Bringing down the house

Photos from LA Opera Richard Bernstein and
Inva Mula star in the L.A. Opera production of
"The Marriage of Figaro."

By John Mangum
Daily Bruin Contributor

Richard Bernstein has his own audacity to thank for his
flourishing opera career.

The bass-baritone, who has recently been making debut after
debut in the world’s premiere opera houses, took his first
step down the path to international opera stardom as a confident
16-year-old. After attending a concert with his father, he asked
Martile Rowland, the soprano they had just heard, to give him
lessons.

“I had the chutzpah to ask her, and she said yes,”
said Bernstein, sitting at a table in one of the executive offices
at the Los Angeles Opera, animated and a little tired, having just
come from rehearsal. “She became my teacher, and she’s
the one who recognized that I had a talent and recognized that I
had what it took to become a professional singer.

“I’d never thought that I could do this for a
profession. I always thought maybe I’d be a doctor, or I
wanted to be an astronaut ““ you know, crazy things ““
although I could never have been an astronaut because I failed math
in high school.”

Richard Bernstein returns to the Los Angeles
Opera to sing the title role in Mozart’s "Marriage of Figaro,"
revisiting the role and city that first thrust him into the
spotlight. A bass-baritone, Bernstein first sang "Figaro" for the
L.A. Opera in 1994. Since then, he has played a number of famous
roles, such as Orestes in Strauss’ "Elektra" alongside celebrated
soprano Leonie Rysanek. L.A. Opera’s performance of Figaro opens
today at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

It was that chutzpah that kept Bernstein out of orbit and
eventually brought him to the Los Angeles Opera, where he has
performed somewhere in the neighborhood of two dozen roles. He
returns this evening for the first of eight performances as Figaro
in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” his
signature role, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Bernstein sang his first “Figaro” for the L.A. Opera
in 1994. Again, the opportunity for the bass-baritone to vault from
smaller pieces to more well-known roles came about through his own
chutzpah.

“I was studying at Merola (San Francisco Opera’s
vocal program) in ’92, and I was working with the coloratura
tenor Chris Merritt in a master class,” Bernstein remembered.
“I sang “˜Non pi andrai’ (Figaro’s big aria
from Act One), and he said, “˜Richard, you could sing this
anywhere.'”

Bernstein said that after the advice he received from his friend
he decided to write the L.A. Opera director asking if he could
cover the role and sing one performance.

“He wrote me back, a very short note, saying, “˜Yes.
We’ll send you the contract,'” Bernstein
continued. “That’s how my career really jump-started. I
sang my one performance, no rehearsal, with the orchestra, and I
had a very big success.”

Bernstein’s long-standing relationship with the L.A. Opera
helped bring about that success. Prior to that performance, while
the bass-baritone was studying voice at the University of Southern
California, he joined the chorus at the L.A. Opera to make some
extra spending money.

He first came to then-L.A. Opera General Director Peter
Hemmings’ attention when he entered a city-wide competition
for young artists. This led to a five-year stay in the
company’s Resident Artist program.

“The year that I won, in ’89, Peter Hemmings was a
judge,” Bernstein said. “I did the competition, won my
thousand dollars, and then a few weeks later, I had to go off to
Tanglewood (the prestigious summer music program in
Massachusetts).”

“In the middle of the summer, I got a call from Peter
Hemmings’ office, asking me to join the company, so I left
Tanglewood early and I came and started covering all of the bass
roles in “˜Tosca,’ and then made my debut at the end of
that season in “˜Don Carlo’ as the monk.”

During his time as a Resident Artist at L.A. Opera, Bernstein
took part in several productions each year, often covering for some
renowned singers. He also fine-tuned his craft, learning from many
of his colleagues. One of his most memorable experiences was
singing in Richard Strauss’ “Elektra” with
celebrated soprano Leonie Rysanek, who was at the time near the end
of a long, distinguished career.

“My favorite story is when I did “˜Elektra’
here and I did the part of Orestes,” Bernstein said. “I
got to work with Leonie Rysanek, the legendary Leonie Rysanek. I
miss her; she died recently.”

“She recognized that I had a talent and a big
voice,” Bernstein continued. “After that production,
which was a very special production for me ““ I think it was
her last one here ““ I got a call from her, asking if I was
free, saying that she was going to do her farewell performance in
Spain. They were going to do “˜Elektra’ and would I be
her Orestes? Well, my heart stopped.”

According to Bernstein, it was one of the most incredible
experiences of his entire life.

“It literally brought the entire house down. The applause
for her and for the whole production was unbelievable,”
Bernstein continued. “I’ll never forget that, and that
came about because of being a Resident Artist here.”

Since his days as a Resident Artist, and his breakthrough
performance as Figaro, Bernstein has returned to Los Angeles on
several occasions, most recently as Alidoro ““ Rossini’s
version of the fairy godmother from Cinderella ““ in this
season’s production of “Cenerentola.” He
continues to be in demand as Figaro, and focuses on one thing to
keep his performances fresh and direct.

“The only thing I’m focusing on, because I’ve
done the role a lot ““ I’ve sung it all over the place
““ is making him real,” Bernstein said. “Just
making him real, on the stage, right now. Bringing out the text,
bringing out the story, and, hopefully, always singing
beautifully.”

OPERA: Los Angeles Opera presents
Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” with Richard
Bernstein in the title role for eight performances Jan. 16 to Feb.
3 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Tickets are $28-$148; $20
student and senior rush tickets are available one hour before
curtain, subject to availability. For more information, call (213)
972-8001 or visit www.laopera.org.