Interview with Arturo Chacon-Cruz, a Dazzling Young Operatic Tenor to Watch

If you hadn't heard of Arturo Chacón-Cruz before, it's about time you find out about this gorgeous-voice tenor whose exquisite combination of reliable technique, adept musical instinct, and keen intelligence is helping him build his solid and A-list-bound international career in Puccini and Verdi leading roles, among many others. The young tenor was discovered in 2000 when he attracted the attention of Placido Domingo, the legendary Spanish tenor (you know him even if you don't regularly listen to opera, he is one of the famed Three Tenors along with Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras), and won the Domingo Scholarship before going on to become a winner of the 2005 edition of Operalia singing competition.

Chacón-Cruz has since won many awards in competitions and participated in many renown young artists programs and is now busy singing at major houses in Europe and America. He is mentored by Ramon Vargas, who, as far as I'm concerned, is one of the greatest bel canto tenors to ever walked the planet. So... upon having recovered my wit after being thoroughly dazzled by the recording samples (video and audio clips) on his website, I was sent literally bouncing around on the suddenly springy cloud nine when his publicist, Samantha Farber (of SONO Artists Consulting) informed me that he was available for an interview. So, without further ado, here is a glimpse at the man who will soon be at the top of many opera fans' wish list to their local opera house:

Smorg: I was told that you used to be a mariachi singer. How did you go from that into classical/opera singing? Did you come from a very musical family?
ACC: I do come from a very musical and artistic family. My paternal grandfather used to play the violin, my maternal grandfather used to write plays and poetry, and my grandmother was a theater actress in her youth. My mother was trained as a pianist although she gave up her dreams of becoming a concert pianist to raise a family. In addition, she has taken up painting. My father and all of his brothers play the guitar and sing - for pleasure, although quite well. Lastly, my mother's brother was a professional Mariachi singer and I grew up listening to his records. Unfortunately, he died in a car accident at the early age of 25.

I was encouraged from a very early age to learn music. I started with piano at 6 and later also learned traditional Mexican songs on the guitar. I won my first singing competition at 7 years old, singing Mariachi songs. I continued singing in the school choir and the "estudiantina" (a sort of youth Mariachi band), and later I joined several trios, quartets, and Mariachi bands in my native Sonora.

At 19 years old, I was encouraged to take some classical voice lessons, and I fell in love with Opera and "lyric" singing. Shortly after that, I changed majors in college, from Engineering to a Bachelor of Music in Voice. I still enjoy singing the traditional music, and I make the time to do concerts of Mexican and Spanish music. It is important to me to be able to sing in Spanish, particularly these songs that mean so much to me and my people.

Smorg: Even with the recent political turmoil in Mexico the country still manages to continue to produce such wonderful opera singers like Ramon Vargas, Octavio Arevalo, Rolando Villazon and you, among others. What is the reason behind this? Does Mexico have a good singing conservatory program that seeks out and cultivates young talents? A good support program for opera singers?
ACC: Well, there are definitely some foundations and programs to support young talents in Mexico; however, there are not nearly enough. Some examples are SIVAM, ProOpera and other programs that the government has set in motion in the past (such as competitions). I was very lucky to have had the support of both SIVAM and ProOpera along my journey. SIVAM (Sociedad International de Valores del Arte Mexicano) gave me the Placido Domingo Scholarship, supported by the legendary tenor Placido Domingo himself. This scholarship allowed me to continue my studies with some of the most wonderful teachers and coaches of our time. ProOpera later awarded me with the Ramon Vargas Grant, in essence, a scholarship to study with Ramon Vargas as well as financial support to do auditions. This opened many doors for me, as well as prepared me for this career by having access to Mr. Vargas' experience and wisdom first hand.

As for your question about the reason why there are so many Mexican singers in high profile, I can attribute it to the strong tradition of music in our country. We are born singing, we sing with our friends, cherish music and take any opportunity to express ourselves singing. I believe that because of this, we have a slight advantage when it comes to opera because most of us learned how to sing with a Mariachi band or something similar. This kind of singing, like opera, is done without the use of microphones and so we learn how to sing with our bodies efficiently so that we are heard.

Smorg: How big influences are Placido Domingo and Ramon Vargas to you as an artist and a person?
ACC: Placido Domingo has been there for me since the beginning of my career. I admire the beauty of his voice, the intensity of his interpretation, and his noble nature that has made him the "King of the Tenors." He first heard me sing in a concert we did together in the Bellas Artes Palace, in Mexico City, back in 2000. In this concert I was singing as a baritone, and after the concert he came to me and told me that my voice reminded him of his when he used to sing baritone. He believed that I was truly a tenor and encouraged me to switch. This was very exciting and yet very scary all at the same time for me. Needless to say, he was right about me being a tenor, and I have him to thank for the encouragement and support that he provided from then on.

I did the switch from baritone to tenor slowly, and by the end of 2001, I felt comfortable enough with the tessitura to start auditioning (with much success) as a tenor. In 2005, I was one of the winners of Operalia, and this opened numerous doors for me, including the great honor of singing under the baton of Maestro Domingo, and later, the trill of singing Christian and sharing the stage with Maestro Domingo in Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac (the DVD of which is available). I have had the rare chance to spend a lot of time working with him and learning many things from him. His advice and example are a beacon I hope to follow both in my career and life.

