New Zealand singer Julien Van Mellaerts is moving to France.
Julien Van Mellaerts Photo: Supplied
After 10 years based in London, it's time to cross the Channel. Not only does a post-Brexit era make the rest of Europe far more accessible – his grandfather was French – but more importantly, his new partner is too.
But before he embarks on the next chapter of his Northern Hemisphere career, Van Mellaerts has a job to do back home, one of the toughest gigs he's faced so far, singing the title role in Alban Berg's opera, Wozzeck.
Wozzeck is the story of a World War One soldier, drifting through life, duped by his superiors, in a dysfunctional relationship with his wife Maria – a story that can't end well.
Van Mellaerts told RNZ Concert host Bryan Crump, Wozzeck was the original 20th century opera anti-hero – without Wozzeck there would be no Peter Grimes – and he will be singing the role in a semi-staged performance this Saturday with Orchestra Wellington, opposite another of New Zealand’s great singing exports, Madeleine Pierard.
Orchestra Wellington's music director Mark Taddei deserves credit for the gig; he persuaded Van Mellaerts to take it on.
Taddei has a knack of encouraging his musicians to step outside their comfort zones.
It was Taddei who suggested the orchestra's leader, Amalia Hall, take on Britten's violin concerto earlier this year. The resulting performance was a knock-out.
Concertgoers this Saturday can expect more than a few blows to their psychological solar plexus.
Not to give too much away, but the 1922 opera ends with psychosis, homicide, a missing knife and a dip in a cold lake.
A scene from Wozzeck at The Met Photo: Ken Howard/Met Opera
Given just how grim things are getting in 2023, is Wozzeck too dark for a Saturday night's entertainment?
Van Mellaerts contends there are elements of levity and parts of the performance that are uplifting.
"There are moments of humour. There's an amazing band on stage, they're all drunk, and they're having a great time.
“The tuba player, he's in the Airforce and he found this old Sousaphone that was just on top of a shelf and was sort of half broken and it's perfect for the drunken band.
"There's great moments of light. The whole score is sensational ... it's one of those scores where you feel like you're there, you're living it, and I think that's an incredible thing, whether you like it or not, we want to feel these things".
He says it leaves the audience “shell-shocked” but “in a great way”.
“With so much light and shade throughout the score. It's really worth going.”
Bryan Crump speaks to Julien Van Mellaerts, who is singing the title role in Wozzeck for Orchestra Wellington. Photo: RNZ
Not just a baritone – Van Mellaerts is a natural salesman.
But the performance is not without its challenges.
By Van Mellaerts own admission, Wozzeck is the most difficult role of his career.
"It's vocally challenging of course, but that hasn't been the hardest thing.
“The hardest thing's the mental side of it. It's mentally and physically exhausting ... so you've got to be fit and healthy, but the main thing is just mentally counting and staying in time, and sub-dividing every beat, all the time.”
Then there's the job of getting inside Wozzeck's head.
"And spending time with that ... because you've got to process that in your own way as well ... you've got to live this person's life.”
Does that mean Van Mellaerts can find himself being slightly Wozzeck off-stage?
Not quite, but he was singing a lot of Wozzeck in the shower.
Once he’d learned the part, and become more familiar with the music, the more tuneful he found the role – remembering it was written by one of the giants of the New Viennese School, who was taking music to the very edge of tonality and beyond.
Despite this, Van Mellaerts admits the neighbours were less than thrilled by the shower sessions.
Then there are the Wozzeck dreams, he says.
"There was one scene that was just on loop in my head until about four in the morning, it was bizzare.
Fortunately, Van Mellaerts has a few weeks to un-Wozzeck himself post-concert, with plans to take his French partner on a roadtrip around Aotearoa.
And then it's back to France to find a flat – hopefully one with good shower acoustics.
Is this a bugle I see before me? Julien Van Mellaerts performs in NZ Opera's La Boheme Photo: Supplied
