This week the Salzburg Festival opens a new production of “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” with an all-star cast that includes some of the best performers of the work. Among them is Kathryn Lewek, who will be taking on the challenge of portraying all four heroines, something that has always been seen as rare and complex. In preparation for the roles, Lewek spoke to OperaWire about the roles and her love for her cast.
OperaWire: This is not the first time you have taken on the four roles. How has this opera evolved for you after doing it before? Kathryn Lewek: Whenever I return to a role, I enjoy discovering a more nuanced and complex connection to the character – and that was certainly the case when I sang these roles the first couple of times, in Berlin at the Deutsche Oper in 2022 and then again at Palm Beach Opera this season. But my last several weeks in Salzburg have me viewing all three of these women in a completely different light.
It’s wildly surprising to me, to be honest, how deftly our director, Mariame Clement, has simultaneously stayed true to the libretto AND found an updated and (IMO) much more satisfying interpretation of the journey of these women. My brain tends to automatically concentrate on the dramatic side of things, but there of course is also the vocal side of things, and here I am feeling more settled and confident that I am up to this unique challenge having done multiple productions over the last couple of years. The terror has abated.
.. a little.