James Morris sounded relaxed and at ease with the world on a recent afternoon, as he answered questions from his New Jersey home during a phone interview.
And why shouldn’t he be? After all, the veteran bass-baritone, who will join Opera Colorado for two performances this weekend, has nothing left to prove.
Morris must be counted among the great singers of his generation and, perhaps most notably, he stands as the world’s reigning interpreter of the celebrated, daunting role of Wotan in Richard Wagner’s massive opera cycle, “Der Ring des Nibelungen.”
At 61, an age when some singers’ voices have begun to fade, he remains in first-rate form, as evidenced by his well-received appearance earlier this year as Wotan in “Die Walküre” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
“This great Wagnerian . . . sang with a stentorian power and authority that recalled his prime years,” wrote Anthony Tommasini, a New York Times music critic.
Morris, who is also famed for his portrayal of the title character in Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman),” will perform the role tonight and Sunday afternoon in Opera Colorado’s concert version (no sets, no costumes) of the work.
Morris mostly appears on the stages of the world’s great opera houses and concert halls, but he had no hesitation about appearing with Opera Colorado, a regional company striving to build a national profile.
He noted that he had sung in two of the company’s productions in 1984 and ’86 and taken part in the gala opening of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in 2005, enjoying the experiences and the people with whom he worked.
“So, when they asked me to come and do this,” Morris said, “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s great.’ I love the ‘Dutchman,’ and a chance to do it in concert without all the physical trappings and everything, it interested me very much.
“Some shows don’t work in concert, but I think the ‘Dutchman’ is a good one in concert, because — I don’t want to use the word ‘static’ — but there’s not a whole lot of motion to it anyway.
“So, I think it will be an interesting night.”
There are few standout Wagnerian singers during any era, because of the endurance his long operas demand and the works’ often arduous vocal challenges, including overcoming the composer’s unusually heavy orchestrations.
“It’s just a question of pacing yourself, because the operas are very long,” Morris said. “This is something you pick up in your coachings and in rehearsing and everything — how to pace yourself so you still have voice left at the end.
“And if you find that you really have to push to get over the orchestra, then you shouldn’t be doing it. It takes a different kind of voice than a lot of the operas.”
During the early years of the singer’s career, people in the opera world urged him to attempt Wagner. But as much as he enjoyed the composer’s orchestral music, he did not care for his writing for voice.
At the urging of Terence McEwen, general director of the San Francisco Opera in 1982-88, he finally listened to Wotan’s famed “Abschied (Farewell),” the culmination of “Die Walküre,” and, as Mc- Ewen suggested, worked his way backward.
“When I did that, I fell in love with it, and thought that ‘Abschied’ is some of the most glorious music ever written,” Morris said. “I thought, ‘Well, I’ve got to sing this, and if I’m going to sing that, then I gotta sing the rest of the part. So, I sort of backed into it.”
Morris made his debut as Wotan in his hometown at the Baltimore Opera in 1984 and went on to sing the role with such major companies as the Vienna State Opera and Royal Opera House in London, cementing his international reputation.
Morris considers the Metropolitan Opera, where he has performed for 38 seasons, to be his home company and the finest in the world.
So far, he said, he is pleased with the bold initiatives of Peter Gelb, who took over as general manager in August 2006. The former recording company executive is significantly revamping the Met’s offerings, adding new works, inviting movie directors to try their hand at opera and beginning simulcasts in movie theaters.
“At first when we heard about some things he was going to be doing,” Morris said, “we thought, ‘Oy, how’s that going to work? That’s spending a lot of money that we don’t really have.’
“But it’s really worked out. Before he got in there, his big niche was marketing, so he’s very committed to appealing to a different kind of audience, not just the old, staid operagoers but younger audiences, and trying to appeal to them on more everyday, general terms.
“And it’s really working.”
Morris remains as active as ever at the Met and elsewhere, and he has no plans to slow down.
“I do feel good right now, and I’m getting good feedback, so we’ll just see,” he said. “We’ll knock wood and keep plugging away until people don’t want to hear me anymore.”
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
“The Flying Dutchman”
Opera Colorado Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets. Opera Colorado’s concert version (no sets, no costumes) of Richard Wagner’s famed operatic masterpiece. 7:30 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday. About 3 hours (two intermissions). $45 and $65. 303-357-2787 or
