A Unique New Voice: Michael Maniaci

Male soprano Michael Maniaci has been acclaimed throughout the world for his otherworldly voice. He has sung on many American stages, as well as in Europe. This season, he plays Orphée in Glimmerglass' production of Orphée et Eurydice, a beautiful production populated with extraordinary voices. However, this extraordinary voice has an unusual story. Through a lucky coincidence, Michael's voice never changed.
"My larynx is smaller. My cords didn't lengthen and thicken as much as they could have, but they did fully develop, in that I don't sound like a boy when I go to sing," he said. "I haven't encountered any other men who had the experience that I did--where developmentally, this just naturally happened. I've met with and performed with some falsettists that sing in a soprano range, but I've not encountered professionally anyone else."

Although he was originally drawn to musical theatre, Maniaci realized that there were more roles for him in the world of opera. Indeed, he is one of the few male sopranos singing opera today.
"Actually there are plenty of roles. People sometimes assume quickly that it would be quite limiting, when instead it's the exact opposite. At the end of the day most people will end up narrowing their focus to about a half a dozen to ten roles. There's certainly plenty for me within early Mozart operas or the whole Handel canon."

Music from the Baroque and Classical Eras suits Michael well. During that period, many roles for men were written for the castrati, who sang in a range only approached today by countertenors and mezzo-sopranos. Michael's unchanged male soprano voice makes him perfect for opera characters that are usually considered pants roles.
"I'm fortunate in many many ways, particularly in terms of timing. If there weren't this big Baroque revival going on right now, I wouldn't be having the opportunities that I'm having. There seems to be a real interest on the part of companies and audiences in reviving these works. I've fallen in love with Baroque music; the simplicity, the beauty, the classiness, and also the way that emotion is dealt with in that period is so similar to how we deal with it today. That's why I think it resonates with emotional situations that we still have today--hundreds of years later."

Maniaci believes this is especially true with the Gluck.
"The piece goes in and out of these brilliant juxtapositions. You start the show with this beautiful glorious overture. If you don't know the piece and you come to this opera, you think you're in for a night of grand comic opera. And suddenly it becomes this unbelievably subtle, soft thing. It's transformed into melodie. In the first act, when the chorus is gone and I'm let on stage alone for that huge chunk of time, for me that's just like singing any French melodie. It asks for very quiet static quality, but the text is alive and the music is alive. Then you go from that into a religious hearkening back to Bach and then a pre-Mozartian bravura aria. It's amazing. The piece goes through all of these peaks and valleys--it's wild."

As much as Maniaci has enjoyed performing Gluck's masterpiece, he has also enjoyed the audience's reaction to his unique voice.
"There hasn't been any stopgap with the audience. People say,'oh, this is so weird because you're not a countertenor and you don't sound like a woman--you're just this other weird thing.' Thank God it's been an asset. At the same time, I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility and frankly, pressure. I don't ever want to be successful because I'm weird. Wherever my career continues to go, I want it to be because my talents, my artistry, my musicianship, my vocalism warrants it. There's an enormous responsibility on my shoulders to make sure that I continue working my tail off to keep hashing away at those things."

Insider Rehearsal Report: Gluck Staging, Week 2

Demons, a tragic accident, a trip to hell and an enduring romance. No, it’s not Hollywood’s latest blockbuster. It’s Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice.

The second week of rehearsals is well underway and the exciting story is coming to life, guided by director Lillian Groag’s artistic vision.

With only three days left until the first rehearsal on Glimmerglass’s Alice Busch Opera Theatre, the schedule is becoming increasingly intense. Actors must be available all day for music rehearsals, costume fittings, and stagings. Staging rehearsals take place in a school gymnasium, creating an interesting juxtaposition of the school’s wrestling mats and pieces of the real opera set—in this case, large broken chunks of Greek architecture. Groag, choreographer Nicola Bowie, and conductor Julian Wachner share responsibility for running rehearsals, dictating new blocking and movement, correcting old staging, and polishing the music, both for expression and accuracy. When it’s rehearsal time, singers often rehearse in front of as many as 10 staffers—the director and assistant director, choreographer, stage manager and assistants, conductor and assistant conductor, chorus master, rehearsal pianist, and various production staffers. Fortunately, these singers are used to performing in front of an audience.

Stagings this week are all about what works and what doesn’t. Coming up with creative, believable staging is all about experimentation. Groag often allows her leads, Michael Maniaci (Orphée) and Amanda Pabyan (Eurydice), great freedom in their blocking, letting them determine how best to physically express their character and tweaking where she sees fit. Other times she has very specific ideas of what she wants from them, even giving exact measure numbers when blocking is to occur. Still other times, she decides to wait until the staging rehearsal to see how things look on the big stage.

With an opening on July 8th, the cast is well on their way, but a number of elements still need to be added to this dramatic production—set, lighting, titles, costumes, orchestra, and of course, the audience!

To see more photos from Gluck rehearsals, click here.

To visit the Glimmerglass website with ticket information and more, click here.