Opera singers Brent Calis (l) and Adam Fisher don’t look like a traditional baritones.
Contemporary style for contemporary audiences
Bodacious and buff are not terms traditionally applied to opera singers even tenors — the glamour boys of opera.
But 20-something Adam Fisher who could easily be mistaken for a professional surfer definitely evokes those adjectives.
Fisher attained his bachelor of music in opera performance from the University of British Columbia (his home province) and most recently he has been singing in Calgary through the Calgary Opera Emerging Artist Development program. When the heavy metal band he played drums for dissolved Fisher turned to the opera world after hearing German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sing “I am Lost to the World” in German. Fisher says it was then he became lost in the opera world.
“I wanted to sing like that. I wanted to make those sounds and make other people feel the way I felt listening to that music” Fisher recalls. “It totally transformed me. You do what it takes to make that happen for others.”
And what makes that happen is hard work and dedication to the craft. While the program was in full swing before the summer break Fisher spent his mornings doing workouts before joining his colleagues in a yoga session. The workouts have developed his abs and pecs which give him strength for his breathing and yoga has developed his hips which are also essential to supporting breathing techniques and natural stage movements.
After long hours rehearsing Fisher would often do another light workout to de-stress. Checking out audition possibilities and creating a healthy nutritious dinner would precede solitary practise. He loves food and is a freefall cook using what is at hand rather than following recipes. Like many singers he may not talk much on performance days and delays warming up his voice until close to performance time.
The blond-haired Fisher will soon be studying in California where he will blend in with the surfers but in Calgary he stands out on the opera stage.
Another model-glamorous opera singer is Calgary baritone Brent Calis who is also in his 20s. His Turkish heritage is tinged with Canadian irony. His dark intensity is lightened by the twinkle in his heavy-lashed deep-set eyes. His master’s degree in opera is also from UBC and he recently completed his second session with the Calgary Opera emerging artist program. Encouraged by his family Calis has been singing since childhood.
“The work on the voice never stops. You want it strong and mellow. I want to find a teacher who will help me combine everything into what I’m aiming to do” he says.
When he isn’t singing and breaking stereotypes he’s a wedding photographer whose business provides more financial security than most young opera singers can accumulate in their temporary jobs.
Besides yoga coaching lessons practising and rehearsing Calis’s private practise and exercise approach tend to the emotional and intellectual. He is concentrating on the artistic aspects of his craft. His natural acting style engages audiences but he’s keen to embrace more subtle character development. An avalanche of recent major life changes — from death to love — wait to be explored and absorbed.
Calis spent the summer in Edmonton’s Opera Nuvo’s The Marriage of Figaro and plans to move to Montreal where he will have more solitary time to hone his focus.
“I will be closer to cities where auditions are held” he says. “And the pool of opera and language teachers is deeper. I speak French fluently and Turkish but I want to work on perfecting my other languages. You want to taste and feel a language when you sing it.”
His learning style requires many hours of study. From this foundation he will build a body of work that bears his unique stamp.
“Whatever that is — this is the time for me to explore that” he says.
