{"id":14142,"date":"2011-02-13T15:33:09","date_gmt":"2011-02-13T14:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gbopera.it\/?p=14142"},"modified":"2019-10-17T11:42:42","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T09:42:42","slug":"no-make-up-robert-crowe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/no-make-up-robert-crowe\/","title":{"rendered":"“No make-up!”… Robert Crowe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Robert Crowe<\/strong>, described by the New York Times as \u201ca male soprano of staggering gifts\u201c, is a member of perhaps the world\u2019s smallest vocal category. In 1995 he was only the second countertenor (and first male soprano) to be a National Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition. Mr. Crowe has sung on many opera stages in the US and in Europe and worked with such conductors as Ren\u00e9 Jacobs, Ivor Bolton, Fabio Biondi, Andreas Spering, Michael Hoffsteter, Julius Rudel, Rheinhard Goebel, Marcus Creed, and stage directors, Nicholas Broadhurst, David Alden, Peer Boysen, and Axel K\u00f6hler and many more. In May, 2008, Robert released his first solo CD, the Virtuoso Soprano Motets of Giacomo Carissimi<\/em>, to international critical acclaim. He recently released a new solo cd entitled Songs to Mary: Marian Motets of Monteverdi, Grandi and Carissimi.<\/em> He will be performing in Rome on next 20 February<\/strong>. For more information on Robert Crowe and his concert in Rome: http:\/\/robertcrowe.weebly.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Which is the main feature of your personality?<\/strong>
\nThis is the first question, and I left it to the last…it\u2019s hard to answer.\u00a0 I guess that I\u2019m a bit of a know-it-all, but I really do mean well by it. That, and I tend to worry about things over which I have no control.
\nYour worst flaw? <\/strong>
\nImpatience\u2026with myself, primarily, but too often with others.
\nWhich is your star sign? <\/strong>
\nCancer.
\nAre you superstitious? <\/strong>Not terribly, though there are a few things, like naming the \u2018Scottish Play\u2019 or whistling in a theater that I won\u2019t do…or try not to do, at any rate.
\nWhat did you dream to become as an adult when you were a child?<\/strong>
\nI actually–when I was very young–wanted to become a singer…though my idea of being a singer was a lot more in line with sitting on a stool and singing folk music while accompanying myself with a guitar…this was the late seventies, after all.\u00a0 I afterwards went through many permutations, including architect, meteorologist(these first two died quickly when I realized the mathematics involved), lawyer, etc, before I landed on classical singer when I was 19 or so.
\nWhich are your favorite readings? <\/strong>
\nPoetry? I love the Elizabethans.\u00a0 Especially the song texts of Dowland, Campion, etc.\u00a0 I am also very partial to the mid-twentieth century poetess\/nutcase, Edith Sitwell. Oh yes\u2026but my favorite poem has to be the 30-line fragment from Christopher Smart\u2019s \u2018Jubilate Agno\u2019, I will consider my cat Jeoffry. <\/em>
\nWhich is the book you have loved the most so far? <\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s hard to say.\u00a0 I am a great fan of Dickens, though I\u2019m not sure any of his books would qualify as one of my favorites.\u00a0 The same goes for P.G. Wodehouse.\u00a0 I love Jane Austen, and would put her \u2018Persuasion\u2019 and \u2018Pride and Prejudice\u2019 on any list of favorites.\u00a0 Of recent books, I\u2019d have to say Vikram Seth\u2019s \u2018A Suitable Boy\u2019 is my favorite.
\nWhich was your ambition as a child? <\/strong>
\nTo grow up\u2026I\u2019m still hoping.
\nHave you ever sought revenge?<\/strong>
\nNo\u2026that\u2019s not to say I\u2019ve never thought about it\u2026but somehow I\u2019ve never sustained the necessary anger against anyone long enough to carry out any plans of revenge. That sounds a bit self-righteous, I know\u2026but I really can\u2019t work up the requisite bile to actually plan someone\u2019s \u2018Punishment\u2019.
\nDid your family influence your choices?<\/strong>
\nYes, of course\u2026though the decision to be a singer was somewhat against their wishes, they have supported me in it since then, almost without question.
