Even though Seattle actor David Hogan is not an opera singer, he will play a named character in Seattle Opera's upcoming production of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville." Hogan has been cast in the non-singing role of Dr. Bartolo's elderly servant, Ambrogio, in Rossini's bawdy, energetic comedy about the lovesick Count Almaviva's pursuit of the beautiful Rosina with the help of the clever barber Figaro.
Peter Kazaras, who is directing Rossini's masterpiece, specifically requested Hogan for the part of Ambrogio. The pair worked together two years ago on Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program.
Hogan first came to Kazaras' attention after the actor played Puck in Wooden O's production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" under the direction of Vanessa Miller, who passed his name along to Seattle Opera. Even though Puck is essentially a spoken role in Britten's opera, Kazaras had Hogan sing in his audition.
"He wanted to make sure I had an instrument that could fill the space even though the Meydenbauer Center [in Bellevue] is not humongous," Hogan said. "And there is a little singing when Puck imitates Demetrius and Lysander for confusion's sake."
Hogan brings an impressive acting resume to his Seattle Opera roles. Since graduating from Seattle University in 2000, he has not only performed with well-respected theaters ranging from Seattle Shakespeare Company to Seattle Repertory Theatre, his acting also has been recognized with a Seattle Times Footlight Award.
Making the switch to opera did, however, require Hogan to adjust his acting process. Accustomed to his character's motivations driving the speed with which he delivered lines, Hogan had to learn in Britten's opera to instead time Puck's dialogue to the music.
"I had to speak the lines of text within a certain number of measures. I can't experiment with timing, because the orchestra continues to go on."
As Ambrogio, Hogan has an abundance of grunts to time in Scene 2 of Act I.
"I'm unable to speak because I've been drugged with opium [by Figaro]. I'm kind of out of it."
With a music minor from Seattle University, where he sang in the university's choir, Hogan has a leg up in his opera acting.
"I'm very fortunate to have the background of a little bit of music theory and singing. I read music a little, and I have a sense of rhythm."
Unlike opera singers, however, Hogan isn't immersed in the foreign languages in which operas are written. Yet his acting still has to respond to his fellow performers.
"Here, everybody's speaking Italian. So sometimes I'm watching the body language, and sometimes I go into the score for the translation."
Depicting the elderly Ambrogio is another challenge for the youthful Hogan, but one he relishes.
"I'm working on slouching, slow walking. I'm figuring out how does this guy walk, how different are his movements when he's drugged and when he's not. It's fun being able to add a physical component to a character, and it's something I take pride in."
Hogan said all of his 2010 roles were supporting ones, which was good preparation for playing Ambrogio.
"It's a challenge to create a performance that's interesting without drawing undue attention to myself. This opera is not about Ambrogio."
Seattle Opera's "The Barber of Seville" plays at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., through Saturday, Jan. 29. Prices $25-$218. Family Day Sunday, Jan. 23: Maximum of four $15 student tickets per full-priced adult ticket. Tickets/information: 389-7676, www.seattleopera.org.
Freelance writer Maggie Larrick lives in the Seattle area.[[In-content Ad]]
