Rene Pape talks about Boris Godunov
Rene Pape talks about Boris Godunov with radio hostess Margaret Juntwait16 October 2010 at the METRene : Hi, welcome.MJ: Thanks for comin'upRP: Thank you.MJ: You have sung so often in NY, so you feel like second home for you?RP: Indeed ,let's say my musical home since 1995.coming to the Metroplitan Opera I'm working with MET since 1992.MJ: because you didn't make the house debut then.RP: House debut was '95.MJ: Right.RP: My first was together with MET was EXPO in Seville 1992.differsing repertoire.MJ: The most basses want to sing the role of Boris, would you say?RP: I think so, it's the dream of every Bass. when you are young you think about not mature enough, not grown up enough so but when you turn 35, and you have the skill the possibillity, somebody ask you to sing it, then of course you get the excited you try to get closer to it, make some reasonal to, think about it then, when it happens, it happens.MJ: There are lots of roles that Basses will sing eventually, when do you know you are ready to take on certain role, you have to hold off on.RP: It's a serious question because you never know the time you get 4,5,6years advance even the role you never sang you don't know about them so because the time is so fast now traveling back and forward, so sometimes you take contract and don't even know what it will be, but you think OK to do list of you know to do. MJ: People are advising you to I guess.RP: sometime it happens we singers that we become the point too early or maybe next year, or 2 years later. early or so, things happen like this.MJ: Tell us about the character of Boris, what's the way you play him?RP: The character is very hard very dark it's my third production, first 2 I did in Germany, Russian language but we choose to have very very first version which actually never played them on stage, actually 1 Act version without a break. The Boris is not described in one moment of course I hope everybody knows. The question is did he kill the child or he didn't? In the history there are no proof. But also there are no proof he didn't. so you have always all the possibilities to bring it on stage.so My believe is he could have done it but he is deeply human-being with doubt and, as I said he could have done it means also he is not sure. so after becoming the Tsar, of course he try to help people, but His people didn't really believe of him because Russia is huge and big , coud be the same on States.Then you got about himself then you start to get the little bit crazy about all of those things, and then also you start believe people what he was told. other version. Other version could be he knows that already he is not thinkin about it he just push it away.MJ: So you have made it the exact choiceRP: The choice on my own personality, I think he isn't guilty so I try to play the human side of this man, suffering of this man onto the stage I don't want to be a mean dark personality, I also want to show actually could be a nice father could be personality be a nice Tsar to people. But he is full of doubt in the history, people around him pushing him from left to the right, forward backwards, up and down. Russia is not different from our time right now.MJ: The Staging that the curse between Pimen to Grigoly has you in the back ground sitting in silhouette on a throne surrounded by your subjects. and the long period of time where the focuses on them, speaking to each other, but you are clearly engaged in something but you're not doing anything. how do you look so involved and act without doing anything?RP: That, how we can describe it thanks to the stage director, all of us, we found the right solution. Pimen is just writing the history of Russia and Boris is the part of the history of Russia and writing the history when Boris period what happend.and Boris sittin on his throne, he's not really listening what happens between Grigoly and Pimen but he has own fault what he became after the coornation scene what he has done, what happened to him, what will be the future so and all those faults during Pimen and Grigoly duet scene I said played little bit lesser not to take tension from those 2 characters, but give the free dimension not the chances 2 characters also Tsar and bank? also part of his people I just want to show a little bit of doubt, little bit of luck of proud not being sure about, being scared being angry and this short period of time 12 minutes or 10 minutes, I don't wanna to play overacting. The lesser is moreMJ: and add depth to see you doing nothing.so remarkably well. really stunning to watch.To play the role of Boris well more than every few years, is it exhausting for you?RP: I did this role since 5 years. now the third production. Yeah, it's almost 5 years. it takes lots of energy so phisicaly and specially mentally and emotionally, so after every performance or after every production, you can run from one production to other one, you need a break after 1 years or 2 years because you have to calm down also you have to sing in other operas, you cannot always be suffering characters, same as King Philip or King Marke, and also want to do Mephistopheles, Leporello Don Giovanni all things like this. and it's really for me I cannot speak for other colleagues but for me after each performance I'm completly exhausted emotionally. Phisically it's OK. The role is not so big other in comparison to main roles or titleroles but it takes much emotions, need much emotions, many things out of, you are an actor as well as a singer, yeah, it takes your soul, and you completely run after performance.MJ: It must be good to have the Polish act cause you have the lots in the beginning and the end right in the middle of the Polish Act?RP: You can rest. You can rest a little bit. After big scene big monologue with Shisky you rest but also you have to warm up again like Wagner opera, Gulnemanz, after 1st act can rest and you have to sing whole 3rd act, too. you have a rest but you also have to prepare yourself for the next act you cannot really change out you stay focus. MJ: In this production you work with largely Russian casts of course you have Valery Gergiev in the pit being Russian conductor. do you start to feel a little Russian yourself?RP: All my colleagues call me Renucica.(laughing)MJ: Haha-RP: I know most of the colleagues I know for years specially Valery Gergiev I'm singin every season St Petersbug white night. I don't feel Russian but very close to. Of course I'm coming from East Germany so MJ: Do you speak the language?RP: I don't speak language I've learned at achool so I can read and forgot many things already but because all grown up in Eastern world we know what we 're talking about.