How is it that South Africa has become just about the most exciting hotbed of young operatic talent? Whatever the secret, it’s working a treat, as you can hear when the country’s latest star baritone, Jacques Imbrailo, comes to the Proms to sing the title role in Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd on Tuesday.
The role was a breakthrough for Imbrailo, 33. Before he was cast, he’d been attracting attention as a name-to-watch on the Royal Opera’s young artist scheme.
But when he took on the challenge of Budd in a new staging by Michael Grandage at Glyndebourne (which is the production being presented as a semi-staging at the Proms, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis), the opera world took notice.
‘It was my first really big break,’ he says. ‘I had roles at the Royal Opera but there it was generally a case of the ‘baby young artists’ being given smaller chances. With Billy, it was a fully fledged major production with international exposure. It was quite a difference.’
It certainly put Imbrailo on the map. Budd is an optimistic and open-hearted young sailor who is press-ganged into service on board a warship during the French Revolutionary Wars.
When a sadistic master-at-arms develops an unhealthy obsession with him,it leads to a murderous confrontation with terrible consequences for all on board. With his rich, vibrant voice and athletic stage presence, the South African proved himself ideally suited to the energetic role.
‘Dramatically speaking, it’s true, the role really suits a young person,’ he says. ‘But musically it’s a different matter. It’s a really big sing and a lot for a young voice to cope with. It’s a long night, with a lot of orchestration under you.
‘And you also have a major scene at the end, after you’ve been running around and moving a lot. You have to learn how to pace yourself.’
How does he feel about presenting it in a semi-staging, rather than with the full set?
‘It’s such a strong piece and the characters are so clearly defined that I don’t think we’ll lose any of the intensity,’ he says. ‘I’m sure our love for the piece will come through.
‘If we get an audience that really wants to use its imagination, it’ll be electrifying. We’ve been living with this piece for two months and now we have to get the same message across but in a slightly more improvised fashion.’
As a child, Imbrailo went to the celebrated Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School in South Africa, and there’s a clip of him on YouTube singing one of the Queen Of The Night’s arias as a treble.
Did this provide a useful grounding for an opera career?
‘I was initially more attracted to the school because it was so rural and had zebras and horses running around,’ he says.
‘It was idyllic. But I grew to love the music, too. It was a very disciplined environment, where they taught us that the responsibility to perform at the highest level lies with each individual. There can’t be any weak links. And I think that really comes through in this Billy Budd. We all want it to be successful.’
I ask what he would say now to the little boy in the YouTube clip?
‘I’d tell him to enjoy it more,’ he says. ‘I was a nervous, serious child but when I got on the rugby pitch, I was a monster – in a good way, I hope. I’ve tried to learn to channel that kind of expression on stage too and enjoy that amazing let-out of creativity and energy.’
And what does he think about the explosion of talent such as Pretty Yende and Pumeza Matshikiza coming from South Africa now?
‘Singing is inherent in all cultures in South Africa. It’s not surprising that there are these amazing world-class voices just waiting to be heard. I hope they get the chance.’
Prom 60: Britten – Billy Budd is at the Royal Albert Hall on Tue. www.bbc.co.uk/proms
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