\nWas music a vocation? <\/strong>
\nIf by vocation you mean a calling\u2026then I guess so\u2026it certainly has become a necessity for me over the years.\u00a0 I always sang, as a boy, and played the clarinet in my youth.\u00a0 The move from amateur to professional (or a student seeking to be a professional) musician was not very different in feel, though it certainly caused me a lot of angst when I made that decision. What\u2019s missing in your life today? <\/strong>
\nProbably the same thing that is missing in most people\u2019s lives at the moment\u2026security.\u00a0 The arts suffer more than other areas during periods of economic turmoil, and unusual things, like Carissimi, for instance, suffer the most of all, as they are untested, und people are unwilling to take chances on things that are untested.
\nThe greatest disappointment?<\/strong>
\nProbably that I learned very late that I don\u2019t always have to be right.\u00a0 That has caused me to miss out on a lot of things, I think.
\nWhich is your most cherished memory?<\/strong>
\nChristmas Mornings (not any specific one) with my family, when I was a child.
\nHow important is money to you?<\/strong>
\nImportant enough that I don\u2019t like it when I don\u2019t have enough to feel secure\u2026otherwise–not a primary motivator.
\nWhich is the item you like spending money on the most?<\/strong>
\nBooks, maybe. Little luxuries\u2026 champagne, good food.
\nDo you collect anything?<\/strong>
\nAntiquarian books, modern art.
\nDo you have a recurrent dream?<\/strong>
\nThe singer dream\u2026I am engaged to jump in at the last minute in an opera that I don\u2019t know, and they just tell me to \u2018wing it\u2019, and I spend every last second desperate looking through the score backstage, and then always wake up at the point when I actually go out on stage with no idea what I am supposed to sing.
\nWhat are you afraid of the most?<\/strong>
\nLiving considerably past my usefulness.
\nWhich is your most ambitious dream?<\/strong>
\nTo someday run an opera house.
\nAre ideals, passions important?<\/strong>
\nOf course\u2026without them, you\u2019re just going through the motions. It\u2019s trite to say, but that\u2019s the difference between living and existing.
\nThe moment you felt the proudest?<\/strong>
\nPride always feels like satisfaction to me\u2026and I\u2019ve never been entirely satisfied with anything I\u2019ve done\u2026so I\u2019ll let you know when it happens.
\nYour biggest challenge?<\/strong>
\nTeaching myself to sing soprano. Changing faces.
\nWhat or who makes you feel embarrassed?<\/strong>
\nOnly myself\u2026saying things I should know better than saying\u2026I do have a faster mouth than mind sometimes.
\nWhich is the situation you consider the most relaxing?<\/strong>
\nBeing on the water, on a boat, at sunset\u2026in summer\u2026I hate cold weather.
\nYour favorite subject at school?<\/strong>
\nHistory.
\nFavorite city?<\/strong>
\nHard to say\u2026I\u2019m not really a city person.\u00a0 San Francisco is the most beautiful city I know.\u00a0 I had the most fun in Jackson Mississippi, however, where I got my Bachelor\u2019s degree.\u00a0 I am the most moved by Venice, especially San Marco, and evensong at St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London.
\nFavorite color?<\/strong>
\nRed.
\nFavorite flower?<\/strong>
\nTulips\u2026though not red tulips, strangely enough.
\nThe holiday or the trip you\u2019d like to take? <\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t even know if it exists as a holiday trip\u2026I\u2019d love to take a sailing cruise ( on a big enough boat that I don\u2019t get seasick or bang my head a lot on doorways) of the ancient Greek world\u2026in a warm month (I hate winter, remember?).\u00a0 That is:\u00a0 seeing all the Greek cities as they are now, of course.
\nDay or night? <\/strong>
\nI\u2019m a day-person. I do my best thinking early in the morning, when no one else is awake.
\nTell us your ideal day. <\/strong>
\nMediterranean Holiday; part boat, part beach, part sight-seeing, 3 parts wonderful eating, all with loved ones.
\nWhich is your hideaway? <\/strong>
\nMy sister\u2019s farm in Kentucky.
\nThe film you love the most? <\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life.
\nYour favorite season? <\/strong>
\nSummer!
\nWhich is the place where cooking is the worst ever? <\/strong>
\nHigh School Cafeteria.
\nHow would you define your relation with food ?<\/strong>
\nFriendly, passionate, if sometimes a bit obsessive.
\nYour favorite dish?<\/strong>
\nSteak (how banal!).
