A Conversation With IAN STOREY

In 2007 the English tenor, Ian Storey, made a dramatic and highly visible debut as Tristan in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the season opening of La Scala, Milan, conducted by Daniel Barenboim and directed by Patrice Chereau. It was seen by millions on TV, in cinemas, and on DVD and marked a big development in this singer’s career. This year he will be singing Siegfried in Götterdämmerung, again under Barenboim, as part of a complete bicentennial Ringcycle at the BBC Proms. Storey eschews the heldentenor label preferring to call himself a “dramatic” tenor but whichever way you look at it his voice type or fach is a comparatively rare one. Physically he has been described as having the build of a lumberjack with the face of TV’s CSI leading man William Peterson – a good fit for super heroes – but it’s the voice with its subtle lyric/dramatic blend that drew Barenboim’s ear and led Placido Domingo to facilitate his American debut in Domingo’s signature role, Verdi’s Otello. In this illustrated audio podcast with clips from Storey’s debut album on the newly launched ARC (Artists Recording Company) label supported by Northampton University he talks to Edward Seckerson about his operatic journey so far from the emergence of a voice of exceptional range through to that steep and unforgettable learning curve of studying Tristan with Barenboim.