clair obscur
RICHARD RITTELMANN
Richard Rittlemann started his international career at the age of 22, at the National Opera of Lyon, and he has made a remarkable international career ever since. Winner of many very important vocal competitions, he has appeared in main opera stages all over the world: Opéra Garnier de Paris, Opéra de Nice, Teatro Regio Torino, Hong Kong Opera, a.o.
His eclectic discography already covers an impressive range of repertoire, stretching from baroque: Monteverdi's "Ulysses" and and Vivaldi's "Kyrie", to classic and romantic: Massenet's "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame". "Clair Obscure", his newest album, was "born" during the COVID19 lockdown. The beautiful "crossover" album, which he recorded together with the Taiwanese star pianist, Veronica Yen, is on sale on line and a part of the proceeds will be donated to hospitals.
His eclectic discography already covers an impressive range of repertoire, stretching from baroque: Monteverdi's "Ulysses" and and Vivaldi's "Kyrie", to classic and romantic: Massenet's "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame". "Clair Obscure", his newest album, was "born" during the COVID19 lockdown. The beautiful "crossover" album, which he recorded together with the Taiwanese star pianist, Veronica Yen, is on sale on line and a part of the proceeds will be donated to hospitals.
Nice, 5/06/2020
How was the idea of this collaboration born?
I am collaborating with Veronica Yen since almost ten years. Veronica is a very known soloist and a very successful teacher in Taiwan and we have made many concerts in China and Taiwan together. We had this idea since a long time but we didn’t find the right moment to actually do it. Our idea started after noticing that after our concerts, the public was looking for something to take with them as a memory of us and, what would a better memory be, than music?
Does the title “Clair Obscur” has a special meaning?
Yes, the title has many aspects: The aesthetic of the cover already contains an ambivalent atmosphere, only to underline the bridge we are trying to build between worlds, cultures, language, music. The philosophical idea behind it, is the ambivalence of “Yin & Yang”, the “good and the bad”, or else, “light & darkness”,so, “Clair Obscur”. The texts on the cover and in the libretto are in both English and Chinese, too.
Is the music chosen accordingly to the title? What tracks can one hear in the album?
Yes, absolutely. For the “light” (Clair) we have chosen seven pieces that contain and transmit a very high and happy energy, like for example, the famous canzonetta “O sole mio”, or the famous Torrero song from the opera “Carmen” by G. Bizet. For the “darkness” (Obscur) there are another seven pieces that are more “dramatic”, more “mystic” in a way, like the Phantom’s song “Music of the night” from the musical “The Phantom of the Opera” or the song “The stars” from the musical “Les Miserables”). There are also some bonus tracks: Veronica has composed two beautiful pieces and I am singing the very famous aria “Nessun Dorma” in a special jazz version.
Where can one buy “Clair Obscur”?
We are currently looking for a company to promote our album. For now, one can buy it through my personal website, www.richard-rittelmann.com
Richard, you are an artist who has been singing for many years all over the world, on many important stages and next to very important singers. After all these years of artistic “miles”, where do you feel more “at home”?
I am an artist of many “faces”. I like to do different things, try out new things, I adjust fast and I really love being an artist, but most of all, I feel “at home” when I am being part of an artistic “family”. I like being with artists who are not “only” artists but they are also people “tuned” to work with other artists together in order to create a performance, a production. This dynamic creates a force that unites people throughout the process. I experienced this in Greece, working in a production of “La Boheme” with the “artistic family” of Hellenic Opera Corporation and last summer too, in Germany, together with the “artistic family” of Opera Classica Europa. It’s so exciting the fact that the two companies found each other a couple of years ago, and now they work together as two artistic families united. Thanks to this experience of being part of this two artistic families, I came to the idea to start one more “artistic family” in South France: I am since a couple of years responsible for the operatic productions/ opera galas/ concerts of a festival named “Estivales”, a festival that is organised by the region of Provence and aims to bring arts to all of Provence, also to very small towns and villages. It’s a very important initiative and with the help of maestro Rath, the conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nice and many French artists, we had two successful summers in Saint Vallier, in the “Espace du Thiey” and I am hoping to be able to run a whole opera production for this summer. My “artistic families” from Greece and Germany will be on board and help us out, too. So, you see, one artistic family unites with another and so on and in the end, we are all a big artistic family: This is my “home”!
You are coming from a family that has roots in Germany, Hungary, France. You grew up in Switzerland, then lived for a long time in South France. One could say that you are e “European Citizen”. What is that thing that unites all European nations and makes us all “European”?
