Don't forget the lyric

Acclaimed tenor Luca Lombardo (LL) sings the lead role this month in Offenbach's 'The Tales of Hoffmann'. Derek Lim (DL) speaks to the Frenchman with an Italian name.

DL: Your name doesn't sound French at all. Is there a story behind that?

LL: Well, you're right. My grandfather came to Marseille at the beginning of the last century, and after that my father and myself were born in Marseille.
 

DL: How is your voice classified?

LL: Well, I'm a lyric tenor – I sing all the Italian roles – Rodolfo ['La Bohème'], Cavaradossi ['Tosca'], Alfredo ['La Traviata'] but also French operas – I've sung Don José in 'Carmen' more than a hundred times.

DL: Tell us more about Hoffmann.

LL: It's one of my favourite roles. He is a poet who has a bit of a drinking problem. He projects his fantasies on three women, and that's how you get three stories. I think everybody in the audience can recognise himself in the main character. Everyone has met at some point someone very pretty like the doll, or very sentimental like Antonia, [or] very courtesan-like [Giulietta]. Different aspects of women, and I find that very, very interesting.

DL: Who are the three most important women in your life?

LL: [Laughs] Well, first of all my wife [they have been married for 13 years and have an 11-year-old son]. And after that, I forgot the others. [Laughs again]

DL: You've sung Hoffmann more than 50 times. Was there one production you particularly remember?

LL: I was very touched by the Paris Opera Bastille production by Robert Carsen, which was really amazing and incredible – it was one of the most beautiful productions I have ever seen and one of the most wonderful memories of my entire career.

DL: Are there any singers you admired more than anyone else?

LL: I think Luciano Pavarotti. I loved him, and he was a wonderful person. But I also have a lot of admiration for Plácido Domingo, whom I sang with on stage – he was doing Otello and I was doing Cassio. He was a wonderful guy and very, very nice with young people. He helps you and is a great person.

DL: Domingo's gone into conducting now. After you retire, what plans do you have in mind?

LL: When I stop I will teach a little bit, I'm very interested in teaching.

DL: Back to Pavarotti – he had a superstition – whenever he'd go on stage he'd try to fi nd a bent nail for good luck. Anything like that for you?

LL: No, I'm not superstitious at all!

DL: If you had a last meal, what would it be, and why?

LL: I'm divided between my Italian food and the French food [laughs], so…all the good pastas, and foie gras. But I think the most important thing would be a good wine – so a bourgogne (burgundy).

The Singapore Lyric Opera performs 'The Tales of Hoffmann' on 13-14 & 16-17 Mar at the Esplanade Theatre. Read also Access all arias - TOS's interview with conductor Benjamin Pionnier.