Status: 11/17/2021 2:48 p.m.
As a Wagner tenor, Klaus Florian Vogt has made a world career. In the past six weeks, the Schleswig-Holsteiner portrayed the knight Walther von Stolzing in Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” on the New York Met stage.
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“That is of course something special! Just the size of this house, the size and the distance to the last row. You don’t have this experience in any other house,” enthuses Klaus Florian Vogt. For seven weeks he fought as a daring knight Stolzing in the Met with sword in hand for love.
“Prince Charming” and the New York “opera freaks”
The Schleswig-Holsteiner made his debut as Stolzing at the Bayreuth Festival in 2007. Even in fast and loud Manhattan, six hours of opera in the first season after the Corona lockdown did not deter Wagner fans. “You can tell that the audience is incredibly happy that they can see something like this again,” says Vogt. “I know a few opera freaks who go to a piece like this six times. They are very happy that they can go there again.”
For seven weeks Klaus Florian Vogt portrayed the knight Walther von Stolzing in Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” on the New York Met stage.
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The opera house is privately financed. It relies on conservative productions – something new for the Wagner interpreter: “I actually know ‘Meistersinger’ with an incredible amount of action on stage. And then you have to get used to being in one place for a long time.” Also of the sparkling American robe: “Yes, it’s also nice to look like ‘Prince Charming’.” Especially since the knight with the blond, flowing hair has the advantage of a natural hero’s hairstyle. Made for “fancy” New York: “I just want to spare myself from wearing a wig as often as possible. That’s why I don’t cut my hair short,” explains Vogt.
Also Vogt’s family in Manhattan
He only likes to be a hero on stage – the opera Superman doesn’t like star hype. That’s why he loves New York and its lightness. Vogt brought his family with him to the awakening city. In Germany they like to tour in mobile homes – in Manhattan they like the tourist program: “Of course, I am still fascinated by Central Park or Rockefeller Center, then going downtown and looking at Battery Park.”
But Corona has also changed the city, the German notes: “I think the city has not developed so well compared to the last few times. You notice a lot of homeless people in the city again.” Many restaurants and shop windows remain dark. But here too, the unpretentious Wagner hero relies on a happy ending – he is looking forward to his next visit.
To experience again from December in Germany
After his return to Germany, Vogt can be seen from December 1st as Paul in Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s opera “Die tote Stadt” at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. This time not a hero, he emphasizes, but a broken figure: “This is a game that I really like. It’s a great piece and I’m looking forward to it.”
This topic in the program:
NDR Culture | Matinee | 17.11.2021 | 10:20 p.m.
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