How did you get interested in opera?
I saw The Magic Flute at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, in Finland, at the age of ten. I went to the Festival with my mother. I don’t remember much of the actual performance, only that I was sitting behind a famous minister, a member of the Cabinet… I guess it must have been a pretty boring show!
When I was about 15, I borrowed a Tosca video from my aunt, which was the Arena di Verona production, with Eva Marton and Ingvar Vixell. And that’s how everything started. Something happened. I don’t know what it was. I travelled to Helsinki to buy a ToscaCD. It was the 1965 Callas-Gobbi recording, I remember listening to “Vissi d’arte” and hearing something special. I had listened to other Toscas; my aunt also sung and I knew the aria. So I bought the recording. Then I bought more opera CDs and started listening to opera. I became fanatical about opera. I learned to identify voices in two seconds. Once, there was a competition on the radio and they played a bit of “Ella giammai m’amo” and they asked to identify the singer. I called in and told them it was Boris Christoff. They asked how difficult it was to guess that. I told them it wasn’t that difficult, not really. So that was the beginning.
What opera did you listened to after Tosca? Did you get the Puccini bug?
It was Italian opera in general. I listened to Lucia di Lammermoor, to some Verdi. But Puccini was probably the easiest to approach for a beginner because it’s so emotional and full of catchy tunes (he laughs).
Is Puccini still one of your favourite composers?
I don’t have favourite composers. It’s usually is the one I’m working on. I was just as enthusiastic about Cole Porter as I was about Richard Wagner.
Was there any operatic tradition in your family?
No, none to speak of. The family were musical people who played the accordion and the mandolin, but they didn’t know much about opera. In Finland you have access to excellent public libraries and that’s how I got to listen to lots of music.
What was it about opera that made you come back for more?
I think it’s the human voice. It’s the sound. To me, it carries more meaning that any other instrument. I find it more interesting.
I played the piano, the viola, the organ and I did some singing. I worked as an accompanist. Then there was the time I wanted to become a singer… But when I had to make a decision what to study at university, I decided to go for something less ephemeral than music, less artistic and hard to define. I thought about studying languages. I have always found languages fascinating. I studied them as a hobby. I must have had five languages at school. I ended up applying to the English Department at Helsinki University; I also studied other languages there. At the same time I worked as an accompanist for singers - Lieder and opera arias.
After two years at university I felt I had enough. I applied to the Operahögskolan in Stockholm (University College of Opera). I studied there for two years and graduated as a repetiteur. The degree involved playing a lot of vocal music and assisting in college productions. Also talking a lot! Swedes are very philosophical. They don’t want anyone to feel any pressure to make certain choices. They let you consider things from many angles first. They give students freedom to practice, live and feel. It was a very good two years.
Then I worked at the Swedish Royal Opera House as a repetiteur. It was fun. It’s a good opera house. But I felt I didn’t have enough possibilities to develop, so I decided to go to Germany. Already in Sweden, I took up conducting. I also did some productions were I played the piano and acted as a music director. I still wanted to work as a repetiteur, get more coaching experience, get to know more operas.
How did you end up in Germany?
I applied to some opera houses in Germany. I got a reply from Deutsche Oper am Rhein. I auditioned for the Chef Dirigent,the assistant to the Intendant and the person responsible for coaching and schedules. They wanted to hear a Mozart piece and I chose La finta giardiniera. Then I presented the beginning of Electra, a piano piece, an operatic piece where I had to play and sing the vocal line. After that I was told to sing less and play more! Then they wanted something prima vista - and it was the first page of Gianni Schicchi plus something from Siegfried. Although I didn’t play so well, I stayed together with the conductor, which was the point of the exercise. I remember being in the same measure with him, although not always in the same harmony (he laughs). An hour after that, they asked me to play on stage for their singer audition. They liked me. They offered me the job.
What was your first opera with Deutsche Oper am Rhein?
It was the French version of Don Carlos. Then I did about 40-50 other operas. I started conducting in 2003, with a two-hour version of Il barbiere, meant for children. We had full instrumentation, although the size of the orchestra was slightly reduced. Since then I’ve been conducting regularly.
Do you get to work with modern music a lot?
I don’t try to avoid it! Modern music is harder to learn, but on the other hand it’s more rewarding. The public have no expectations as they haven’t heard it before. With modern music, the learning process is hard, there are often new things you haven’t thought of and there is no tradition to lean on. You have to be open to new things and ready to experiment.
But the emotions that modern music deals with are not any different from Verdi, Wagner or Puccini.
It takes more time to open up to modern music and this is what people perceive as a problem: audiences expect to access the music in seconds. But you need to learn in order to understand. Start with the rhythm, the most primal thing, then build on it. We are used to the “classical” music, which has gone far away from, say, pop music and its chords. We are not used to be challenged – from the very beginning of learning, we have a choice what to learn, and most people choose the easy way. We don’t even try to learn things that seem hard, unusual or weird. And I think we should. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about The Magic Flute when I was ten but now my musical understanding goes way beyond that.