Ramon Vargas is my mentor and one of my closest friends. His singing is elegant and classy, and so is he. He has given me so much of his time and has treated me like family. His influence is undeniable: I aim to sing the same way he does, and to have a life of music and family like he has. My wife and I have had the opportunity to spend time with Ramon and his family, and we are very fond of them. He is an admirable example of hard work and discipline. I keep learning from him and work hard to emulate his artistry and poetic singing.

Smorg: You've sung in French, Italian, Russian and English. Which is the hardest? Do you speak all the languages you sing in? Do you find it difficult switching from one language to another when performing different operas in succession or when singing arias in different languages during a recital?
ACC: I actually enjoy singing in every language! I am fluent in Italian, French, English, Spanish and am currently studying German and Greek. Russian is a beautiful language and I plan to get my hands on it once I am comfortable with the ones I am now learning. Once you know a few languages, the others become easier since you start identifying roots and similarities between them. It makes for quite a rewarding hobby! Also, when learning a piece in any language, I make sure that I have translated every word and fully grasp its meaning to help make my singing of the piece more natural. I also work the text with native speakers to get the right inflections.

Smorg: Any favorite opera role you identify with more than the others (or is a role a favorite because it least resembles you and so is a real artistic test/challenge?)?
ACC: I don't have any one particular favorite. I love having the opportunity to be able to play many roles and explore a variety of personalities. Also, as you mentioned, it is sometimes nice to have the challenge of playing a character that is nothing like yourself.

I think that Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme is the role in which I can put the most of my personality. The reactions of Rodolfo are very similar to how I would react. I find him easy to portray, yet also very rewarding since I get to express beautiful and sad emotions: the excitement of falling in love, worry about your loved one, and, at last, grief and desperation.

The Duke of Mantua (in Verdi's Rigoletto), on the other hand, is a different story. I am far from the careless "Don Juan" the Duke is, but it is a lot of fun to portray. It is a challenge to make him charming, knowing that Gilda is suffering so much. In my view and portrayal, the Duke is never aware of her suffering and doesn't realize the consequences of his actions. I try as hard as possible to make him three-dimensional and human despite his selfish and immature nature.

The most challenging character for me, because he is the farthest from my own personality and also very mentally complicated, was Hoffmann (in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann). He is complex, a drunk poet, funny, morbid, passionately in love, obsessed, and emotionally unstable. What a dream to play! I love the growth that this character has given me as an actor and continues to give me. I am looking forward to singing it again this fall in Japan.

Smorg: You are slated to sing Werther at Opera de Lyon next year under the direction of Rolando Villazon. Would it make any difference to be directed by someone who has performed the role before as opposed to the usual stage-director (who always direct but never perform)? What do you think of Werther as a character? (He is a hard sell for me since he seems to whine a lot and then he spends 15 minutes dying after having shot himself. It takes a very convincing acting singer for me to not wish that that death scene is much shorter).
ACC: I am very excited about this project. Rolando is an amazing singing actor. He has the ability to draw the public's attention from the moment he sets foot onstage. He will have an insight into Werther that no other stage director can have having portrayed Werther very successfully himself. I am looking forward to exploring his vision and developing my character with him in a way that will touch the audience.

In my present approach to the character, I like to emphasize his strong passion and his dark side. That should help with the death scene; however, as you said, it IS very long. The bigger challenge will start from Charlotte's love declaration. In it, I will attempt to show that Werther has decided then to make the sacrifice of ending his life to protect Charlotte from dishonor and the problems that their love could bring. This makes his death a noble gesture instead of a selfish one. If we manage to pass that along to the viewer, I think they will appreciate the chance they get to say goodbye, and for Werther to get his chance to ask for forgiveness from Charlotte. Their last declaration of love and, finally, his suicide to protect her takes on a grander meaning and the audience (hopefully) won't feel the time pass.

Smorg: What do you like least about life as an opera singer?
ACC: I don't like being away from home for so long. I miss my family and my friends, my bike paths and the routine of being in one place. The sacrifices are well worth it though. One thing that is difficult is that I always need to be vigilant and take care of myself to stay well. That means I have to eat well and rest a lot to make sure I don't get sick - which also means that I rarely get to explore the cities that I visit as much as I'd like to.

Smorg: What do you like best about it?
ACC: I get to do what I love for a living! It is a gift that I really appreciate. Also, my wife travels with me, so that makes life "on the road" much more enjoyable. I never dreamed of traveling the world and meeting so many interesting people. I feel very lucky to have this blessing. I love being able to be part of something so beautiful and to be able to share it with audiences all over the world.

Well! I don't know about you, but as much as I dread having to sit through another performance of Massenet's Werther, Chacón-Cruz has convinced me that I need to give the opera (and its broodingly moody title character) another good shot... especially if he will be singing it! I can just hear the good folks at my local opera house bracing for the certain soon-to-begin onslaught of emails requesting this tenor's appearances here already!

Some of Arturo Chacón-Cruz's upcoming 2010 opera engagements:
May 21-23: Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto. Florentine Opera, Milwaukee, WI
September 18, 20: Hoffmann in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann. Nagoya, Japan
January 24-February 7, 2011: Werther in Massenet's Werther (to be directed by Rolando Villazon). Lyon, France.

And here is a glimpse of him onstage as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata at Michigan Opera in 2008.

Arturo Chacón-Cruz is married and lives with his wife in Boston, Massachusetts. Visit his website for more information.