Q & A With Aidan Lang – General Director of New Zealand Opera

 
Q: We're expecting to see lot of Sondheim in the song list. What do you think makes his music so appealing?

For a start, he is the consummate wordsmith. His songs invariably show a delicious verbal dexterity and delight in the English language. But beyond that, he always finds a musical idiom that is entirely appropriate both for the content of the show as a whole, and each individual song in particular. They demand that you listen intently, but if you do so, the rewards are huge.

Q: Mandy Patinkin is a good friend of Sondheim – do you think that this intimacy and understanding brings something special to Patinkin's interpretation of his work?

Yes I do. The two, his voice and Sondheim's music just seem to fit like a glove. It is certainly quite hard to imagine others interpreting the role George in Sunday in the Park, once you have heard Mandy Patinkin sing it. It is partly that where some of Sondheim's music sits in the voice seems a perfect match. And it is also to do with Patinkin's intelligence as an actor, which comes across crystal clear when he sings the music.

Q: What is your favourite memory relating to Sondheim, and why – is there a song, musical or performance that stands out?

I had just graduated and University and Sweeney Todd was still playing in London, albeit to dwindling houses. Armed with a still valid student ticket, I was able get amazing seats on standby for a song – which I did seven times during the course of a month. And was never further back than row D of the Stalls. More recently, I though Silo did a fabulous job with Assassins when they did it a few years back.

Q: What do you think we can expect from a cross-genre combination like Nathan Gunn and Mandy Patinkin?

Firstly, a sense that the borderline between opera and musical theatre is much more blurred than people often imagine. Both singers relish the way they use the text in delivering a song, and I imagine that their voices will blend superbly.

Q: To those of us who aren't familiar with Nathan Gunn, could you give us an idea of his standing in the opera world?

Nathan Gunn is probably not so well known here in New Zealand, but is one of the leading operatic baritones of his generation. He has performed on the stages of all the world's major opera houses, and is particularly fine exponent of new operas, which in the American opera world have a much closer relationship musical theatre in their style of composition. Nathan has a beautiful warm sound to his voice, and is ideally suited to the sort of music we will hear in the concert.

Aidan Lang – General Director, New Zealand Opera
www.nzopera.com