Q1.
We know that Finbar had been invited to be one of the original Irish Tenor lineup,
and we know that Anthony auditioned after being recommended by Ronan. How was
Karl selected to join the Irish Tenor's? Did he know Finbar and/or Anthony prior
to his selection? Did he have to audition, or was he recommended by someone associated
with the Irish Tenor's or....? -
A. When I first started singing
with Dr Veronica Dunne back in 1997, Anthony used to have his lessons before mine.
Of course he was just a few years older than me and I always viewed him as the
professional singer, the grown-up! However a few weeks into my lessons, Ronnie
asked him to stay behind and listen to me for a short while and that was what
peaked his interest in me at first. Through the years we bumped into each other
now and then and of course we were both aware of each others achievements and
careers. Early this year I got a frantic phone call from another tenor friend
of mine John Scott, saying that Anthony had been looking for my number for ages
and had been asking everyone if they knew it ( I had recently just returned from
a two year stint in Italy where I had been studying and singing in the 'Carlo
Felice' Opera House in Genoa). That afternoon I was on my way sing at another
concert down the country when I called Anthony and heard that I needed to come
in and audition for himself and Finbar immediately if not sooner as this was the
last day of auditions. For what I did not know!! I turned back immediately and
headed straight to Dublin. It was my first time meeting Finbar when I walked into
the room. Unfortunately, because of the time it took me to get back to Dublin,
the accompanist had already left. So they asked me if I could do my audition "accapella"
which of course I did. During the audition I was thrilled to see both Anthony
and Finbar were very enthusiastic about me, and my hopes were realised when I
got a phone call a few weeks later from them inviting me to become the third member
of The Irish Tenors!!
Q2. Will you dress
to conform with Finbar and Anthony on stage and will you wear the buttonholers
that we fans provide at every concert?
A. It was great fun collaborating
with Finbar and Anthomy and experimenting with new styles of dress on our television
shows here in Ireland as you can see on the photos displayed on this website www.tenortours.com
. However you cannot beat classic concert dress. I would be thrilled to support
and honor the fans in any way I can.
Q3.
Have you any CDs available for us to buy?
A. Watch this space!
Q4.
Who is your favorite tenor? (Besides Anthony Kearns and Finbar Wright!!)
A.
Pavarotti in his younger days was absolutely incrediable for his easy and purity
of voice and is unrivaled. These days the best young tenor at the moment is Juan
Diego Florez, although he hasn't got a large voice like Pavarotti, it is incrediably
fluid and easy. He throws out impossible high notes with the greatest of ease.I
highly recommend his version of "Ah! Mes amis" from the Daughter of the Regiment!!
Q5. What town and county are you from?
A.
I was born in Limerick, west of ireland, my mother's home town and shortly afterwards
we returned to Gabon, West Africa where my parents were living at the time. After
two years in Gabon, we moved to Houston, Texas where we lived for a further two
years. I had a very memorable fourth birthday on the Pan-Am flight as we relocated
to Jakarta, Indonesioa, where we stayed for five years. Our next stop was the
East Bay area of San Francisco, California where we stayed until I was sixteen
at which point my parents moved down to Zaire, Central Africa. I spent all of
my summers and christmas' with them in Zaire, while spending my school terms in
boarding school in Ireland. Of course returning to Ireland at sixteen was not
my first time in Ireland. Whilst growing up we spent the entire summer holidays
in Ireland and of course my roots are very firmly planted in Irish soil. Since
returning from Italy I am once again living in South County Dublin.
Q6.
Are you looking forward to singing with the Irish tenors in the United States
and Ireland ?
I am thrilled with the prospect of finally returing to
America after so many years. Seeing as I have never spent time in America anywhere
other than the west coast and Texas, touring the US is going to be a huge adventure.
Making my debut with The Irish Tenors on national television in Ireland was a
dream come true.
Q7. From
a fan in Oz. My question is whether you've ever performed in Australia? (It's
been 5 years since the Irish Tenors' concerts here and it would be a lovely way
to make your debut, with a tour Downunder)
A. I would
love to return to Australia having spent a very memorable months holiday there
when I was a child. (unfortunately I lost my favourite teddy bear in Tasmania
where I also kicked a cobra by accident and we almost ran over a tasmanian devil!)
I had the most wonderful experience of crossing Australia by train before they
discontinued the line, whcih I hear has since been restarted. The highlight of
the train journey for a seven year old was sitting in our compartment on the train
and hearing a boom -boom further up the train. I looked out the window to see
a huge red bull kangaroo keeping pace with the train and every now and again throwing
his full body weight against one of the carriages as if he was trying to knock
the train off its rails. It was explained to us later that the kangaroo was going
in one direction and the train was cutting through his path. Instead of waiting
for the train to pass he decided it would be just as easy to try and move the
train out of his way himself!!
Q8. I would like to
know if Karl has brothers and sisters and if he comes from a musical family?
A.
I have no brothers or sisters. My mothers side of the family are incrediably artistic
and my father's side of the family are very adept at "shower singing" or so they
tell me. Every summer coming back to Ireland my families would gather in droves
and we would all have great fun in the ceili's and summer seisiun's.
Q9.
Who is your favourite composer?
A. Rossini for his
fun, Puccini for his passion but Mozart is the master!
Q10.
When relaxing which type of music do you most enjoy listening to?
A.
In music I always look for quality, intelligence and inspiration regardless of
the genre. I have a very eclectic taste in music ranging from the great tenors
to Queen and U2, throw in a mixture of Brad Mehldau, Frank Sinatra and Buena Vista
Social Club and I am in heaven!
Q11.What is Karl's birthdate?
A. June 10th 1978 in Limerick
Q. What is Karl's height?
A. 6 ft
Q13. What is your favorite operatic role?
A.
My favourite role to have performed was Paolino in Cimarosa's Matrimonio Segreto.
My two dreams roles would be Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme" and Nemorino in
Donizetti's "L'Elisir D'Amore".One of course years after the other.
Q14
What is your favorite opera?
A. My favourite opera at the moment
is Rossini's "Barbiere Di Siviglia" after having performed scenes from it in Wexford
Festival Opera's Young Artists Development Programme this April.
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