BY JESSICA CARRASCALÃO HEARD
When thinking of classical singing, the first thing that leaps to most people’s minds is big arias from grand operas. But there is a lesser-known, less grandiose side of classical singing, in the world of art song and lieder. It’s poetry set to music, often with just the voice and piano weaving together…
Beginning this weekend, 16 singers and eight pianists will participate in four days of masterclasses to hone their skills at the Melbourne International Festival of Lieder and Art Song. They will be coached by internationally acclaimed artists and experts in the field, pianist Dr Graham Johnson OBE and baritone Dr Steven Varcoe.
We caught up with one of the participants in the festival, young singer Leon Vitogiannis.
You developed your passion for music when you were in high school. What was your first musical activity and how did it lead you to become more involved?
From a young age, my parents took me to piano and clarinet lessons. However, I was disinterested in these instruments, and at the start of high school I instead pursued the guitar and bouzouki.
As I grew up with pop and Greek music, playing all my favourite tunes and melodies drew me into music. At school, I took electives and joined the school choir in Year 9, which introduced me to singing – and what’s more, singing in harmony and in five or so languages.
I then applied these skills to my pop ensembles, singing harmonies in songs by the Beatles and Rolling Stones, as well as singing pop music in Greek.
When did you realise you wanted to pursue classical singing as a career?
I came quite late to it, compared with other singers. In Year 10, I had to choose to do either the more classical-music-inclined subject or the contemporary music subject. My Head of Music put the thought in my mind, and suggested I could do classical singing for the performance examination as I had a couple of years of choral training, making aspects of singing such as language more accessible than if I were learning from scratch.
In Year 11, I took up private lessons and slowly began to build technique and learn repertoire. I knew that listening to this divine music played a key role in building this style of singing. It was only from a few recordings of Fischer-Dieskau, Pavarotti, Kraus and especially Thomas Hampson that [I] almost felt a calling to the art form, and enjoyed performing and expressing the music. After that, I knew that listening to this divine music played a key role in building this style of singing.
I threw myself into listening to at least four hours a day of opera and lieder, and to as many different singers and styles of composition. When this infatuation took over my life, I realised that this was what I needed to do, and what I enjoyed doing most. So, while preparing for my Extension Music performance exam, I simultaneously prepared for my audition to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Do you have a favourite performer that you look up to for inspiration? If so, who is it, and what about them inspires you?
A major influence was Thomas Hampson. His enchanting voice serenaded me through the final years of high school, and his intelligent teaching and direction in masterclasses inspired me to persist with practicing and allowing things to happen naturally within the voice. I was fortunate enough to meet Mr Hampson earlier this year after his recital in the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall in Melbourne. To hear a recital from him was breathtaking. For me, it was not so much meeting a star, but rather meeting a teacher.
Another great influence, who I was fortunate to meet last year in Sydney, is Mario Frangoulis, a crossover opera and Greek tenor who was one of Kraus’ students. Mario and I spoke after his concert and I was humbled that he took so much interest into my passions and aspirations. When I thanked him again at the end of the conversation, and this has not left my mind, he said, ‘no need to thank me, it’s not every day that you meet another crossover Greek and opera singer’.
Tell us a little about why Greek music is so important to you, and what makes Greek music so unique.
I grew up with this music. Whether it was listening to music on the way to Saturday sport, or frequenting Greek restaurants on weekends to listen to it live, this music was always there in my childhood. Greek music is incredibly important as it reminds me of my childhood memories. Growing up with my Greek grandparents, trips to Greece or even going to restaurants where even though I am a third-generation Greek-Australian, I always feel connected to the culture of my homeland.
My favourite thing about Greek culture is that there is a certain traditionalism, especially in the music, where in the past composers and songwriters have blessed us with their pieces. Even while modern music is being written and performed, there is always a circulation of these pieces and the style. Much like opera, a lot of older Greek music is set to text or a poem. Reading the beautiful texts allows me to express the music and what the pieces mean individually, which is what I find most important in performing.
You’re one of the performers in MIFLAS. What is it about performing art song that you enjoy?
Similar to Greek music, it’s the poetry combined with the divine composition that I find so fascinating and liberating about performing this music. The fact that you are able to transport people into the world of the text is a truly amazing phenomenon, especially today where a few taps on a screen can bring you thousands of hours of great artists. Turning the world off and turning the music on is what helped me love music so much to pursue it as a career.
What will you be singing?
I will be singing 3 songs:
- Come away, come away, Death, from Quilter’s Three Shakespeare Songs, with text by William Shakespeare.
- The Roadside Fire, from Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, with text by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- Der Lindenbaum, from Schubert’s Winterreise, with text by Wilhelm Müller.
What skills do you hope to learn or refine at MIFLAS?
I’m very grateful to be selected to perform in the MIFLAS festival, and am looking forward to working with Graham Johnson and Steven Varcoe. A significant part of my learning process of understanding this art form was watching various masterclasses by different artists on YouTube. Hence, I can guarantee that taking part and observing in MIFLAS will be a fantastic opportunity.
As a singer and a musician, what is your ultimate goal?
My ultimate goal is to consistently build my technique and repertoire book so I can perform the breathtaking works that I constantly listen to. Simultaneously, I intend to keep refining my Greek bouzouki playing in order to keep [this music close to my heart].
In the end, I wish to work with as many artists as I can and create beautiful music.
The Melbourne International Festival of Lieder and Art Song is on at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music until 13 July.
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Images supplied. Leon captured by Panagiotis Karamanos. Ensemble pictures courtesy MIFLAS/Stephen Heath Photography.
