Clare tenor Dean Power: 'You want opera not to be just a museum'
Dean Power, opera singer Picture: Fritz Bek
It’s a long way from the village of Clarecastle to Maximilianstrasse in Munich. It’s a move that tenor Dean Power made over a decade ago after being potted at a singing competition by a talent scout, Power left Ireland in 2010 to take a place in the Opera Studio at the Bavarian State Opera, a highly coveted apprenticeship programme where talented young singers are trained for international careers.
Then he remained on with the company building a successful career appearing in a variety of roles, both minor and leads alongside the biggest names. In August this year, Power made the return journey coming back to settle in the village where he grew up in Co Clare.
Was it a difficult decision to leave the security of a premier German house? “Yes and no,” he explains via Zoom, while wearing the colours of the Magpies, his local GAA club. “It (Bavarian State Opera) is a wonderful house packed with talent. I was kept busy with every sort of production you can imagine.”
Life was busy off-stage too. Power and his wife Kate from Roscommon are parents to three children under five. “Munich was very much a home away from home for us. We felt part of the community where we lived. We had decided that if we were to leave Munich, we would make the move before Oscar was seven. It was hard to leave but I do feel a creative kick. I feel freer now to take on new challenges.”
Signed with a London agent, Power is auditioning abroad, and his diary is filling up for the years ahead. In December he flies to Lisbon to perform the role of Evangelist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and he appears with Opera de Lille in the new year.
The Irish opera community have been quick to welcome the tenor back to the fold. Since August, Power has appeared in several productions. He enthuses about his recent appearance in new work, First Child, by Enda Walsh and Donnacha Dennehy for Irish National Opera.
“It’s brilliant tackling new music. I felt that Enda so clearly formed his characters. You want opera not to be just a museum but to bring something new.”
Next, Power plays Jaquino in Fidelio, Irish National Opera’s first big production since the return of live events. It is a role he played in Munich in controversial director, Calixto Bieito’s staging.
“It’s a very thankful role. While you don’t have a lot to sing, you are involved in some wonderful moments. There is a lovely duet at the beginning, a beautiful quartet and the first act finale is stunning.”
The new direction leaves room for other projects. He is on a mission to influence the musical life closer to home and make classical more accessible in his local community.
“I feel lucky that I came across classical music. It’s a dangerous drug and it can take over” he jokes. “Earlier in my career, I focused so much on song that I had relatively little opera repertoire under my belt. Opera is a big beast. You are dependent on so many others. Lieder recitals are smaller and more intimate. I want to figure out how to use the local hall and present programmes that are accessible for a local audience.”
Musing on how to improve the audience experience, he is an advocate for earlier start times and the importance of a cuppa tea to allow space for audiences to have a natter.
Indeed, Power already has such a project close to being realised. Over the last 18 months, he stayed in touch with singing pals via a Whatsapp group. The all-male group named the Corona Beards are scheduled to hold their first live event at the end of November in Clarecastle in the same church that Power held a concert before his departure for Germany.
It was a night when the church was full to say farewell to a hopeful emigrant. His return as a seasoned performer will mark a homecoming for this popular Clare tenor as his career moves into a new phase.
- Dean Power is Jaquino in Irish National Opera’s production of Beethoven’s Fidelio at the Gaiety Theatre, November 9, 10, 12 and 13. irishnationalopera.ie
- Dean Power and the Corona Beards appear at SS Peter and Paul Church, Clarecastle, November 28, 6pm. deanpowertenor.com
