Peter Edelmann Exclusive Interview

Why did you choose Tosca for the debut season? How did the audience respond this time? Was it mostly the local crowd or did also the international guests attend?

I decided to do Tosca because it was never played at Operklosterneuburg. First of all, I looked at the opera titles of the former festival years. The festival exists for 32 years. Many operas were made, many operas were done twice. Tosca was not there, and I thought Tosca is… well, the first act is playing in a church, a monastery. It's sort of a connection. And it's one of the best operas in operatic history and well-known. I thought it’s a good start. I presented it in my hearing and the response was, "Wow, it's a good idea. Great." So I decided to do Tosca because of this. It is a great opera, it’s a good title, and you need three very good singers. The other roles should be casted well too, but the three main roles are the most important ones. I thought, "Yeah, that's it." And in open air opera, you cannot play every title. You must always do something people know a little bit, and always consider the outside stage situation. Tosca fitted very well in this courtyard of the monastery. It’s a great place for 850 seats, no amplification. Natural acoustic is very important. The orchestra plays live in a pit in front of the stage. The singers sing without amplification, no microphone, nothing. This is fantastic, the acoustic is really great. It is done similarly in Macerata in Italy, or in the arena of Verona.

Was casting singers different for a festival without amplification?

Yes, it was different. In Burgenland at Mörbisch, with 6,000 people, you need amplification. Amplification is good, technical equipment is very good there. But here, for a festival without amplification, you really need singers with very well positioned, well trained voices so that it reaches the last row.

Who has been crucial in supporting you in this role?

A very important person at the festival is Franz Brenner, the marketing and money man. He takes care of everything, contracts and so on. He has a very good sense of singing, he sang himself. We work very closely together. Which is important for me, to have somebody I can ask, "Can we do this?" He's for 30 years at the festival. Almost every day we have a chat about new ideas.

Did the weather affect the festival this year?

In July, the weather was catastrophic. When it rains the whole day, nobody thinks of going outside to sit in an open air opera. The big advantage in Klosterneuburg is that we have a hall. In case of rain, the whole public, 850 people, can go into the hall. It is five minutes away, which is a big advantage. We used it three times. It is a luxury to have the hall. People want to see the performance outside with the stage and everything. In the hall, we have a semi-scenic version without sets, but in costumes with the orchestra on stage. It is different, but people who saw it in the hall loved it too. They said, “No, I don't need to see it outside.” Open air is open air, but having the hall as backup is important. 

Do you have any personal rituals or routines on the concert day when you are performing?

Well, I have a routine for every day. I wake up early at 6:00, drink tea, and then either go jogging or exercise in the courtyard. Sometimes I do yoga, sometimes I go to the gym, using the cross trainer and a couple of machines. I do this six days a week, Sunday I rest. Even if I sing on the same day, I keep the routine, maybe a bit lighter to save energy for the evening. The body needs it, and it makes me happy to start the day this way. After that I have a great breakfast, and then the day can really begin.

And you had something similar when you were young as well?

No, I didn’t do much sports back then. It started when I met my wife, at around 25. Then I felt the body needs work to stay in form, to have energy. Thanks to that, even today I can sing roles like Papageno, which I’ve sung more than 150 times, or Falke in Die Fledermaus. With a bit of preparation, I still have the energy and the body does thank me for it.

Should singers eat lunch on the day of performance?

I always had to eat before going on stage. For me, it often was a hamburger with fries, around two hours before the performance. I couldn’t perform hungry – otherwise, in the middle of the concert, I would feel weak and lose concentration. Many of my colleagues only eat lunch, and then nothing, until late dinner after the show – but that never worked for me. I needed the energy to support my voice.

So food was part of your routine as well?

Yes, absolutely. Eating before singing was my routine. Sometimes pasta, sometimes less meat, and with the years my wife and I took great care of what we eat. But the main rule was always: I could never go on stage hungry.

If you could collaborate with any musician, living or dead, who would it be?

Phew... (laughs). I had the chance to work with great singers. I sang with Domingo – he actually hired me when he was artistic director in Washington. I sang with Alfredo Kraus, with Giacomo Aragall who was a great tenor. Maybe a conductor like Karajan, because my father told me so many stories about him. He sang a lot with Karajan, and he said he was a conductor for singers. He always helped you, made sure the orchestra was not too loud. So maybe with Karajan, yes.

But I have no regrets. I am happy with my career. I worked with great artists. I did Tannhäuser, the main role, with Thielemann in Berlin. That was a highlight in my career. I even did music for Disney – they hired me for the synchronization of Beauty and the Beast, the role of Gaston, in the German version in Berlin. That was great.

