The German Helden tenor Stefan Vinke defies all the odds: he is evidently able to avoid aging, with its attendant energy loss and vocal decay. Already at 50-something, he has portrayed Siegfried, the perennial heroic juvenile, to great global acclaim in Wagner’s Ring Cycle (and stand-alone productions of Siegfried) close to 250 times, and he’s nowhere near stopping.
His press reviews are brimming with awe and praise for his physical and vocal prowess in this role. Upon his 2019 debut as Siegfried at the Metropolitan Opera, one reviewer wrote: * “… what I found unbearably moving about Vinke’s final scene … is that he sang so openly and frankly … tossing in a brilliant high C at the very end of the opera. In other words, he performed not like an experienced, thoughtful man, but rather like the innocent and heedless boy Wagner intended Siegfried to be.” Vinke has performed mostly Wagner’s works, all over the world, most recently at Opera Australia and Greek National Opera.
Müpa Budapest’s 2024 Wagner Days will offer the four-opera ‘Ring of the Nibelungen’ led by Maestro Ádám Fischer on June 20-23, among other concerts, lectures, and films to celebrate the composer. In two of those four, Vinke will light up the stage again, as he has for many previous years here, as Siegfried, the horn-playing Nature Boy, the fearless sword-bearing dragon slayer, and the innocent adolescent whose first (and last) girlfriend was Brünnhilde.
At Müpa on a sunny June afternoon, I interviewed this remarkable singer, a man with a high-vibration persona, twinkling blue eyes, the energy of a teenager, and who can’t wait to go for a brisk walk in the park after a long day’s rehearsal.
– What was it like to make your debut at the Met?
– The Met is, I think, the most important opera stage in this world. I must say I was shocked when I first came on stage and saw this huge audience. It’s not only the biggest indoor theatre in the country, but I think in the world. After singing a few lines, it felt pretty much like being at home. The hall responds, even if it’s crowded or full. The sound is always [reflected] back to us, and that’s a good sign. I felt good on that stage. My colleagues and the entire team behind the stage were fantastic; they made it an amazing time for me. My wife later said, “You know, you looked and appeared as though you were in our living room.”
– Did you return to the Met later?
– Yes, I sang again there in Elektra in 2022. There may be something in the future, we’ll see.
– Do you personally identify as Siegfried?
– Yes, I would identify Siegfried as my signature role. I think there are not as many colleagues who have sung this role that many times—I’m counting … this performance in Müpa will be number 129. For Siegfried and Götterdämmerung together, it will be 110. So that means there have been around 250 times the programs have listed Stefan Vinke as Siegfried.
– Have you sung other roles in the Ring?
– Just before coming to Budapest [to rehearse at Müpa], I sang Siegmund in Athens, as I did here a few years ago, and many other places. Sooner or later, I’m planning to study the role of Loge as well. But at this moment I’m happy to continue with both Siegfried and Siegmund; of course, Siegfried is better for me because it sits higher, and I’m still a high tenor.
– Two years ago, I called you the “Energizer Bunny” from the American TV ad because of your indefatigable performances and heroic high notes. How do you explain this — is that just who you are, or do you do something specific to attain this super-charged level?
– Well, I think I’ve had a very high energy level throughout my life. I remember hearing Edda Moser say to me, when I was a student with her: “You know you have the power of seven bulls. Save this power for your career – you will need it!” And I think I still have it. And of course, I know I have a pretty good stamina, but I would say, first of all, and really most importantly, it’s a question of technique – [proper] singing technique.
– Which teachers gave you this impressive technique?
– The teacher who shaped me in the most important way was Joshua Hecht. Unfortunately, he died a few years ago, at 90 or 91, in an accident on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
– Do you have a coach now?
– Yes, my wife Sabine Finkel [an operatic soprano]! She’s the one I trust when she says: “Stefan, pay attention to this or to that.” She’s the one I listen to, and I don’t go to any other teachers anymore. What I got from Josh Hecht was enough, and I would love to give this knowledge to the next generation!
Now, I also have students, and naturally, most of them are tenors. I believe that at a certain point in ones’ career, one should work with experienced teachers whose [voices are] the same Fach as the student. I would never send a high voice to a teacher who’s a bass, because it’s a different way of singing. A bass versus a Helden-tenor: it’s simply two different worlds. Although, one thing is the same for all singers: we are all paid for our top notes—aka the “money notes!”
– How does a singer continuously learn new stagings for the same role?
– How do you learn a role, how do you learn translating, etc., it’s repetition! “Repetition is the mother of knowledge” — it’s a Bulgarian saying that I learned from a Bulgarian teacher in Mannheim. If your repeat your role, you will know it; it’s the same for blocking. Usually, it doesn’t take many rehearsals to know what to do. Besides, every soloist in this production has done these roles many times, so they know where to break the action, make a move, etc., even here on this [comparatively] mini-stage.
But here, I think it’s much more than semi-staged. We have all these projections behind us, so all of it looks and sounds like so much more that a concert version. We don’t have as many spatial options as in an opera house, but on this stage, we can love, we can hate, we can fight—everything that’s necessary.
Our distance to the audience is about five meters. In other houses, you have close to 15 meters to the first row, and 50 to the last one. I like to tell my students not to project the voice to the first one, but the last one. Because the last row has paid too—they have a right to hear and see what they’ve paid for.
– Have you ever been a terrible production that you wished you weren’t in?
– Yes, of course, this happens … it appears and then it disappears. But sometimes, that just becomes a good reason to make better music — and even another reason to be thankful for good directors!
– Speaking of good directors, how do like working with Ádám Fischer?
– He’s one of my absolute favorite conductors. He’s overwhelmingly a great musician — a musician who knows every aspect of the score, what every singer is doing onstage. [The primary thing] is that he’s listening to us, because he’s accompanying us. With him, it’s always an easy give-and-take. I love this kind of working style.
The first time I met Ádám was in 2001. He was the General Music Director in Mannheim when I was there. That was when I sang my first “father” role in Idomeneo. I will never forget this because when I sang that opera, in the same month I myself became a father! I went on to do more productions there with him, and after that I came to Müpa – is this my eighth or ninth year? I’ve lost track…but I always enjoy coming back here. I love this hall, the city, its good music, good orchestra, and a fantastic maestro.
– What would you like to tell the Hungarian audience?
– I’m so very happy that Hungarians like this style of operatic music, because for me, Wagner is one of the greatest composers of all time. I love what he has written in word and music. He was, for my taste, one of two composers who were far ahead of their time: Bach and Wagner. These two were pointing centuries ahead.
– What do you do in your down time?
– Gardening. We have a pretty big property at home. My garden is just flowers, trees, and bushes – not food. I also walk the dogs a lot. We have two: a brown labrador—a real powerhouse, and a cavapoo—a mix of Cavalier King Charles spaniel and toy poodle.
– So, your connection to nature is strong?
– Maybe that’s the secret aspect of Siegfried! He’s a “Nature Boy.” I am Nature Boy, definitely. All of a sudden, [I’m part of] the ’68 hippie generation! I’m definitely grounded, related to nature. I love walking in the parks here. I walk to my hotel, too.
– Siegfried is a boy-man, a kind of overgrown juvenile. Would you like to reveal your age? (In the US, it’s forbidden to ask your age for a number of legal reasons. So, performers usually give an “age range that I can play” to casting directors.)
– Ok, then my age range is 40-60.
– For the sake of Siegfried, shall we stick with 40?
– To be honest, it’s 50-plus. But I still am a boy. Have you ever seen a man who has really grown up? Most of us, we stay boys all of our life. But once you’re on stage, as either Peter Pan or Siegfried, you never grow up!