051 – Opera Stories: Ben Bongers
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Ben Bongers, tenor, is an artist in demand by many opera companies throughout the world. MLR’s Erik Core interviews Ben about his life, including how he went from the Nebraska farmlands to star of the opera stage, and all places in between. Ben breaks down an opera for us, talks about how to take care of your voice, why memory is so important, and what it is like on tour with an opera. Ben answers questions like “How loud is it on stage?”, “How do you memorize a 500 page opera?”, “Is rap real music?”, and many more from the man whose voice is so big it’s been called “an earthquake on legs”.
Credits: “MLR Intro” by “Rob McCann”, “La Donna e Mobile from Giuseppe Verdi‘s opera Rigoletto” performed by “Ben Bongers“, “Nessun Dorma from Giacomo Puccini‘s opera Turandot” performed by “Ben Bongers” both recorded live at Music Life Radio Studios.
Congratulations to both!
It was a pleasure to listen to Ben and I am proud for Dan to be able to record this!
Sophia
This is a very enlightening interview for anyone who wants to know more about opera from a very accomplished and human exponent.
Ben is exremely knowledgable and has a rare sense of the realities of the opera business, which he describes with humor and affection for his art.