Interview, Zoltán Daragó on Bach

A new countertenor on the block made an assured recording-debut back in late September, and in the most distinguished of company - joining forces with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques, the young Hungarian Zoltán Daragó impressed in a programme of arias from Bach cantatas including Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde, Geist und Seele wird verwirret, Vergnügte Ruh' and Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe.

Amid preparations for performances of the programme in Paris and Istanbul, Zoltán answered some questions about how he found and developed his voice, his early obsession with coloratura soprano repertoire, his experience of studying with one of the great Turandots and Brünnhildes of the twentieth century, and why he's always been keen to think outside the Baroque box in terms of both recital-programmes and opera-roles... 

How old were you when singing became a part of your life? Did you sing as a boy chorister, or was it a later discovery?

I was around fourteen years old when I first heard an opera aria: I remember it was the Queen of the Night’s aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. I couldn’t believe my ears... I was absolutely mesmerized by the sound. That time I thought; 'I found my genre!'. I was listening to opera in all my free time over the following years and also tried to recreate the sound myself. It felt interestingly natural to me to sing that way. I couldn’t stop, I was making sounds even at the dinner table! Thankfully my family was always very supportive of me - they often asked me to sing a song of their choice for them. Two years later I was admitted to the young special talents class of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, so I never sang in a choir.

Did you originally train as a countertenor, or did you begin as another voice-type?

When I started singing I was still a boy soprano and I kept the basic technique I learned by myself during that time. Singing in this higher register always felt more natural and easier for me. Also the colour of my voice is just much more pleasant in the countertenor register. Sometimes countertenors start by training as baritones or tenors, but I never felt comfortable singing there. Thinking back… interestingly, it was completely obvious for all my teachers and everyone around me that this is just my singing voice.

A nice example of that is that I had many folklore concerts in various languages (folk music is my hobby), and once I even had a concert in the faraway plains of Mongolia. The countertenor voice type is absent in this genre but no one ever asked why I sing in such a high voice. Luckily people were always more interested in my interpretation, even in places you would not expect.

Which countertenors from older generations particularly inspired you, either on record or in live performance?

Honestly, I never was particularly inspired by one single singer. When I was a kid I never even heard of countertenors, so I listened mostly to sopranos; I learned many of the famous soprano arias of the Romantic era by heart. I can tell you, though, that the first album I obtained was Airs d'opéras français by Natalie Dessay. I was listening to that night and day, so it had a great impact on me during those early days. Later on when I got to know more singers I realized how wonderfully diverse singing could be. So I always found joy in listening to as many singers as possible.

You worked with the great Éva Marton during your time at the Ferenc Liszt Academy (and I can’t say I know any other countertenors who studied with a dramatic soprano!) – what did you take away from that experience?

Éva Marton was my first ever teacher during my time at the Franz Liszt Academy. When she heard me she offered to teach me for free, and of course I was very happy and extremely excited by that. It was a huge change for a young boy from not studying music at all to suddenly studying with a world famous soprano and attending a prestigious academy so full of history.

I learned a lot from her about the world of opera. She was the first person who introduced me to what it means to have a voice like mine, and she was the first to call it it by its name: countertenor. At that time I was like a sponge absorbing everything and figuring out my place in this new world, and she was the one who showed me the path forward.

What, for you, are the special rewards and challenges presented by Bach’s writing for the alto voice?

Bach’s music is immensely complex and the reward for me is exactly in the challenge of performing it. I think one of the greatest things about it is to dive deep and slowly untangle the dense web of notes and information present in the music, which is often surprising and unexpected.

How much do we know about the singers for whom these arias were written? (Or what can we deduce from the writing itself..?)

Back in those days the composers were actively consulting with the musicians they wrote music for. But I think Bach was quite stubborn about what kind of music he wanted to write; he probably had a very particular idea also about what he wanted to hear. It’s impressive to think about the fact that he mostly worked with young choir boys. Also generally the arias written for alto by Bach are quite contrasting in pitch: some arias are quite low and some of them particularly high, and I believe the reason behind this is that he kept in mind a specific singer during the composition process.

What’s the story behind your relationship with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques?

Our label Aparté has numerous great recordings already with the Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques. Given the long history of collaboration it was obvious that we should do a recording project together with them. Going for a Bach album was actually suggested by Christophe. I was happy with this and we started to look for suitable arias. I believe we put together a beautiful program but also a very challenging one.

Beyond the Baroque period, your repertoire includes Sibelius songs and roles in operas by Philip Glass and the late Zsófia Tallér…do you have plans to sing more contemporary music and /or to explore more Romantic song repertoire?

That is indeed in my future plans. I was always keen to include Romantic songs in my concert programmes; during my high school years I actually was trained as a Lied singer, so it was always a staple part of my repertoire. Contemporary music is also very much a field for countertenors and I also enjoy doing it. I am especially interested in discovering contemporary songs: I’ve been part of few premieres of song cycles and I had great joy performing them.