Yes, my family carries so much different cultural heritage, and this is something great. I also speak many different languages: German, French, Hungarian, Italian (because of my job) and English, of course. In my family we have people from different countries, that have different culture, different language, different political views and I always saw these differences, but also saw that all this is family! This is what Europe is about, only in much larger scale: A mosaic of different cultures and nations. Europe is not just a name, it’s a whole culture that is born from all these different cultures meeting each other and the will to be united under the same cultural heritage, the same past. I have travelled so much in my life, because of my job, but Europe is still my favourite place. I love being in this continent, as much as I love to sing all kinds of music. European people are very passionate, I think. We have that hard, strong instinct to conquest, but at the same time we carry the more “soft” part of the meridian philosophy in our hearts, the words of Plato and Cicero. Our ancient story unites us throughout the centuries, we all start from the same root, back to the ancient Greece and later the Roman Empire. Having said this, I would rather have a “European Identity” than a “European Union”, the word “union” is connected to the economy, where the word “identity” is more suitable to describe what Europe is really about: that rich European culture that unites us all.
How do you feel on stage, when you are interpreting a role?
I am not myself on stage. I think on some level, we all somehow “get out” of ourselves and reach another level of existing, another level of “energy” if you like. In real life, I am a very practical person, while on stage, I can unite with the other artists and the public differently and create and share very different feelings.
What is your personal experience during the lockdown because of the COVID19 pandemic?
During the two months of the lockdown, I was able to reflect and think that the world can stop turning, even due to something different than war, for example. On a more philosophical level, I am realising that, our world is changing constantly. Millions of years ago, Earth has suffered serious “disasters” which brought new things later in time, new life, new possibilities. I am a positive person, so I think there are going to be new, different dynamics, but I also know that humans have the tendency to easily make steps back and against progress. We tend to consume too much, to exaggerate. Nature has taken a breath over the last two months, did take some of its “rights” back, but humans want to take back the control. I really hope that we all understand that we are all part of the whole, that life is fragile and that each one of us as a unite, we are really very weak. It’s necessary to find our place and the sense of our existence in our society. I also feel that during the lockdown, we all strongly felt how difficult was, the absence of the human contact, the human touch, and how the absence of the direct communication affects our daily lives. Maybe this feeling will make us remember how strong is this need in every one of us.
How did you spend your time during the lockdown?
Positive, in a sense… I had time to feel more intensely the small, important things of life and I also had time to work on this new CD album. I also decided to donate a part of the proceeds will be donated to hospitals, because it is very important for artists to be, not only the entertainers of the society, but also active members who seek out for the people, help them in hours of need, to give them joy, peace and hope. Opera, too, should not be closed behind doors, it should travel and reach the audience, find ways to reach the people, now more than ever. I hope our new CD album will help a bit, to bring the operatic music to more homes. The fact that it is a “crossover” album, helps a lot, because many people are not yet familiar to the operatic music. In this album, I wanted to show that, an operatic voice can sing much more music than opera and be very beautiful.
What is your message to other artists?
We need to learn to live with this virus and find ways to move on. This is a message for all people.
Art is…
Art is the supreme expression that humans can reach to express themselves. I was very lucky to grow in a family that had members who were musicians and we all listened at home Beatles and Wagner with the same easiness. This early musical education made me understand very fast that art is going to be essential for my life. Through art, we can see our world and reflect with inspiration. We need art to understand the beauty of this world and its duality.
I am collaborating with Veronica Yen since almost ten years. Veronica is a very known soloist and a very successful teacher in Taiwan and we have made many concerts in China and Taiwan together. We had this idea since a long time but we didn’t find the right moment to actually do it. Our idea started after noticing that after our concerts, the public was looking for something to take with them as a memory of us and, what would a better memory be, than music?
Does the title “Clair Obscur” has a special meaning?
Yes, the title has many aspects: The aesthetic of the cover already contains an ambivalent atmosphere, only to underline the bridge we are trying to build between worlds, cultures, language, music. The philosophical idea behind it, is the ambivalence of “Yin & Yang”, the “good and the bad”, or else, “light & darkness”,so, “Clair Obscur”. The texts on the cover and in the libretto are in both English and Chinese, too.
Is the music chosen accordingly to the title? What tracks can one hear in the album?
Yes, absolutely. For the “light” (Clair) we have chosen seven pieces that contain and transmit a very high and happy energy, like for example, the famous canzonetta “O sole mio”, or the famous Torrero song from the opera “Carmen” by G. Bizet. For the “darkness” (Obscur) there are another seven pieces that are more “dramatic”, more “mystic” in a way, like the Phantom’s song “Music of the night” from the musical “The Phantom of the Opera” or the song “The stars” from the musical “Les Miserables”). There are also some bonus tracks: Veronica has composed two beautiful pieces and I am singing the very famous aria “Nessun Dorma” in a special jazz version.
Where can one buy “Clair Obscur”?
We are currently looking for a company to promote our album. For now, one can buy it through my personal website, www.richard-rittelmann.com
Richard, you are an artist who has been singing for many years all over the world, on many important stages and next to very important singers. After all these years of artistic “miles”, where do you feel more “at home”?
