorite composer but, however my favorite function is definitely Hoffmann. I did it for the primary time in Palm Seashore and I simply liked every little thing about this function. He’s so difficult and there’s a lot to play with, and the singing and music are simply divine. I actually can’t wait to sing Hoffmann once more.
LvT: How do you take pleasure in singing on the COC? What do you consider the 4 Seasons Centre? Your impressions of Toronto? We’ve got a really massive Chinese language neighborhood in Toronto. Have you ever managed to do any sightseeing the final time you had been right here?
KW: It’s actually beautiful singing on the COC, and the 4 Seasons Centre has improbable acoustics! Each my spouse and I like Toronto — the individuals, the eating places, the canines and Tim Hortons’ Nitro chilly brew (laughs)! We managed to go to Niagara Falls final time, and we’ll attempt to go to extra locations this time. By the way in which, there’re some critically genuine and scrumptious Chinese language eating places serving northern Chinese language delicacies right here in Toronto; a few of them style even higher than those in my hometown…it’s simply wonderful.
LvT: Do you could have a dream function, one thing that you simply hope to sing sooner or later? You might have an enormous lyric tenor with an exhilarating prime. The place do you see your voice going within the subsequent 5, ten years? What roles do you suppose are in your future? Maybe extra dramatic tenor roles? Maybe Calaf, or possibly Verdi’s Don Carlo?
KW: My dream function could be Canio in Pagliacci. It’s not likely my fach, however I actually do hope to sing it at the least as soon as earlier than I retire… Its music is in my earliest reminiscences of opera, so heart-breakingly stunning. I feel for the following 5 to 10 years I’d like to carry out many of the fashionable Verdi roles if attainable — possibly not Otello (laughs)! I’d additionally like so as to add some extra French repertoire resembling Romeo, Faust, Des Grieux and many others. I’ve truly had a proposal for Don Carlo as soon as, nevertheless it was actually too early, and I needed to refuse. It might be beautiful to sing it sooner or later! [Note: It just so happened that Wang and baritone Mihai Damian sang the Carlo-Rodrigo duet from Don Carlo at Bravissimo, and it was stunning.]
LvT: The place are you based mostly nowadays? Nonetheless in Australia, or are you based mostly in North America or Europe?
KW: We had been based mostly in Australia for the reason that Pandemic, nevertheless it has actually turn into an excessive amount of to journey — 30 hours a method every time we have to come to North America or Europe; and dropping 1000’s of {dollars} when we now have final minute journey plan modifications. Though we love Australia a lot, we realized that we would have liked to maneuver. We took my supervisor’s suggestion and transfer to Warsaw, Poland final October. It’s been actually wonderful to this point, each my spouse and I liked every little thing there, particularly after we found that Poland shared a variety of the frequent conventional meals with my hometown of Harbin! And now it’s a lot simpler to journey to my gigs: direct flights of 1-2 hours to European cities, and direct flights of 9 – 12 hours from Warsaw to North American cities — pure bliss!
LvT: Thanks a lot for talking with me. I sit up for listening to you on the East Meets West New Yr’s Live performance, and naturally, in Madama Butterfly. Toi toi toi!
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Joseph So is Professor Emeritus at Trent College and Affiliate Editor of Opera Canada.He’s additionally a long-time contributor to La Scena Musicale and Opera (London, UK). His curiosity in music journalism focuses on voice, opera in addition to symphonic and piano repertoires. He seems usually as a panel member of the Huge COC Podcast.He has co-edited a e-book, Opera in a Multicultural World: Coloniality, Tradition, Efficiency, printed by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group).