\nThe dish you cook the best?<\/strong>
\nChili con carne (done correctly it\u2019s more complicated than you\u2019d think)
\nRed or white wine? <\/strong>
\nChampagne.
\nWhat\u2019s never missing in your refrigerator?<\/strong>
\nButter.
\nWhat\u2019s your weakness in kitchen? <\/strong>
\nBaking\u2026I\u2019m not patient or exact enough…there are always baking powder issues.
\nWhat\u2019s the soundtrack to your life? <\/strong>
\nMountain music\u2026not <\/em>\u2018Deliverance\u2019\u2026just traditional Southern American music\u2026or English renaissance\u2026they\u2019re not as far apart as you\u2019d think.
\nYour favourite singer?<\/strong>
\nKirsten Flagstad as \u2018Dido\u2019.
\nWhat would you want someone who doesn\u2019t know your voice to listen to?<\/strong>
\nSomeone else.\u00a0 HA.\u00a0 No\u2026I guess Oleum Effusum est, from the Carissimi CD.
\nHas being good-looking affected your singing career someway?
\n<\/strong>I don\u2019t really think of myself as being anything other than acceptable-looking, so I don\u2019t really know.\u00a0 I guess I\u2019ve gotten a few roles based on my looks, though the fact that I\u2019m now well over 30 means that I DON\u2019T get roles based on my numerical age. So it\u2019s a double-edged sword. If you are helped by superficialities, at some point you are also going to be hurt by them.
\n<\/strong>How did your voice change through the years and how do you take care of it, choosing the roles and the repertoire to perform?<\/strong>
\nI turned down some things which were too low.\u00a0 Otherwise, I just tried to sing each role the way I thought it needed to be sung\u2026which was tiring, because I was always slightly altering my technique\u2026not the best method of vocal maintenance\u2026though it does improve your knowledge of voices–particularly your own. \u00a0My voice hasn\u2019t gotten any lower as I\u2019ve gotten older, though it does seem to be getting darker and softer in texture. I also am able to use my low range a lot more effectively\u2026though the same could be said for singing in the high passaggio.
\nIf you were granted the chance to chose a role, which one would it be? <\/strong>
\nHandel\u2019s Serse<\/em>\u2026I was supposed to sing it once in concert, but got a terrible cold and had to cancel.\u00a0 It was a very hard decision, and I still regret not having been able to do it.
\nWhich is the first record you ever bought?<\/strong>
\nBrandenburg #2 and #5.
\nHow\u2019s your attitude towards TV ?<\/strong>
\nIf it\u2019s good, I\u2019ll watch it, assuming I have time to let my mind power down. I love \u2018The Big Bang Theory\u2019…it reminds me a lot of my high school and college days…not that I was a physicist, of course…but many of my favorite people were and are.
\nIs there horror in TV? <\/strong>
\nLike Big Brother?\u00a0 I think to the extent that TV reflects (through all these terrible \u2018reality\u2019 shows) the darker side of modern life\u2026yes\u2026it can be horrifying.
\nWhat do you do an hour prior to go on stage?<\/strong>
\nPace around\u2026walk off my excess nervous energy so that I\u2019m calm when I\u2019m actually out there.
\nWhat\u2019s never missing in your dressing room?<\/strong>
\nLiquirizia purissima\u2026Saila\u2026I love it\u2026and can\u2019t get it outside of Italy, unfortunately. And water mixed with apple juice.
\nWhat do you think of when looking at yourself in the mirror? <\/strong>
\nThat I really should be spending a bit more time in the gym.
\nHow would you prefer to die ?<\/strong>
\nWith a few days\/weeks warning without too much pain.\u00a0 Not messily. That, or– Sampson-like–bringing down a ton of stage equipment upon my head by the sheer power of my voice during a particularly smashing final cadenza. Though I\u2019d rather not have to be blind and bald in order to bring it about.
\nYour mood at the moment? <\/strong>
\nCautiously optimistic.
\nWhat\u2019s your motto?<\/strong>
\nI can always improve who I am, even if I can\u2019t change from who I am into someone else.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robert Crowe, described by the New York Times as \u201ca male soprano of staggering gifts\u201c, is a member […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9354,504,381],"class_list":["post-14142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-senza-categoria","tag-foreign-readers","tag-opera-singers","tag-robert-crowe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14142\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.studioroldo.it\/gbopera\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}