Boris Martinovich Exclusive Interview

At the age of just 13, you moved to New York to study at Juilliard. How did you perceive that experience back then, and were you aware of the opportunities that would open up for you later on?

The most important thing for me back then was my love for music. It was a great experience being surrounded by so many talented musicians and so many great teachers at Juilliard School of Music back then. I was not aware of all the opportunities and all that has been waiting for me in my future career.

What did an ordinary working day at Juilliard look like in the late 1960s?

My day was fully booked by music, studying music, practicing and listening to wonderful concerts of the greatest musicians, at Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Opera and many other Theaters in New York. I was fortunate enough to be accepted to work with famous opera coach Armen Boyajian, who was one of the best vocal coaches in the USA, and who nurtured many opera stars like Samuel Ramey, Paul Plishka and other biggest Metropolitan Opera stars back then.

Was there a particular person – a teacher, colleague, or artist – who deeply influenced or shaped your approach to singing and music during your studies?

I had only one voice teacher – Maestro Armen Boyajian who taught me everything I needed to know to be able to accomplish everything I have accomplished throughout my career. While being young, I attended a masterclass with Elizabeth Schwarzkopf too, which was a very nice experience for me. While still a student, I had a concert-tour in California and Mexico with Giuseppe Di Stefano, famous Italian opera tenor. He also inspired me a lot, and we became very good friends.

You have performed on world's most prestigious stages and among many collaborated with the legendary Three Tenors. Could you tell us a bit more about that experience and what it meant to you personally?

Many people ask me which of the 3 tenors I like the most, since I was a good friend with all 3 of them. All I can say is they are all great in their own unique ways, and to people who ask me "who is the best of them", I say: "They are all no.1, each one of them".

I shared many great performances with all 3 of them. With Plácido I performed in San Francisco Opera House in G. Puccini La Fanciulla del West. Every time after I would end my aria on stage, he would approach me, encouraging me and congratulating me. That meant a lot to me, and gave me courage to continue. Then we recorded for SONY Classical Il Guarany by Gomez, and later on when he became Director of the Washington State Opera House, he invited me to sing that same opera with him for the opening night of his Season.

With Jose Carreras I performed our famous Carmen by Bizet in Staatsoper Vienna, with Agnes Baltsa as Carmen, me as Escamiglio, Jose as Don José, the production was by Franco Zeffirelli and conducted by Maestro Claudio Abbado. It was a huge success, and we had 45 minutes of applause.

I met Luciano Pavarotti while I was still a student. Actually, I won his voice competition in New York and the prize was to sing with him in Philadelphia. However, at the same time I had an offer to sing G. Verdi's Requiem in Mexico with famous Oralia Domínguez, who was a big opera star – famous for singing in Aida with Maria Callas, so I had to turn down a Luciano Pavarroti. But just a few years later we met again and we sang La Gioconda in the San Francisco Opera House-opening night. Later on we became very good friends.

During my career I shared the stage with many famous artists like Montserrat Caballé, Mirella Freni, Katia Ricciarelli, Elena Obraztsova, Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry etc. They were all not just my colleagues but also very good friends of mine.