International tenor Ian Storey talks to Connoisseur Magazine about his career, pre-performance rituals, family, hobbies and more.
You have just finished singing Tristan in Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde” in Barcelona and are being touted as the greatest Tristan in History. The renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim is quoted as saying: “It’s a wonderful thing for him, a wonderful thing for La Scala, a wonderful thing for the music world, because Tristans don’t grow on trees.” What is Your next role after this? I understand from press articles that You are booked as far as the year 2013.
Daniel was very kind, the role was born with him and Patrice Chéreau and now it is maturing. This season sees 6 different productions and about 40 performances of Tristan in just about two and a half years. Now I am studying both Siegfrieds but the next new one I will do is Énée in Les Troyens for the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. I limit the number of new roles I have to learn in order to not overcrowd my schedule – singers need downtime too
Being an opera singer was not your first choice. You studied Furniture Design then took up teaching and became a keen sportsman. When and how did you begin your singing career?
It was not even a thought – my career came out about by accident – literally. I was living in New Zealand – teaching and doing some freelance studio design work – designing and making bespoke furniture. Sport took up a lot of my free time – Badminton and Squash – I had an accident playing Basketball that tore ligaments in my ankle and I had an op to replace them with tendon – this meant over 2 months in plaster and 2 years without sport – not even jogging – to maximise the healing process. I had studied piano from the age of 5, loved classical music and could sing in tune – I saw an ad in the local paper for tenors and basses for the Hamilton Civic Choir – I went to meet them and the conductor asked what I had brought for the audition – I hadn’t a clue that one needed to audition… I saw a church hymn book and said that I knew them as I had been in a church choir for many years. After singing a couple of lines he asked if I was tenor or baritone – I said that I could sing either – he said they were short of tenors and so put me in the tenor section – after 3 months he said that I was to lead the tenor section – didn’t go down too well with some of the old hands – then after a year or so he asked if I had ever thought of being an opera singer – I told him not to be so stupid… years later – around the time of my debut at La Scala a pal in New Zealand saw the conductor Guyon Wells in the street and asked if he remembered me – he said yes and that I had gone to UK to study voice. My pal told him I had just made my debut in La Scala – he laughed and said: “He told me not to be so stupid”. Basically he pushed me into having lessons with Anthea Moller (ex teacher of Keith Lewis amongst others) and once I sang my first piece I was hooked. Every lunchtime in the school chapel I learned and practiced stuff with my accompanist, great friend and second mother Peg de Winton. I owe so much to her and her late husband Tom.