I am an artist of many “faces”. I like to do different things, try out new things, I adjust fast and I really love being an artist, but most of all, I feel “at home” when I am being part of an artistic “family”. I like being with artists who are not “only” artists but they are also people “tuned” to work with other artists together in order to create a performance, a production. This dynamic creates a force that unites people throughout the process. I experienced this in Greece, working in a production of “La Boheme” with the “artistic family” of Hellenic Opera Corporation and last summer too, in Germany, together with the “artistic family” of Opera Classica Europa. It’s so exciting the fact that the two companies found each other a couple of years ago, and now they work together as two artistic families united. Thanks to this experience of being part of this two artistic families, I came to the idea to start one more “artistic family” in South France: I am since a couple of years responsible for the operatic productions/ opera galas/ concerts of a festival named “Estivales”, a festival that is organised by the region of Provence and aims to bring arts to all of Provence, also to very small towns and villages. It’s a very important initiative and with the help of maestro Rath, the conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nice and many French artists, we had two successful summers in Saint Vallier, in the “Espace du Thiey” and I am hoping to be able to run a whole opera production for this summer. My “artistic families” from Greece and Germany will be on board and help us out, too. So, you see, one artistic family unites with another and so on and in the end, we are all a big artistic family: This is my “home”!
You are coming from a family that has roots in Germany, Hungary, France. You grew up in Switzerland, then lived for a long time in South France. One could say that you are e “European Citizen”. What is that thing that unites all European nations and makes us all “European”?
Yes, my family carries so much different cultural heritage, and this is something great. I also speak many different languages: German, French, Hungarian, Italian (because of my job) and English, of course. In my family we have people from different countries, that have different culture, different language, different political views and I always saw these differences, but also saw that all this is family! This is what Europe is about, only in much larger scale: A mosaic of different cultures and nations. Europe is not just a name, it’s a whole culture that is born from all these different cultures meeting each other and the will to be united under the same cultural heritage, the same past. I have travelled so much in my life, because of my job, but Europe is still my favourite place. I love being in this continent, as much as I love to sing all kinds of music. European people are very passionate, I think. We have that hard, strong instinct to conquest, but at the same time we carry the more “soft” part of the meridian philosophy in our hearts, the words of Plato and Cicero. Our ancient story unites us throughout the centuries, we all start from the same root, back to the ancient Greece and later the Roman Empire. Having said this, I would rather have a “European Identity” than a “European Union”, the word “union” is connected to the economy, where the word “identity” is more suitable to describe what Europe is really about: that rich European culture that unites us all.
How do you feel on stage, when you are interpreting a role?
I am not myself on stage. I think on some level, we all somehow “get out” of ourselves and reach another level of existing, another level of “energy” if you like. In real life, I am a very practical person, while on stage, I can unite with the other artists and the public differently and create and share very different feelings.
What is your personal experience during the lockdown because of the COVID19 pandemic?
During the two months of the lockdown, I was able to reflect and think that the world can stop turning, even due to something different than war, for example. On a more philosophical level, I am realising that, our world is changing constantly. Millions of years ago, Earth has suffered serious “disasters” which brought new things later in time, new life, new possibilities. I am a positive person, so I think there are going to be new, different dynamics, but I also know that humans have the tendency to easily make steps back and against progress. We tend to consume too much, to exaggerate. Nature has taken a breath over the last two months, did take some of its “rights” back, but humans want to take back the control. I really hope that we all understand that we are all part of the whole, that life is fragile and that each one of us as a unite, we are really very weak. It’s necessary to find our place and the sense of our existence in our society. I also feel that during the lockdown, we all strongly felt how difficult was, the absence of the human contact, the human touch, and how the absence of the direct communication affects our daily lives. Maybe this feeling will make us remember how strong is this need in every one of us.
How did you spend your time during the lockdown?
Positive, in a sense… I had time to feel more intensely the small, important things of life and I also had time to work on this new CD album. I also decided to donate a part of the proceeds will be donated to hospitals, because it is very important for artists to be, not only the entertainers of the society, but also active members who seek out for the people, help them in hours of need, to give them joy, peace and hope. Opera, too, should not be closed behind doors, it should travel and reach the audience, find ways to reach the people, now more than ever. I hope our new CD album will help a bit, to bring the operatic music to more homes. The fact that it is a “crossover” album, helps a lot, because many people are not yet familiar to the operatic music. In this album, I wanted to show that, an operatic voice can sing much more music than opera and be very beautiful.
What is your message to other artists?
We need to learn to live with this virus and find ways to move on. This is a message for all people.
Art is…
Art is the supreme expression that humans can reach to express themselves. I was very lucky to grow in a family that had members who were musicians and we all listened at home Beatles and Wagner with the same easiness. This early musical education made me understand very fast that art is going to be essential for my life. Through art, we can see our world and reflect with inspiration. We need art to understand the beauty of this world and its duality.
