This interview is of Hrólfur Sæmundsson who sang the role of a dashing Telramund in the recent production of Lohengrin at Melbourne Opera, tatts and all. A wonderful singer and a lovely, friendly person to boot. The interview is with my questions, but as I ran short of time during his visit here I asked his partner Claudia de Sessi to interview him on their flight back! Thank you gorgeous Claudia for doing this.
You were a rock musician in the past. What opened your eyes to opera, and when?
When I was 19 in what we can call an Icelandic junior college, I took part in the show “Mahagonny”, a piece by Kurt Weill which is opera but in his cabaret style. After that I knew I liked being on stage and that experience got me into theatre. Years later when I was 24 I was singing in bands and many choruses. I started formal training almost by chance: one day my girlfriend at the time asked me to come with her to her audition for the vocal academy, I went there and I was asked to sing a song, even though I was just there for support. I got in and she didn’t. I went to my first singing lesson and I liked it so much there was no turning back.
Do you still perform other forms of music?
Sometimes, not as often as I would like. Little time. But I do like it, I play bass in an occasional gig just for fun and sang in a jazz concert last year.
Hrólfur with Sarah Sweeting in Lohengrin – Photo by Robin Halls
What were your challenges in shifting from one type of singing to another?
It probably made things easier in my initial vocal studies, that I had already sung so much. This, and I had a very good teacher, Guðmundur Jónsson.
I mean there were challenges, the normal ones every student faces: getting the voice even, signing without pressure especially in the high register, relaxing (signing is all about relaxing) etc. But having sung before just facilitated things for me.
You are from Iceland where the weather can be quite extreme. How does that, plus the changes to the environment moving from one country to another, affect your ability to sing?
Probably being used to such harsh conditions has made me less vulnerable to climate changes. In Iceland there is this tradition of letting babies sleep outside during the day in all weather; it is seen as giving them better health and certainly makes them sleep better. However, one always must be careful. Big temperature shifts are the worst, but when you have experience you are connected to your body, you can feel what you have to do to preserve the voice. This can lead to paranoia but I try not to let it affect me.
Hrólfur in action fighting with Lohengrin (Marius Vlad) – photo by Robin Halls
Are you generally healthy and fit?
Yes, I’m close to my best shape. I was never too much into sports, but as I have been recently been hitting the gym a bit more, I feel good about my fitness level. However, I find that with age you have to stretch more.
What are your “secrets” to staying healthy? Do you have a regular form of exercise, and / or do you have some sort of mindfulness/wellbeing practice?
I do regular exercises, weight training, swimming and cycling around three to six times a week. Normally when I’m rehearsing I have quite a bit of time in between the morning and the evening rehearsals, so I go to the gym quite often.
Especially when swimming I go into a meditative state, it’s very much like on a yoga mat. Also, between the sets of weight lifting or while I’m cycling I maximize my time and read a new score and memorize it. However, I find that rehearsing for the stage is its own form of training anyway.
One secret: eat healthy and eat everything you want but in reasonable quantities.
What happened to your eye, and how does this affect your preparations and performances?
I was shot in the eye with a sling shot when I was eight. Since then I had ten operations and the eye is in quite bad shape. This requires me to walk the stage quite a bit before I can feel completely secure. However, I find that my peripheral vision on my healthy eye has compensated the bad one, which helps when you have to see the conductor. But I do prefer my singing partner to be on my right side when singing a duet.
If ever I will lose the eye forever, at least I’ll be perfect to sing Wotan!
The fabulous cast of Lohengrin, at Coombe
What do you do before a show? What warm ups / other things do you do?
I don’t usually do many warm ups but it depends on the state of the voice. If the voice is tired I do some very strange and loud noises that probably sound more like a construction site that anything else. Sometimes I do light exercises if the role is particularly physically demanding.
The only unusual thing that I sometimes do is hyperventilate for a while before I come on stage. It fills the blood with oxygen and it’s useful if I have to run around and sing. However, you should be careful not to overdo it. As a singer, you come to know your body extremely well.
What role are you looking to do in the near future
As actual plans, I’m looking forward much to sing Germont and Don Giovanni in Aachen, since I haven’t sung Mozart in a while. As for the wish list, on top right now are the Dutchman and Rigoletto but there are so many wonderful parts. I tend to favour the part that I’m doing each time.
Do you have any special advice for budding singers?
You could write a book about that but mainly preparation and to stay relaxed. Prepare everything you do thoroughly and don’t take shortcuts. Know that you are the one that have to do the work; a teacher can only guide you but you should trust in yourself and never cease to explore.
How did you find your experience in Australia different to other countries?
Everyone in Australia tends to be more relaxed and friendly. The manner of rehearsing is very similar to England I find, not to Germany. USA rehearsals are more like a ‘factory’ in many ways. It’s all preset and sometimes you feel like a robot. However, this makes it very efficient.
In Germany, the rehearsal period is very long and the productions tend to be more experimental.
If I think about it, working in Australia reminds me of working back home in Iceland, where everyone is very relaxed (maybe even a bit too much!). Of course I only have the experience of one production here in Australia so I base my answers only on that.
……………
Thank you very much Hrólfur! I do hope you’ll come back to Australia soon. And I’d love to see you doing Wotan regardless!
Yoga for Vocalists 