The second semester of my freshman year I enrolled in Italian 101 at 8 a.m. on Monday through Friday to fulfill the language requirements for my vocal performance degree. I had studied German in high school, had always loved languages, and was excited to dive into a new one. The first day of class I met a fellow singer, also enrolled for the degree requirement, but a senior in the program with graduation just around the corner. We became fast friends.
In the weeks that followed, I quickly discovered that my new friend didn’t share my enthusiasm for the class. He was often late, sometimes absent, and rarely studied. And so it wasn’t much of a surprise when I began to outperform him on quizzes and tests. I was surprised, however, by his rationale for the low grades.
In an older-and-wiser tone, he shared with me his best advice, gleaned from four years of college. I had two choices, he told me. I could either be a really fine singer who got Cs or I could be a mediocre singer who got As. I had to choose which I would excel at—grades or artistry—but I could not achieve both.
Nearly two years ago on a cold January evening, I made my way through the bustling Manhattan streets to the Walter Reade Theater at 65th and Broadway. I had come, with many others, for the annual Erich Leinsdorf Lecture. I took my seat and listened attentively as a striking man—in both looks and speech—spoke eloquently of the works of Walt Whitman and his impact on American song.
I recalled that just one year earlier, I had watched and listened to this same man sing the title role of Eugene Onegin from the plush seats of the Metropolitan Opera House. I marveled that whether speaking or singing, lecturing or acting, he commanded both theaters with equal ease. Fittingly, Thomas Hampson was that year both the Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence and the Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic.
If you are reading this, you have no doubt seen Hampson’s face smiling up at you from the cover of this issue. And you no doubt recognized him immediately, since Hampson has dominated the baritone scene for years. What has contributed to his success?
Hampson never learned the little secret my Italian 101 singer friend divulged to me. Scholarship and artistry have never been separate for this baritone, but rather always intertwined, as evident in Lisa Houston’s cover story interview. Perhaps it’s precisely that deep love of learning and “ceaseless curiosity” (New York Times) that, coupled with his solid technique and gorgeous sound, have made for a decades-long—and counting—career.
Scholar and artist. Thomas Hampson’s career is evidence that when the two coexist, true excellence is achieved.
