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| Jan 7 2008, 5:02 PM EST | ChantelleC | 1236 words added |
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| A tenor says Cortes will be a star of the opera Make way Domingo, move over Carreras. Iceman Gardar Thor Cortes is on the map, says Evan Fanning By Evan Fanning Sunday January 06 2008 AN official My-Space page is not necessarily something you would expect an operatic tenor to be in possession of. The social networking website is normally the domain of pop or rock acts looking to pick up new fans and provide gig information, rather than classical artists trying to entice people to their local opera houses. As a man who was once labelled by Newsweek as having "the voice of Pavarotti and the looks of Brad Pitt" Gardar Thor Cortes (better known as Cortes) is well placed to try and bring opera to a younger audience. The 33-year-old Icelandic tenor, who has the likes of Katherine Jenkins and Myleene Klass among his "Top Friends" on his Myspace page alongside his YouTube videos, is performing for the first time as a solo-artist in the National Concert Hall in Dublin this Thursday. He's been here before as part of an Opera Ireland production of Cosi fan tutte and as we talk just prior to Christmas in the London office of his record label Cortes is looking forward to returning. "Icelandic people like Ireland a lot because that's where we come from," he says, "so when we go to Ireland we feel at home. Apparently the look of Irish people and Icelandic people is not that dissimilar." There may be some truth in that but it's fair to say that most men wouldn't object to looking like Cortes. His looks and singing ability have enabled him to be among the foremost 'crossover' artists who combine traditional opera with new takes on famous pop songs. This appeal also led to Newsweek's Pavarotti and Brad Pitt comparison, which is now destined to follow Cortes around whether or not he likes it. "That Pavarotti and Brad Pitt thing is nice," he says, "but it's so wrong. For one, nobody is going to step into Pavarotti's shoes. You can't and you wouldn't want to, because you want to be individual and unique and it's disrespectful to his memory to try and pin somebody else on him and in his shoes. The fact that somebody thought it is flattering therefore you try and accept it and appreciate it but I would be stupid to walk out of here and think, 'I'm just like Pavarotti'." Cortes is involved with music mogul Einar Bardarson, a man nicknamed the Icelandic Simon Cowell after appearing as a judge on their version of The X Factor. His album is released on Bardarson's Believer Music label and became the fastest-selling album of all-time in Iceland and went straight to number one in the UK classical charts when it was released in April of last year. "He [Bardarson] called me one day and asked for a meeting," Cortes recalls. "He asked me what I thought about making an album and it was that simple. I didn't think it was that good an idea because I didn't think that many people would buy the album, but it's all worked out well." He shouldn't be too surprised. Music, and opera music in particular, is very much in the Cortes family bloodstream. His father, Gardar Snr, was a renowned tenor himself before becoming tired of the travelling involved and the long periods away from his family. He then founded the Icelandic Opera as well as the Reykjavik School of Singing (where his children studied) and the Reykjavik Symphony Orchestra. His English mother, Krystyna, is a concert pianist who studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London while brother and sister are a baritone and a soprano respectively. Cortes has recently married an Icelandic actress called Tinna and although he hates being away from her he has no plans to prematurely retire from the touring circuit, as his father did. "I hate being away from home," he says. "It can be tiring and difficult to be away from my family and my wife, but being in the UK is not so bad because my mother's sister and her family are here. "We're also very fortunate that because Tinna's an actress she can choose when and where she works so we've been able to travel a lot together. She just finished acting school last May so she waited until the New Year before accepting jobs. She comes here or when I have a break I go back. You can make things work if you want to." Cortes is as committed in his career as he is in his personal life. He began acting as a child, and at 13 was on a TV show in Iceland. At 18, he realised he wanted to be a singer and in pursuit of this spent time studying in Vienna, Copenhagen, London and in his father's school in Reykjavik. In 1999, he was offered the lead role in The Phantom of the Opera in London's West End. Although he still admits to being in two minds over being an actor or a singer, he decided to leave The Phantom when his contract expired to pursue more traditional opera. The decision has paid off, and Cortes has performed in some the world's biggest venues with some of the biggest stars in opera. But does someone who is 10 years shy of what they say are the peak years for a tenor get nervous each and every time he steps up to a new level? "I've just done a show in Iceland with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, who is probably the most famous soprano in the world. I'm not being big headed or anything but that wasn't any different for me as a singer singing there as it was singing at a private party for 20 people back home in Iceland. It's the same thing. You're performing in front of an audience and you have to do your best. "Obviously, if the show is at the Barbican or Carnegie Hall there's always a little buzz or you think, 'Blimey, what am I doing? This is amazing', but then, that's it. You warm up, prepare, go on stage and deliver." Being a so-called 'crossover' artist can bring its own problems, however. It's something of a dirty word among opera traditionalists who think the fusion of opera and pop degrades the great tradition of opera. Cortes appreciates that opinion but feels there is a middle ground than can be reached. "It is a dirty word for some, especially some of the opera houses," he says, "and rightly so when people don't do it tastefully and correctly. Then it's not right, and I agree with that. But if it's done tastefully and right then I think it's a good thing to try and introduce classical music to more people. Crossover is just one way of introducing the music to more people. Obviously, it's not the only way. You can keep on doing opera and popularising that and opera houses and opera companies can do more. They've got to go with the times. Nobody should be snobbish. People should have an open mind." It's fair to assume that Cortes is a useful tool when it comes to opening people's minds. Cortes performs with the RTE Concert Orchestra on Thursday, at the National Concert Hall.Booking 01 4170000/ www.nch.ie - Evan Fanning http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/a-tenor-says-cortes-will-be-a-star-of-the-opera-1258773.html |
