On May 3, the Bühnen Bern is set to present a new production of Verdi’s rarely performed opera “La Forza del Destino.” The opera will feature  several rising stars Mihails Čuļpajevs.

Over the past years, the rising star has performed at the Bregenzer Festspiele, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opéra de Lyon, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Finnish National Opera, Ópera Nacional de Chile, Royal Swedish Opera, Theater an der Wien, and the Latvian National Opera.

In anticipation to his role debut as Alvaro, Čuļpajevs spoke with OperaWire.

OperaWire: What is the biggest challenge of singer Alvaro?

Mihails Culpajevs: I would say the biggest challenge is mastering the right balance between emotion and capacity delivering the right amount of vocal volume thru out the opera. It is a long opera, and my character has full three acts of singing, from which we see a development and psychological reveal. Many things tend to change rapidly, from hot and heroic singing to all of a sudden soft and tender beautiful vocal lines.

OW: How does this role compare to other Verdi roles?

MC: It has a certain Verdi signature writing that we can see thru out his all operas, the recipe is there, even listening to any Verdi opera you know “Oh, its Verdi”, you just know it. For me, this would be my 5th opera by Verdi. Thru out the years, I did “La Traviata”, “Rigoletto”, “Simon Boccanegra”, “Falstaff”. This one, is another league of its own. More complex in character building, vocal challenges are basically everywhere, and of course the longevity being focused not to shoot all the powder too early.

OW: Tell me about singing in Bern and why is this theater perfect to perform this role?

MC: First of all this is my first time singing in Switzerland. I like to explore and open new places for my self, meet new people and educate myself on the culture. Bern is more than perfect to make my debut as Don Alvaro. I find the theatre itself to have a very cozy and at the same time spacious atmosphere. Acoustics are great, the energy is friendly and productive. The whole team is just a joy to work with.

OW: What is your favorite moment in La Forza del Destino?

MC: I’m always looking forward for the third act when Don Alvaro sings his aria. For me this is one of the among the beautiful and touching musical pieces that were written for a tenor voice.

OW: What are other Verdi roles do you want to sing?

MC: I could see myself doing “Aida” in the future, one or two years from now could be a very realistic time frame. Of course “Il Trovatore”, but with that one I’m not rushing, there is time.

Audiences not in Bern for the role debut, the tenor is set to perform at the Bregenzer Festspiele in a production of “The Excursions of Mr. Brouček.”

Recordings

For audiences who want to hear more, here is a look at the tenor singing Verdi and Donizetti arias.