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| Zachary Gordin preparing for Dead Man Walking |
On April 23, Zachary Gordin reprised his successful performance of convicted killer Joseph De Rocher at the Shreveport Opera, which he performed the previous year at the Dayton Opera. We caught him to ask him about performing the role and got him to agree to share some amazingly hot pictures of him getting tattoed for the performance. He's not only got a killer body and amazing voice, but he proves himself to be smart, insightful and thoughful, as well.
Upcoming performances for Zachary Gordin include Orff's Carmina Burana on May 28th with Chora Nova in Berkeley and a recital of Schumann's Dichterliebe at St. Joseph's Basillica in Alameda, California.
Other upcoming performances of Dead Man Walking include David Adam Moore at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Daniel Okulitch at the Vancouver Opera.
1. What does it mean for this to be performed in the state where the alleged crime actually happened?
ZG:
Louisiana, and specifically Caddo Parish (where Shreveport is) has been
notorious for the death penalty, and executions. While there hasn’t
been an execution carried out in Louisiana since 2010 (and before that,
2002), there is definitely a strong history for capital punishment
there. What’s exciting as an opera singer, is that it’s almost
impossible for us to be part of telling a story with local, living
roots. There were people on both sides of this production being mounted
in Shreveport: lots of excitement to support it, as well as the flip
side… I heard a few remarks from local residents that there were people
boycotting the production because they took personal issue with Sister
Helen, and her political stance. It hadn’t crossed my mind, being from
the San Francisco Bay Area, that there would be some strong opposition.
You never encounter these personal, sometimes heated, stories when
you’re doing operas composed by Verdi, or Mozart, wether or not the
story/characters have a historical basis. That really increases the
weight and stakes of the production, and ultimately adds to the work’s
depth and power.
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| Zachary Gordin in Dead Man Walking (Photos by Clint McCommon) |
2. What does this role mean to you and how has it changed for you with subsequent performances?
ZG:
It started out as a daunting journey, January of 2015, when I got the
eleventh-hour call from Dayton Opera to learn and perform it. Before
that I never considered it, partly because of the darkness of the
character, and partly because it’s incredibly intense for the voice.
There’s a lot of shouting/screaming, having to do push-ups and go right
into an aria, and so on… I read the story, looked over the score, and I
was hooked! I knew it would be a good fit, and wanted the challenge of a
character who had done some truly monstrous things. I had a month
before staging rehearsals began in Dayton to learn the opera, and had
the great opportunity to work with Jake Heggie to prepare it. A lot of
energy in the first production I did was spent on getting
it “right” - making sure I was faithful to the score (the music isn’t
easy! Huge thanks to Maestro Jerome Shannon for getting me through it),
and being as honest as I could about telling Joe’s story (with the help
of Gary Briggle, our stage Director). Even that whirlwind first time
left me with the sense that I was participating in something that was so
much bigger than me. That was deeply meaningful, and made the weight of
taking on that character a little lighter.
The
second time around, with the Shreveport Opera production, I knew the
music inside-out and didn’t have to think pitches/counting as much. The
amount of freedom THAT gives a singer is incredible. I knew “my Joe”
already, and was prepared for what that head space would feel like.
Everyone else in that cast was in the opera for the first time, so it
felt great to be able to encourage and support my cast mates having been
through it all and come out the other side changed for the better. It’s
always a deeply emotional, and spiritually penetrating experience to
work on this opera - no matter what role you’re in. Showing up for each
other, and being present in the stories of these characters really bonds
a cast. I’ve made some very dear friends through this process.
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Gillian Lynn Cotter and Zachary Gordin in Dead Man Walking
(Photos by Clint McCommon) |
3. What is the core message of this opera for you.
ZG:
Love! There are so many aspects of love, and what love can make
manifest in people: the young love of the two victims, the love of their
parents who are experiencing such a tragic loss, the love of Joe’s
mother for a son who did some horrific things and will die, the love Joe
was seeking and not getting which drove him to the drugs/alcohol that
influenced him in his heinous act, the love of Sister Helen for Joe and
his soul, and God’s love for us all… There are big themes of
forgiveness, redemption, and the value of human life.
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Zachary Gordin in Dead Man Walking
(Photos by Clint McCommon) |
4. Did you have a chance to meet the real Sister Prejean? How do you play off of that character when performing?
