How significant has TOSCA been for your career?
One thing I can say is that it’s the opera I’ve sung in most. I’m guessing I’ve done at least 50 performances in ten or twelve different productions. I debuted as Cavaradossi in October 2021, in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, before the invasion of Ukraine.

Not bad at all, making a debut at the Bolshoi.
It was amazing. I was 27 years old. The opera house is huge, about the size of the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden.

And the same size as the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In Covent Garden you took over the role in the middle of the performance.
I was the understudy. It was the run-up to Christmas, so I’d stayed on in London to buy gifts and meet friends. On the first night the tenor was feeling unwell, so they called me in and I threw the costume on and was able to take over the part from Act 2.

No time to be nervous, then. How did you feel? How did the audience react?
Yes, it was fantastic. The audience was buzzing and really got behind me. The managing director had gone on and explained the situation before the curtain went up again.

We’re no stranger to that here. People get the shivers if Christoph Seuferle goes out to address the audience. The Londoners loved your debut performance at the Royal Opera House. The papers were saying things like »A new star is born«.
[Laughing] They were very kind to me. But yes, my life did take a turn from then onwards. I travel the world, singing in exquisite theatres and gorgeous cities alongside amazing people. What can I say? I love my job!

How has your perspective on Cavaradossi shifted over the years?
Obviously I’ve matured. The timbre of my voice has modified slightly, but it hasn’t altered my technique. The longer you sing a part, the more familiar it becomes and the lighter the mantle is. 

Does that mean it can also get boring?
No, on the contrary. First off, you’re always singing with new people. Secondly, the productions are very different. It’s always nice going back to an opera house that you know. There’s a pleasant, familiar feel to it.

What’s the thing about Cavaradossi that you like the most?
Unlike other protagonists, he is pure of character and unbroken. And I also like the way there are two sides to him: you get the romantic lover on the one hand and the heroic freedom fighter on the other. It’s my luck to be singing one of the loveliest pieces for tenor that’s ever been written. And in one of the loveliest operas ever written.

The TOSCA you’re currently singing in at the Deutsche Oper Berlin is from 1969, so a little shy of 60 years old. What’s it like being part of this particular production?
I have to say, nothing beats tradition for me. And I especially adore this production. It’s not far off from what Puccini may well have envisaged: the period costumes, the stark stage set. I for one don’t need to be singing in ultra-modern versions of it.