You mentioned Cole Porter...
Kiss Me Kate is a wonderful piece. And with the orchestra it just sounds great. He is a very classical composer, actually. At the same time, it’s catchy and jazzy.
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What is it like to be a Finnish conductor abroad?
I’m trying to get away from that “bad seriousness” abundant in Finns. Coming from Finland, I’ve had to change to fit in; people in Germany are much more open and spontaneous. I’ve had to learn to be more extrovert. Where I come from, it’s a virtue not to speak up, not to speak up for yourself. Here, people see it differently. You are expected to express yourself. Though, of course, not to seem full of yourself (he laughs).
Salonen, Saraste, Segerstam, Vanska, Rasilainen, Franck…They aren’t doing too badly.
Yes, the world is populated with Finnish conductors, I know. I didn’t go through the same system. They come from Sibelius Academy, where throughout their studies they had a chance to conduct an orchestra once a week. The sessions were registered on video and then thoroughly analysed in class. That is the way to learn! In my work, I have a chance to watch my performance on stage monitor video and analyse it. I’ve done that with all my operas here. It shouldn’t go too far, though, not to obsess about it.
I think that the success of Finnish conductors has something to do with the mental strength that we have. We are not afraid to have a different opinion, to do things our way.
What is an opera conductor’s nightmare?
Now that you mention it… Some producers put a singer through a lot of gymnastics. Especially with a long aria, say Rossini, the singer is supposed to dance, do somersaults, run along the stage AND sing some of the most demanding music in the vocal repertoire. Not a good solution, that. Here’s what I think: if you want to have circus on stage, bring in a group of 50 circus artists and leave the singer alone. It will be a better show to watch - and the singing will be better.
I have nothing to say about singers. I love singers. Maybe if someone’s Italian doesn’t sound Italian at all, it’s worth working on it. Little things.
Would you be tempted to put together an ideal cast for a favourite opera?
I’ve heard so many great singers who are not a household name…. We could take the cast for Il Tabarro from our house. It pretty much is the best cast ever. I know the production, I’ve seen it, I know the people, I played for them. I witnessed them portray the characters in an unforgettable way. It is the best cast possible. And yet you will not recognise their names.
I don’t listen much to opera recordings any more. I listen to jazz. But if I had to answer your question, it would be Tebaldi and del Monaco, late forties or early fifties, not beyond that. The opera would be, say, Andrea Chenier. Or any other opera! They are my dream duo.
What do you think about Callas, the diva of all divas, the exquisite high notes?
Yes, probably she was the greatest. On the other hand, many of her interpretations were often melodramatic. It was a very fifties - sixties way of feeling things. It’s not exactly what we would expect today. That’s the problem with videos and recordings: times change. People say that there aren’t singers like that anymore and blah blah. But would we buy it today?
There are voices like Callas, we just don’t know about them. It all has to do with the right place and the right time. Callas got the media support at the right moment, and once it kicks in, people start talking about you. Suddenly they all agree, even if they haven’t heard you. People join in, especially when they have no opinion of their own. I’m not talking about Callas in particular - it’s a general point worth making.
What would you change in the world of opera?
I would like people to be less obsessed with age. I don’t think there is much sense to hear a fifteen-year-old performing very well for his young age. It is more valuable to hear something perfect, let it be from an artist who is 60. In the artistic life, there are points that you reach, and some of them are very good. But the exposure should have nothing to do with age. Doing as much as you can when you’re still very young doesn’t impress me. Why is it important that somebody is young? What is so important about it?
Who are competitions for? I understand it's a marketing thing. But who wants competitions? Is it the public? Are we always hungry for the next idol? I think we shouldn’t have competitions at all. It suits pop music better. I think the more appropriate way for classical music is to have auditions and then watch people work in a safe environment, for a longer period of time.
Although we are not in it for the money, we should be paid more. Opera is one of those businesses where very few get paid really well. That is in huge disproportion to what most of opera people get. Also, today’s opera seems to be mostly about marketing, not so much about artistic quality. This is wrong.
What I’d really like to change is how opera is produced. It should be more about the beauty and emotions contained in the music, less about showing off as a producer. I hear it too often that the conductor is there to facilitate the easy flow of music and the aim is to entertain. That is not enough! Opera is about catching moments of truth in our lives. Opera is about not being afraid to let people see deep into our souls. Producing opera should be much more than following the latest trends.
What do you do in your spare time?
I run. I go to the gym. I do horseback riding. We live in the country, outside Dusseldorf, in a converted farm house. It’s very peaceful. I read a lot, mostly on the train to work. I’m a great fan of Lebanese food. I used to hate cooking, but about a year ago I started experimenting and now I can do a lasagne and even sushi, which is not too difficult, if you cook the rice properly (he laughs). Sometimes, I play the piano.
VIEW Ville Enckelmann’s page HERE.
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