Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo on his one-man adaptation ofThe Marriage of Figaro.
The Rehearsal
Ten performers tell us how theyre preparing in the days before their big fall shows.
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Anthony Roth Costanzo, 42, is a rarity in multiple ways.
I sang Cherubino [an adolescent boy, usually performed by a mezzo-soprano] when I was 17.
I would walk around the house singing everyones part.
As a countertenor, I always look different from the way I sound.
People hear me sing and they ask me, So, whats your real voice?
And I say, You just heard my real voice; Im a countertenor.
Listening to me speak, youd never know I was a baritone, but I am.
There are one-person versions ofHamlet,but Im not sure theres been a one-person version of an entire opera.
This one runs 90 minutes.
I findFigaroto be hilarious, but people dont always have access to that hilarity.
When Im throwing off a hat or putting on a dress, it becomes that much funnier.
Theres a frenetic, ecstatic quality to a one-person execution.
Ive never done anything this hard.
Its not as if I have one line and then I pause for someone elses response: I haveeveryline.
Weve made a list of vocal qualities for every character.
The countess is dark but honest.
Figaro is rich and burly.
As Im jumping between lines, not only am I thinking about different registers but also about those qualities.
Ive been singing at the Met for 13 years.
Ive done Broadway, Ive done film, and now Im running a company.
The model for opera in our country isnt working.
I hope people who have never seen an opera before will think,Wow, opera is so beautiful!
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