Raisa interviews up-and-coming baritone, Liam Bonner

One of our Local Correspondents from Maryland, Raisa Massuda, has loved opera ever since she was a little kid. When she had a chance to interview a young up and coming baritone who recently made his debut with the Washington National Opera, she jumped at the chance. Here is what Liam Bonner had to say to her:


R: What was the first opera that you saw live?

L.B: Actually, I was in an opera before I saw one.

R: Oh, my goodness!

L.B: Isn’t that crazy?

R: Yes!

L.B: I sang in the Pittsburgh Opera Chorus in my sophomore year. Actually, I should take that back, I guess technically then the very first opera that I saw was Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites in my freshman year in college. It has a very small baritone role in it, [but] I was blown away by this piece and it’s absolutely one of my favorites to this day, even though there is not really a role for me.

R: I have a funny question: if you could only keep one opera for the humanity, which one would it be?

L.B: The Marriage of Figaro - hands down. I think it’s the most perfect opera, it’s got everything and when it’s done right and well, it’s a very real and honest story. I think Mozart is a god, he just exhibits genius there. There are days I could be having the worst day ever, and if I just listen to a little bit of Mozart, I am completely out of my mood. He is good for the soul.

R: For aspiring artists, what should an opera singer never be afraid of?

L.B: Being themselves. Whatever you have to offer, you have to trust that not everyone is going to like you. It’s art, so it’s subjective, and somebody is going to love you, and somebody is going to hate you. And if you get wrapped up in that, you end up not being confident enough or secure enough in what you have to offer and what you have to say.

I think some of the most successful singers, even if they are not technically perfect and all this sort of thing, it’s real and honest and that’s why they become successful. You know, you look at somebody outside of opera, like Frank Sinatra. He did not have the most beautiful voice in the world, in my opinion. Some people may think he did. But there is something about him as a performer that I love and I love listening to him. It’s him, and nobody else sounds like him. I think those opera singers who are world famous throughout the years are famous because they sing with their own voice, they have a very distinct sound that nobody else has and they don’t sound like anybody else or try to be like anybody else.

Mr. Bonner shares his operatic plans for this season, which include Donizetti’s Don Pascuale with Opera New Jersey, Weill’s Royal Palace at the Bard Music Festival, Britten’s Peter Grimes with Houston Grand Opera and he'll also be covering a couple of principal roles at the Metropolitan Opera.

“I guess, in the long term in this business I have no desire to be famous” he adds. “I just would like to work consistently and be able eventually to get married and have a family, support them and do what I love doing. You know, at this point, I have been very fortunate that a lot of things have happened in a very short amount of time. If I woke up tomorrow and the wave I am riding came crashing down, I would know that I’ve gone as far as I could go and done everything that I possibly could to be successful in this business and I would not regret a thing.”

I truly hope that this interview will be some kind of revelation for those readers who mostly go to the opera “for the big names”. Please do not let yourselves be led or rather, misled, by prestige. Let your passion for music lead you instead. Marvel on your way to new horizons, enjoy each and every one of your discoveries and do not deprive yourselves of the miracles that they bring into your lives. You might be up for quite a few surprises. Seriously.