DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987 | 1984-03-04 ""Estes, the Wotan of today, essays baritone roles, too"" Page 2

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Cecile Cooper newspaper clippings, 1966-1987

1984-03-04 ""Estes, the Wotan of today, essays baritone roles, too"" Page 2

DMR March 4, 1984
- whether bass, tenor or soprano - that ever paid for their low notes." 
Estes plans to keep up a well-rounded repertoire as he performs the string of Wagner roles and quite a few Verdi parts. His coming season at the Met will include the bass role of Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" and Gershwin's baritone Porgy in the Met's first "Porgy and Bess." 
"Porgy and the Dutchman are two of the hardest roles I've ever sung," Estes said, "because both are extremely long, high and dramatic.
"I also want to continue to sing all different composers - not only Verdi and Wagner but Haydn and Mozart, Faure, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler. I think it's much better for me musically and vocally because it keeps the voice flexible. it should help prolong one's career, and make one a more interesting performer."
How will he assure his vocal longevity? "It takes discipline in one's personal life, in what you're singing and when. That's why I've cut down the number of performances I sing from more than 100 a year, which was really too much, to 60 or 70." 
For the sake of his voice, Estes said, he always schedules his Wagner performances five or six days apart. He has about 25 planned for this year.
Besides the voice, there are other overriding factors in Estes' scheduling: his Swiss wife of 3 1/2 years, Yvonne, and their 5-month-old daughter, Jennifer. "I try to make my stay in any city long enough so that it makes sense to bring them along," he said. "I put my family first."
Estes, a native of Centerville, will sing with the Des Moines Symphony, under the baton of Music Director Yuri Krasnapolsky, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. next Sunday in the Civic Center and at 8 p.m. March 12 before a sold-out house in the Newton Center for Performing Arts. Estes' program includes Aleko's cavatina from Rachmaninoff's "Aleko"; "Il lacerato spirito," from Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra," Wotan's Abschied from Wagner's "Die Walkure," Leporello's "catalog aria" from Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and the recitative and final aria from Verdi's "Macbeth." The program also includes the overture to Rossini's "Semiramide" and the Chausson Symphony in B flat.

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DMR March 4, 1984 - whether bass, tenor or soprano - that ever paid for their low notes." Estes plans to keep up a well-rounded repertoire as he performs the string of Wagner roles and quite a few Verdi parts. His coming season at the Met will include the bass role of Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" and Gershwin's baritone Porgy in the Met's first "Porgy and Bess." "Porgy and the Dutchman are two of the hardest roles I've ever sung," Estes said, "because both are extremely long, high and dramatic. "I also want to continue to sing all different composers - not only Verdi and Wagner but Haydn and Mozart, Faure, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler. I think it's much better for me musically and vocally because it keeps the voice flexible. it should help prolong one's career, and make one a more interesting performer." How will he assure his vocal longevity? "It takes discipline in one's personal life, in what you're singing and when. That's why I've cut down the number of performances I sing from more than 100 a year, which was really too much, to 60 or 70." For the sake of his voice, Estes said, he always schedules his Wagner performances five or six days apart. He has about 25 planned for this year. Besides the voice, there are other overriding factors in Estes' scheduling: his Swiss wife of 3 1/2 years, Yvonne, and their 5-month-old daughter, Jennifer. "I try to make my stay in any city long enough so that it makes sense to bring them along," he said. "I put my family first." Estes, a native of Centerville, will sing with the Des Moines Symphony, under the baton of Music Director Yuri Krasnapolsky, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. next Sunday in the Civic Center and at 8 p.m. March 12 before a sold-out house in the Newton Center for Performing Arts. Estes' program includes Aleko's cavatina from Rachmaninoff's "Aleko"; "Il lacerato spirito," from Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra," Wotan's Abschied from Wagner's "Die Walkure," Leporello's "catalog aria" from Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and the recitative and final aria from Verdi's "Macbeth." The program also includes the overture to Rossini's "Semiramide" and the Chausson Symphony in B flat. p.2 (of 2)