René Pape Chats about Becoming Wotan, King of the Gods
Pape Debuts as Wotan at La Scala Milan in May, in New Production of Wagner’s Rheingold under Daniel Barenboim René Pape is just settling down in his Berlin hotel room to talk about becoming King of the Gods, when he is interrupted by the Devil. The malevolent cackle gets too insistent to ignore, but luckily it’s just the ring tone of Pape’s cell phone, set to a bit of Gounod’s Méphistophélès – one of the German bass’s signature roles. Pape is a creature of the stage, so having a little ironic theatricality follow him around is only right. But the singer is also a man grounded in regular life. When not thrilling audiences the world over, he relishes time spent at home by the river in Dresden, cooking to relax. Pape has been a member of the Berlin State Opera since 1988, and – as he turns off his phone to discuss the King of the Gods, aka Wotan, his latest Wagnerian challenge – he is in the German capital for runs as Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and as King Mar...
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Also, our 4 top flutes have formed a quartet and are looking for interesting music, if you have any ideas of your own or others.
Hope you're doing well!
Jess