Everything that came, I did. Concerts, Lieder, operas, oratorios, operettas – I did a lot of operettas. Every kind of music I loved to do. It is very important for a musician to perform all kinds of music: modern, new operas, operettas, musicals, Wagner, oratorios, Lieder, Schubert. Of course, I could live singing Schubert every day – but you don’t get the money... (laughs). You must do something else too. But it is a gift for me to perform Winterreise, for instance. Schwanengesang is also a gift.

If you had the power to erase social media entirely, would you do it?

No, not at all. I think it is very important. It is a platform for you to present yourself. When I do concerts with my brother, we always do an interview and put it on Facebook or Instagram. I think it is a gift. When I was a young singer, it did not exist. What we did was take a poster and put it on the street, or call our friends: “Are you coming to my concert?” Now, you post a video, you present it, you promote it – and it is free.

We use social media very much for Operklosterneuburg. My wife Silvia is really an expert – she did courses and lessons especially for this. She is doing a great job, always making interviews and devoting herself two or three hours a day to social media. It is great, and every young singer should use it.

I know colleagues who say: “No, social media, I don’t need it.” Then don’t do it. But what do you lose? By presenting yourself, you connect with your audience. It is our world as performers – you need that connection.

It is also a great way to get feedback. People comment and share their opinions about your festival. Many people can come to Operklosterneuburg by watching the videos and interviews created by my wife, who is constantly coming up with new ideas. And I enjoy speaking about my job and productions.

It is fun, and it is really a new way of being present.

Tell me, you dedicated a large part of your life, both to studying, performing and teaching. How do you see the position of young musicians in today's world?

As especially in the operatic world, there are a lot of good singers. It started in the '90s when the East was opening. Many singers from Russia and Bulgaria came to us. Now look at Korea. How many Korean singers are coming? I was there five times, we did productions, I did masterclasses, and I know the system very well. They're great singers. They now come to work here. Chinese singers. Japanese singers, a little over. Opera houses were built in China.

Many people say, "Ah, I don't know if opera will survive." No, it's not over. Wait until India starts to discover classical music. Forty or fifty years ago, nobody would have believed that China would become a classical music loving country. Now they come here, the biggest audience. We go there to perform. I performed in China as Papageno, in Carmina Burana and concerts. In Japan and Korea too. And they come here. But there is the challenge. When I was a young singer, my father told me, "I wouldn't want to be a young singer anymore." Now I say to young singers, there are so many difficulties because there are so many well-trained good singers, and not so many possibilities to perform. There are not more and more festivals, so it is really hard. But, you must train well and study good basic technique. And you can still earn a living. 

What advice would you give to a young singer or musician who had just moved to Vienna from abroad? Besides entering the university, what career-building steps can they take early on?

Listen, go to concerts, go to the opera, go to museums, go to see the house where Schubert was born. You are in this city with all its history. One block away, the first Papageno died. Schikaneder, who wrote the words for Zauberflöte, died here. When you go there and see the house with the script "Here died Emanuel Schikaneder," it’s incredible. The first Papageno, and I sang Papageno many times, and he died here – it’s amazing. Or Stefan Zweig lived here 30 years in the Kochgasse. Schubert wrote a mass for the new bell in this church. When Beethoven died, he was buried in the church around the corner. This is Vienna, and if you don’t take part in this, you miss something important.

Many come here to study. You can have a good voice teacher in Korea, New York, or Helsinki, but when you are in Vienna, you should absorb this feeling of musical and cultural heritage. Go to the opera. Young singers often don’t. I ask, “How many times did you go to the opera last year?” They look at me confused. When I was learning singing, I went three to four times a week. I stood in the Staatsoper to hear all the singers. You learn so many things from observing other singers. Listen to the lessons of other singers in the university – nobody does. Nowadays, everyone is focused on themselves: “My career, my playing, my singing.” They don’t look right or left. Go to museums and try to get a feeling for the culture.

Take part in everything. Like a student of mine, Kirill Sysoev, a Russian singer who did a small role in Tosca – he goes to the opera, sings on the Kärntnerstraße, and earns a little money. He takes part and is interested, and he knows the stories. I always ask him, “What is new in the Staatsoper?” and he tells me all the stories. Being open-minded teaches you a lot, including what not to do. Go to concerts, meet people, build a network, meet agents. Ask, “Where do I get jobs? Can I sing in the summer chorus of Tosca?” You learn the machinery of classical music because networking is more important than ever. You need to know where the jobs are.