We expected to discuss music, opera and, very quickly, the exchanges take another direction. With the Greek baritone Tassis Christoyannis, philosophical and theological considerations invite themselves to nourish the evocation of his career as a singer and his experience as an artist. And we see the man who, until recently at the Opéra Comique, slipped with unbridled fantasy into the trappings of the Viceroy of Peru according to Offenbach, analyzing with serene gravity the essence of his profession, the roots of his vocation. “Like religion, in the first sense of the term, music is what allows us to bond with each other, he assures. The strength within me draws from the love of beauty that I want to share. It exists before us, beyond us, and we are its servants. »
Reader of the Orthodox Church
Like the joyful and hectic adventure of La PerricholeSalle Favart, Tassis Christoyannis aspires to live this communication-communion with his partners on stage, aware however that the ego of the singers sometimes gets in the way. “I prefer the salutes of the theater, collective, to those of the opera where everyone comes to receive the applause, from the smallest to the largest rolehe notes. What matters is the fullness of the work and not our personal glory…” This humility is not feigned, the singer being able to regularly pick up the laurels of success, on lyrical stages as well as in concert halls where he practices with passion the more intimate art of melody with piano.
Here and there, his round voice with a clear timbre and his physical presence catch the light. “This gift of voice is nothing if you don’t do anything with it. For me who was thinking of becoming a priest, I chose singing to become “my” priesthoodhe confides. Besides, I recently got closer to religion by becoming a reader of the Orthodox Church. » A commitment that is complemented by registration at the University of Athens in philosophy and theology of ancient Greece. “I am passing my end of first year exams, what a job! », smiles Tassis Christoyannis, carrying out academic work and lyrical commitments.
And pointing out the many correspondences between each other. “While I was performingotello from Verdi to the Athens Opera in a production by Bob Wilson, I studied at university the very precise codification of art in ancient Greece. This helped me slip into Bob Wilson’s corseted body language, whose hieratic nature constrains the natural vibrations of the singing body. It was difficult but very interesting. »
A predilection for the French language
The balance between rules and freedom, letter and spirit, fascinates the baritone, who sees in the melody the quintessence of this skilful alchemy. In complicity with the American pianist Jeff Cohen, he has been exploring for years an often unknown French repertoire, at the request of the Palazzetto Bru Zane in Venice. “The work of Alexandre Dratwicki, who provides scientific direction, is exceptionalinsists Tassis Christoyannis. Thanks to him, the public will have (D) discovered the vocal miniatures of Reynaldo Hahn, a pure marvel, or those of César Franck, whose appeal is doubtless less obvious but which amply deserves to be brought to the attention of music lovers. »
In the box he has just recorded, with Jeff Cohen but also the soprano Véronique Gens, the singer has dug a little deeper into his predilection for the French language: “If French is not my natural language, it is my ‘desired’ language. »
And to explain how much he likes to hear or read aloud himself the verses of Racine or Victor Hugo. “I’m incredibly lucky to live between Greek culture and French culture. To live in Athens 100 meters from where Aristotle had his high school and to perform on the stage of the Opéra Comique or the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris! » And if he honors “scholarly” European music, from Verdi to Bizet (his next “construction site” with the Palazzetto Bru Zane) and from Puccini to Alban Berg, Tassis Christoyannis also delves into the source, historical or more contemporary, of voice of his country. “What could be more calm, mystical and modest than Byzantine music?And what could be more intense than the nobility and sometimes the revolt of the songs of Míkis Theodorakis? »
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The meetings of Tassis Christoyannis
CD set of the complete Melodies and duets by César Franck with Véronique Gens (soprano) and Jeff Cohen (piano), under the Palazzetto Bru Zane label.
At the Theater des Champs-Élysées, in Paris, the baritone is featured in The Vestal Virgin by Spontini on June 22 and the concert Melodies of happiness June 29.
Tassis Christoyannis will also play Scarpia in Tosca by Puccini, at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Athens), from July 28 to 31, in a production by the National Opera of Greece which closes the Athens and Epidaurus Festival.