Fringe preview: Anthony Flaum

Anthony Flaum will be performing on the balcony of the Guildhall with an array of opera all stars as part of the Free Fringe. William Gadsby Peet asks about trading banking for La Bohème ahead of the show

  • What got you in to opera?

It's quite a long answer! I remember loving listening to singers like Pavarotti and Mario Lanza and other greats when I was a child. I always had an appreciation of great singing, in whatever style of music – jazz, blues, classical, gospel, cantorial etc. So, I guess you could say that the writing was on the wall from a young age. However, I actually never considered a career in music – I did a "normal" business degree at University of Nottingham and went into banking and finance after graduating. It was only when I started doing some amateur dramatics that people came along and said to me that I should do something with my voice.

I was further encouraged by a Summer school I did right here in Guildford (at the GSA) as I auditioned for all the three major academies in London at the time and managed to get a place in all three. This, for me, was a sure sign that I should do something with this opportunity or regret it in later years. So, I gave up my job, moved back home and – to my parents bewilderment (and worry) – became a penniless student of singing! It was all to pay off though in later years when I started establishing myself as a performer.

Once I was in "the business", I gradually found that I wasn't suited the rocky/American style musicals that were casting at the time and I felt like I was slightly falling through a gap. Then, by total chance, I met someone at a wedding who knew someone who was involved in a start-up opera company in a rundown pub in Kilburn. He said I should contact them as they were casting. My wife said I should, but I didn't believe anything would come of it; after all I never liked (or at least, I thought I never liked!) opera. I thought it was way too stuffy, unrealistic, boring, elitist etc. Many of the usual stereotypes you hear nowadays.

I was invited along to audition, but for the bass-baritone role of Benoit in their production of La bohème. The director thought that that wasn't quite my voice and cast me as the tenor in the piece, Rodolfo. This was my baptism of fire into the world of opera. I had three weeks to learn the music and translation from scratch (bearing in mind that if you're in opera, you just KNOW La bohème – but I hadn't been "in" opera and had not a clue about a note of the piece!). On top of this, it was a completely different way of singing and being surrounded by people who knew what they were doing technically. So it really was a baptism of fire. I watched endless clips of Pavarotti on Youtube and learnt whilst on the job from my colleagues and my own discovery of what worked and what didn't with my voice (a lot, didn't!).

In the end the production went on to win an Olivier award. I then started to get some classical singing lessons and was spotted by the National Opera Studio as having potential... and the rest, as they say, is history! By this time, I'd decided I loved opera. I started to have much more success in this world than I ever did in musical theatre and I also broke down my pre-conceived ideas about the genre. I just knew that it was for me so I threw everything I had at it and even though I'm still in the early stages of my career, I'm getting some good principal roles with some major UK opera companies. So I thank my lucky stars that I went to that wedding because otherwise, I'm not sure I would've found my true voice nor my way into this business!

  • Are you looking forward to serenading the Guildford public?

Very much so. I’m super proud of my friend Nick, who has done so amazingly well to get the festival to where it’s at, and to now be a part of it is a great honour. Performing with Katie is always a pleasure too so I hope the public enjoys it as much as we will!

  • Do you think the operatic community should be doing more to make opera accessible?

Actually, I think the opera community is doing a great deal of outreach work and schemes to make it more accessible. The "inaccessible" label I think stems from a number of things and I shall address the two main issues that I believe cause people to shy away from opera:

  1. Language: People think that because it's in a foreign language, it's hard to understand or relate to. Firstly, I think this is untrue - some pieces in original language or original setting can still touch people's lives greatly and the messages remain relevant today. However, there are many companies (both small and large) that translate pieces into English and modernise them to make them more "accessible" to present day audiences. This is not always necessary – or successful, I might add – but there are many companies out there doing this to bring in new, younger audiences. 
  2. Expensive/elitist: There are cinema live screenings from big houses like the Royal Opera House and The Met, which don't cost the Earth to go and see. Sky Arts often also have programmes/screenings too. Indeed, BP have an open-air screening season this Summer, which is free in many great open air spaces around London. There are ticket schemes for younger people at some wonderful summer festivals such Grange Park Opera, Glyndebourne and Opera Holland Park. Many smaller companies also do not charge a lot for tickets – in fact, I recently had an experience of trying to book tickets for a musical in the West End, it cost me £160 for 3 tickets. I booked to see something at the Royal Opera House (in the balcony) and it cost me less than half that! 
  • Favourite moment of your career so far?

Difficult to pin down one as I have been lucky to work on some wonderful productions (both small and large) and work with some fantastic people and companies. But if I had to choose, then it probably would be performing on the Royal Albert Hall stage during the BBC Proms in 2015. It was actually a musical (Fiddler on the Roof) and I was Motel the tailor, but it was produced by an opera company and had a major opera star in the main role – Bryn Terfel as Tevye. The sight of 6,500 people looking at you waving their flags combined with the knowledge that thousands more are listening on the radio, plus being in that iconic building, was electric and something I will never forget.

  • If you could fill a swimming pool with anything, what would it be?

My adult response would be – ‘full of money, half of which I’ve give to charity’. However, my 5-year-old daughter thought that if it was full of fairy dust, we could dive in and then fly like Peter Pan, which was a much better idea... and I totally agree with her!

Anthony Flaum is part of an all-star opera cast that will be performing on the balcony of the Guildhall as part of the Guildford Free Fringe. For more information, visit:  guildfordfringefestival.com

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