Roman Shulackoff - Macduff in Macbeth - shares a favourite opera memory.
I have been very lucky to meet different great singers, artists and directors while travelling all over the world. As an opera singer, I've always been interested in getting advice from people to discover new things in vocal technique, staging, acting, etc.. This is another level of an opera singer's education that never stops. Mostly you're talking about how to breathe, to sing the top notes or something like that. This is very useful, especially when you're not such an experienced singer.
Once, I was in New York, rehearsing L'Elisir d'Amore, and I got a chance to work with some great singers and watch them working. One of them was Paul Plishka, the great American bass. His career was just phenomenal and the voice unforgettable. His generation has produced lots of great singers and he is one of them. He was very kind to talk with me on several occasions. He was born in American but had Slavic roots like myself. While we were talking about Boris Godunov, he suddenly said: "Give me any person and I promise I'll make a great, fantastic Boris of him, even if he's got no voice!" I asked how it could be possible. The answer was: "There is much more besides singing and having the voice in our profession! The public wants to be the part of the story you're telling from the stage. And if they are, you will get a lot of sympathy from them. Boris is this kind of role, and it's very easy to include the audience in the story and to touch their hearts."
A few days later, I met him in the corridor and asked how one includes the people into the story and makes it real. "They are one and the same. You cast the lure and then start playing with them. You're attracting a fish, step by step. Avoid frightening it. When the fish bites, be calm, no rush. Keep your mind clear. If you're pulling too strongly, the line will break: if too weak, then the fish will escape. In either case you will lose the fish. And when it is on the hook, don't rush. Keep the fish free, let the one go and then bring it back. And only when you're confident it's yours you can take it with your hands! So that's simple. But you must be honest and sincere with the audience to have something to tell."
I wish I could have been in the audience when he was onstage. This man has both wisdom and a great sense of humour. I'm not sure if he remembers me, but I certainly remember him.
Roman Shulackoff
NZO roles: Macduff, Macbeth (2010), Lensky, Eugene Onegin (2009)
