Next month, Brisbane fans of opera are in for a treat! After delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Opera Australia’s productions of all four operas in The Ring Cycle and Aida will be performed on the Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC) Lyric Theatre stage for a majority of the month – opening 1 December 2023 and 6 December 2023 respectively. For more information on each work, the run dates, and how to book tickets directly from Opera Australia, read my extensive article from last week.
In advance of Aida opening on 6 December, Opera Australia was kind enough to provide me with interviews with a number of performers and creatives for both productions. Yesterday we started off with a Q&A with Conal Coad, who is portraying the role of The King. Today we have another insightful interview with Michael Honeyman, Opera Australia’s principal Baritone who has a long, expansive history working with Opera Australia, in addition to a number of state-level performing arts and theatrical companies.
Honeyman is no stranger to the role of Amonasro, having portrayed the role with Opera Australia many times, including 2015’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour – Aida, 2017’s Griffith Opera on the Beach – Aida, and OA’s stage productions of Aida in 2018, 2021 and now in 2023. This is in addition to an impressive range of award winning productions including Wozzeck (Helpmann Award winner for Best Male Performer in an Opera) and King Roger (Green Room Award for Male Lead in an Opera and Helpmann Award nomination) and numerous other roles, most recently as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Ezio in Attila.
Scroll down to read the full interview:
Could you share with us your journey in the opera industry, highlighting key moments or experiences that have shaped your career and your approach to performing roles such as Amonasro in Aida?
I started singing relatively late – I left my previous career in banking and commenced full-time training at university after I turned 30. I was never a fan of opera at the beginning – I admired and enjoyed the music but it was the telling of stories and exploration of character that lead me to love it.
As Amonasro in Aida, how did you delve into the complex character of the Ethiopian king? What aspects of his personality or story did you find most compelling to portray, or resonate with your style the most effectively?
actions. In his first scene he is such a loving father. In the very next scene, he emotionally manipulates his daughter in many cold-hearted ways. A man and king that has been whose country is overpowered, has been taken captive, but his plotting reveals a cunning genius. The extremity of his condition and his passion for his country must have him in a state of near madness or extreme zealotry. And yet Amonasro is only in 3 scenes! Yet Amonasro’s demands on his daughter are the catalyst for her tragedy.
Aida is grand opera; by maximising the extremities of his actions, the character is larger than life and can make an impact.
You have performed in this role for a while now, since you began performing this work, has anything changed with the production, theatergoers or anything else over time?
I first performed this role in 2012 and have been involved in 4 different productions. Each production had a very different visual style. The current production uses digital technology to set the scene and provide the spectacle that is intrinsic to the opera. But the essence of the human drama – the love triangle set against the conflict of war – remains unchanged. I think that is what resonates most of all with our audience.
How do you prepare vocally for the demanding role of Amonasro? Were there specific challenges in this role compared to your previous performances?
Amonasro is not a long role but it is an intense role and has its vocal challenges. I prepare by trying to balance the moments of beautiful singing and the dramatic fiery moments. The challenge for this production is the larger theatre.
You have portrayed a diverse range of characters in your career. How does the role of Amonasro in Aida compare to other baritone roles you’ve performed in the past?
I’ve been lucky enough to perform such a diversity of characters. Amonasro is possibly the most intense and conflicted character to portray in the shortest time on stage!
Reflecting on your extensive career, how has your approach to performing in operas evolved over time? Are there lessons from earlier roles that you brought into playing Amonasro?
Amonasro, like many of the Verdi baritone roles, is a fascinating study on father-daughter relationships. Since my first performance of Amonasro, I have performed Miller, Boccanegra, Germont (La Traviata), which also explore dynamics of father-daughter type relationships. I think this deepens my understanding of this aspect of Verdi’s operas and enriched the characterization of Amonasro. I think the main lesson from these roles (and over the course of my career generally) is to seek out and play the contradictions. It’s so human!
What advice would you give to young performers who aspire to follow in your footsteps and seek a career in opera – whether on-stage or seeking out a role as a creative?
Read everything, go to as much theatre as you can afford, go to the art gallery and museum. Excite your imagination. Learn a language. Beautiful singing defines the genre of opera, but having something to say about your characters and their stories, that’s what brings theatre alive.
Thank you very much to Michael Honeyman for taking some time out of his busy calendar to answer some of my questions, and I wish him all the best in the coming weeks as Aida commences in Brisbane next week. Many thanks must also go to Opera Australia’s publicity team, especially Caitlin Eames, for facilitating this interview. For more information on session times and to book tickets for the Brisbane season of Aida at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) Lyric Theatre, visit the Opera Australia website.
