JAMES STRECKER: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on or have recently completed. Why exactly do they matter to you and why should they matter to us?
NATHAN KEOUGHAN: The project I am currently working on is one I’ve been lucky to live with now for three years. In 2016 I was given an amazing opportunity to workshop and cover a brand-new operatic role, Pink in Another Brick in the Wall: The Opera. Pink is a rock star, jaded by fame and tormented by his past and inner demons. The opera may be new but the text and story is taken from the iconic album, The Wall. This work, like the original and Roger Waters’ film Another Brick in the Wall is famous for being an anti-establishment commentary on the physical and metaphorical walls that get built throughout our society.
This commentary is important to me because these walls are more prevalent in today’s political environment than ever before in my lifetime. Having the opportunity to perform this opera in Trump’s America was particularly important to me and to every person who was a part of it. I started working on this piece during the 2016 election and I cannot divorce these metaphorical walls from Trump’s physical walls.
For me however, this show is close to my heart because it deals with the psychological walls we build and what can happen when mental illness is suppressed and stigmatised.
JS: How did doing these projects change you as a person and as a creator?
NK: This show has been a huge part of my development as a young singer. I began working on it in my early days of training as a young artist at Opera de Montreal’s young artist program, L’ Atelier Lyrique and it was also my debut as the principal singer in a professional opera house. As you can imagine, my perspective has changed as well as my voice through this process and what I love about having the opportunity to perform it again and again is that I can continue to evaluate and dive deeper into this character of Pink.
JS: What might others not understand or appreciate about the work you produce or do?
NK: I don’t think people understand exactly how much energy it takes to perform in an opera when you never get to leave the stage and you rarely get to stop singing. The role of Pink is unique in that way, and it has been the lesson of a lifetime knowing that it is physically possible but it requires calculated singing and exertion of energy. This can be especially tough when the demand for the show is so great that I often have to perform it two days in a row, which is rare in opera today.
JS: What are the most important parts of yourself that you put into your work?
NK: Pink’s emotional spectrum is huge, from playing a comfortably numb psychosis to a fascist murdering dictator. The most important part of myself that I put into Pink’s emotion is my connection to mental illness. Though I have never been in a state of psychosis and have never been an evil dictator, mental illness has touched my life in a way that has given me perspective into the darkness that Pink falls into.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
NK: I don’t see myself as a creative person in the same way that most people in the arts do. Instead I think of myself as an interpreter of the music and roles that I get to portray. The challenge in opera is being authentic in that interpretation. It is very easy to sing things the way you’ve heard them sung before and this is why working on new pieces can be so rewarding.
JS: Imagine that you are meeting two or three people, living or dead, whom you admire because of their work in your form of artistic expression. What would you say to them and what would they say to you?
NK: I am always astonished by some opera singer’s longevity. Leo Nucci is an incredible Verdi baritone who is still singing multiple productions of Rigoletto every year. I would ask Leo what his secret to a long career has been. Red wine? Pasta? I’d be happy with those answers.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life that helped to make you who you are as a creative artist.
NK: When I was in high school, I was a sucker for attention and had no outlet for my frenetic energy. When my high school band teacher learned that I could sing, he gave me a subtle nudge into performing professionally. I had no idea what I would do after high school but with his suggestion my whole life turned and soon after I was on my way to training as an opera singer in university.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about your life as a person in the arts?
NK: I think the hardest thing for anyone to understand about my life as an opera singer is that I am my own product. If I am sick or tired it can really make your day a bit more stressful. So, I often have to hibernate while in a production. It can be tough for people who have travelled to see me perform and then I can’t go out for dinner or have a drink with them. I always feel guilty about it but I have a responsibility to keep myself in the best condition possible to do my job.
JS: Please tell us what you haven’t attempted as yet that you would like to do in the arts? Why the delay so far?
NK: For singers we are often waiting to age into the roles that we’ve been dreaming of singing for years. I would love to sing roles like Scarpia and The Flying Dutchman but since I’m 31 years old, I will not get hired to portray these middle-aged characters until I’m a little older. It’s probably one of the only fields of work where we are looking forward to getting older.
JS: If you could re-live your life in the arts, how would you change it and why?
NK: I wouldn’t. The scariest part of living in the arts is not knowing what might or might not come next. It has taken me years to accept that life in the arts can be a roller coaster and it’s best if you just go along for the ride.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
NK: What gives me hope about the state of opera today is that new works such as Another Brick in the Wall are enticing new people into the medium of opera. Often all you hear about opera is that it’s a dying art form. I disagree. Opera has been an important part of culture in our societies for 350 years. It’s not going anywhere, it’s just turning a new page. What depresses me is the opera world’s conservative nature in the sense that things must stay in their traditions. I believe the only thing that is dying in opera are those traditionalists. This is why new opera and new opera audiences are so important.
JS: What exactly do you like about the work you create and/or do?
NK: I come from a family of musicians from Prince Edward Island. Music and singing are so ingrained into my life and my heritage that I would never live a life without it. What I like about my work now is that I am the first of my family who has really pushed for a career with the gifts and skills given to me by my parents and grandmother and I think it’s my responsibility to represent that part of my family. This is what continues to drive my career and development.
JS: In your creative life thus far, what have been the most helpful comments you have heard about your work?
NK: The most helpful thing anyone has ever told me is to listen to myself and my instincts and shut everything else out. When you’re at the helm of a large production, every person has something to offer you. And though they usually intend to be helpful, filtering through a sea of opinions can be confusing and frustrating. The key to surviving is being authentic and that comes from within.
JS: Finally, what do you yourself find to be the most intriguing and/or surprising things about you?
NK: I think people are often surprised by my candor. The truth can be refreshing and a lot people today shy away from the truth, I don’t. I think being honest makes me an effective performer and it saves a hell of a lot of time!