<<  -- 4 --  Tess Crebbin    A BROAD CAREER

TC: But when you were a performing as a pianist, you were pretty good also?

FO: Let's put it that way: I could make a living at it and I could play difficult pieces like Busoni. I am someone who is very dedicated to whatever he does. So, when I do anything, I really put my mind to it. I work at it for ten hours minimum a day. It was like that when I took up singing again. Don't forget, I had not been singing in years, and suddenly I went professional.

TC: How did that come about?

FO: When I was twenty seven, I was working as an actor in Spain. They were putting on a production for a modern opera and because the director knew that I had had some singing training, I was asked to audition for it. I got the part and Placido Domingo heard me. He came up to me and said that I need to sing professionally. He decided to give my career a big push by inviting me to the United States. He paid for my ticket, arranged for my to audition in New York. That was how I came to sing at Washington Opera, later at the New York Met. I got the Musical America's Revelation Award and things went from there ...

TC: Placido Domingo is still a good friend?

FO: Yes, we are still in close contact with each other.

TC: You sing opera, but you also sing nineteenth and twentieth century Lieder. What do you prefer?

FO: I have a background in acting, so I prefer opera. In opera, just like when you are an actor on stage, you become a character and you do not leave that character for the duration of your performance. I like that immensely.

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