Michael Fabiano (Montclair, New Jersey, USA, 1984) He enters the dressing room dressed smartly and before starting the conversation he apologizes for his Spanish, a language he strives to improve every day – “Can you send me the recording later to correct the mistakes, please?” … he asks. The tenor, one of today’s greatest opera voices, has lived in Madrid for a few years – “In fact, I live on planes, in airports and theatres, and my base is Barajas,” he smiles. But these days he is “at home” playing the role of Don José in Bizet’s famous opera “Carmen,” at the Teatro Real, in a production he staged. Damiano Micheletto And musically Yoon Sun Kim. Fabiano’s co-stars include Aygul Akhmyshina, Janay Bridges, Ketevan Kimoklidze, Charles Castronovo, Lucas Mechem, Luca Micheletti, Dmitry Cheplikov, Adriana Gonzalez, and Miren Orbita-Vega.
Eight years ago, he says, he first took on the role of a Navarrese soldier who was charmed by a gypsy created by Prosper Mérimée. “It was in Aix-en-Provence, in a very strange production – it was directed by Dmitry Chernyakov – but very clever. He discovered Don José for me; He is a person characterized by the trauma and excessive influence of his mother. When he first appears, we see a man who is closed off and suffering a lot. The appearance of Carmen means for him the possibility of freedom and a different way of life. This new path and this woman became an obsession for him.
A deadly obsession…
-Yes, he can’t stop thinking about her, but Carmen never tells him, “I love you,” and he wonders why. To her shock, she stops being her mother and becomes Carmen. Don José finds freedom in her, but becomes her prisoner.
-He became so obsessed that he killed her.
– It is not intentional, but rather a motive. When Don José goes to meet her in Act IV, what he wants is to talk to Carmen, to find out why she no longer loves him, and why her love has ended. It’s a situation we can all understand… Carmen is the first opera fierista… but he has no intention of killing her; It’s a deadly motive, but a motive nonetheless. In some ways it seems like an intentional act, but I honestly believe he didn’t intend to kill Carmen.
-What is the period during which this production takes place?
– In 1976, after Franco’s death; The world is in crisis… Damiano Micheletto’s production is very interesting, and shares my thoughts about my character.
“I love directors who come up with an idea and change it as rehearsals go on depending on what they see and what they talk about with the performers. “I appreciate that there are directors who want to know what I think and feel about the characters.”
-Do theater directors listen to singers’ ideas about characters?
-Usually no, they usually have their own ideas and want us singers to implement them. I love directors who come up with an idea and change it as rehearsals go on depending on what they see and what they talk about with the performers. I appreciate that there are directors who want to know what I think and feel about characters.
-Does the same thing happen with music directors?
– Exactly, it is important for me that the leader has his own ideas and explains them. When there is a structure within which I can work more freely. In this production we have Yoon Sun Kim, a director I have known for a long time and whom I trust very much. I know what he wants and what he expects from me even before I start training. I like his way of directing.
-Is there a feminine way of directing?
– I don’t think so, there is a good way to direct and a bad way to direct. There are those who have an arm and those who do not; Who has ideas and who doesn’t. If a person has an arm and ideas, he can drive a car, it doesn’t matter if he is a man or a woman.
“Carmen” is based on the novel. Did you base your character on it?
– I relied more on the score, on the opera.
-Do you think he is a weak man?
-no. On the contrary, he is a strong man, 35 or 40 years old. He is a soldier, he has his obligations to his country, and he faces its problems… His life changes and he leaves behind his mother, his family and his traumas.
Although it is set in Spain, “Carmen” is a French opera. Does living in Spain make you approach the character in a different way?
-No, I don’t think so. He’s a human being, it doesn’t matter if he’s Spanish or French.
-Is there more specialization now in singers? Did you have a wider repertoire before?
-No, I don’t think so. I have sung more than sixty productions; Fifteen by Verdi, almost all by Puccini, and a lot of French opera. There are many styles and paths for singers. A singer who can sing well can sing almost anything.
“I have been studying Otello for ten years and hope to sing it for at least another ten years. I have sheet music on the table, like a Bible. I study it a little every night: the words, the story, Shakespeare. I don’t see the right time to sing it.
-You seem like a confident tenor…you don’t seem nervous, you just enjoy being on stage…
-I feel nervous the day before, thinking about the things I have to do on stage. When I get ready when I get anxious. But never on stage. If you have studied and prepared, you will not suffer on stage.
– He will sing “Otello” in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the first time. These are big words.
– I have been studying it for ten years and I hope to sing it for at least another ten years. I have sheet music on the table, like a Bible. I study it a little every night: the words, the story, Shakespeare. I don’t see the right time to sing it.
-Why did you choose Madrid to live in?
-For several reasons. For me, Teatro Real is one of the best, because in every production a family is created, and the people who work in the theater are a family. The canteen is also important. Every time I come I feel like I’m here with my family, and I can’t say that about other theatres. Moreover, the cost of living in Madrid is still low compared to Paris, London, Berlin, Milan… Barajas Airport is great, and it is important for me to have an airport where you can easily connect to other places… There is another factor: Did you know that the number of kilometers of metro in Madrid is greater than the number of kilometers in the whole of Italy? And finally: People here always smile and walk around smiling. I love life in Madrid.