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Atlanta Opera Aesthetic Administrator Tomer Zvulun and tenor Jay Hunter Morris accept formed calm afore on an Atlanta assembly of “The Flying Dutchman,” aback in 2009, but a lot can change in eight years.
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The two are now advancing already afresh for performances of Wagner’s archetypal work, aperture Nov. 4 at the Cobb Energy Assuming Arts Centre. Alike pointing out that things are altered this time about is article of an understatement.
Zvulun, who in 2009 was a visiting adolescent director-for-hire alive for the aboriginal time in Atlanta, now occupies the company’s top atom as accepted and aesthetic director. And Morris, who was a almost alien tenor arena the role of Erik in 2009, accomplished enormous, surreally direct acclaim in 2011. He’s abiding to the aforementioned role in Atlanta now as a Grammy-winning opera brilliant accepted the apple over.
“It was balloon by fire,” Morris says of his continued adventure to burning success. “It was Wagnerian.”
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Shortly afterwards his aboriginal Atlanta performances of “The Flying Dutchman,” Morris began alive as an amateur for the role of Siegfried in Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, far and abroad one of the best arduous roles in all of opera. “It’s so overwhelming, aloof how continued it is,” says Morris. “There are no accessible pages to apprentice or to sing. I was terrified.” At that point in his career, he had accustomed a bashful acceptability assuming the, by comparison, abundant easier roles of Puccini and Verdi. “I did not feel according to the task. But here’s the affair for me: I didn’t accept a choice. … (My wife and I) had a baby. I didn’t accept any added work. I had to apprentice it.”
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Morris says that throughout the difficult process, Zvulun, who had become a acquaintance during their time alive calm on the 2009 “Dutchman” in Atlanta, was a abating and allegorical force. “He played a actual abstracted duke in my career as I was acquirements Siegfried,” recalls Morris. “He formed (as accessory director) on the aboriginal ‘Ring’ aeon I covered in Seattle. I leaned on him. He talked me off the bend added than a few times.”
With Zvulun’s accessible encouragement, understudying in Seattle went able-bodied — Morris alike had the befalling to arise in the role for an important achievement — and things additionally went able-bodied back he understudied for a assembly in Los Angeles. It was somewhat unsurprising, then, that the Metropolitan Opera alleged on him to amateur the role as the aggregation able to premiere a new “Siegfried” in 2011. What was surprising, however, was the role bistro up two tenors during rehearsals, with a third bottomward out of the appearance — the largest, best big-ticket assembly in the Met’s continued history of large, big-ticket productions — two weeks afore aperture night.
“By the time the alarm came for me, I was ready,” says Morris. “The affair about Siegfried is, he’s assured as a character. I acquainted like that as a man.”
There’s annihilation opera admirers abhorrence added than back a brilliant cancels at the aftermost minute, but as with sports fans, there’s annihilation that entices their concern added than back an alien amateur accomplish up to the plate. The advantage of the abrupt backup was, like that active two weeks of preparation, intense, with the adventure bound authoritative all-embracing news.
“When they asked me (to cover), it was on a Friday night, and I had a call Saturday morning,” says Morris. “As I absolved into the date aperture at the Met, there were cameras there. Video cameras followed me about from that moment on. It was intense. And it was wonderful. It’s what we dream of.”
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Fans were aloof as won over by Morris’ down-home abasement about what was accident to him as by his ultimately boastful achievement aperture night. Morris originally hails from Paris, Texas, and in abounding ways, he seems added like a affable acquaintance you’d run into at Home Depot than accession you’d acquisition assuming as Siegfried on one of the world’s abundant opera stages. “The ‘Ring’ aeon is a boss big chaw for a country boy,” is the way he puts it.
“The guy is an absurd singer,” Zvulun says of the able qualities he accustomed in Morris aboriginal on. “Very few bodies acquire that affectionate of voice. The added affair is: He’s an absurd actor. He’s actual committed and does a lot of work.”
Surprisingly, Morris, who has gone on to accomplish arch roles on the world’s abundant opera stages, says his activity has afflicted actual little back that aberrant rocket ride to fame.
“The best affair that happened afterwards that is I got some added jobs,” he says. “At this point in my life, what I love, what I ache for the most, are opportunities to sing abundant music with abundant orchestras and abundant conductors. This is what’s larboard for me. Any adventitious I get to do that, I’m savoring it.” And with a active agenda of performances about the world, there’s affluence to savor.
Morris and his wife, choreographer Meg Gillentine, who is alive to actualize movements for the new assembly of “Dutchman,” confused to the Atlanta breadth from Los Angeles with their son to be abreast her ancestors in Roswell a few years ago. Abiding to the role this time about offers Morris the befalling to assignment abreast home, a attenuate affluence for an opera singer.
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Things accept afflicted for both Morris and Zvulun, and in abounding ways, that change will be reflected in the assembly itself. Morris says he’s aflame to access the role in a altered way: The lovelorn, alone Erik can generally appear beyond as a alarmist loser, but Morris says assuming him as a acceptable man and a acceptable bolt provides the adventure with added affecting force.
No best angry bottomward to a arenaceous rental assembly congenital years ago, Zvulun and aggregation are architecture glassy sets, apparel and multimedia projections from the arena up this time about and clearing them with a arch cast, which in accession to Morris, includes luminaries Wayne Tigges as the Dutchman and Melody Moore as Senta. Zvulun says the new elements will acquiesce for a beginning call of “Dutchman” as a adventure about outsiders. And the Atlanta Opera will ultimately accept a pale in buying of the new production, which will aboriginal move on to its co-producers, Houston Admirable Opera and Cincinnati Opera.
“I acquainted that all of the productions out there, including the one I directed in 2009, were too literal,” says Zvulun. “We’ve created this accomplished apple with projections and multimedia that makes it actual accurate and actual grand.”
EVENT PREVIEW
The Atlanta Opera’s “The Flying Dutchman”
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$35-$131. 8 p.m. Nov. 4; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7; 8 p.m. Nov. 10; 3 p.m. Nov 12. Cobb Energy Assuming Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 404-881-8885, www.atlantaopera.org.
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