We’re loving having this trilingual bass from New Zealand and Austria with us in (the other) Vienna this summer! Anthony takes the Filene Center stage this weekend as the Sacristan in Tosca.
We’re giving you a time machine: What period, or moment in musical history, would you travel to and why?
I would love to travel back to late 19th century/early 20th century Paris, to see the Great Exhibition in Paris, and meet Debussy, Ravel, Guy de Maupassant, Monet, and so many others! It’s such a colourful time of Parisian history, and it would be incredible to be there.
What are some of your earliest memories of singing?
I began singing with my family, most memorably on several road trips between Vienna and Paris that we took. My family has this book of songs that’s been handed down through the generations, many of them quite silly, and my mother taught them to my brother and me to keep us occupied on the 14-hour trip. It was a good distraction.
Do you have any “hacks” that make your job easier/more enjoyable?
I take my Aeropress coffee maker everywhere! As well as either ground beans or whole beans and my coffee grinder. It’s nice to know exactly what your coffee will taste like, and when you’re travelling to an audition or a job and everything is unfamiliar, that little bit of “home” can really make a big difference to your day.
What’s been your most memorable live music experience as an audience member?
Bryn Terfel singing a recital. From the first note, you didn’t feel like someone was singing and you were listening: the sound just happened to be inside your head. It was a surreal experience, especially when he sang incredibly softly but you could still hear every note and every word.
Which experience(s) most influenced your decision to become a professional singer? What’s the earliest point in your life that you can identify in pointing you in this direction?
I had a wonderful teacher at age 15 who encouraged me to see where my voice would go. While my own singing took time to develop, I was very lucky to see some first class singing live at a young age, including a touching performance of The Marriage of Figaro at Glyndebourne, as well as Dmitri Hvorostovsky in an all-Russian art song recital. These inspired me to learn how to sing with depth, both vocally and emotionally.
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