Mark Delavan’s story provides a totally unexpected intersection of two skills, both of which require extraordinary discipline. In all martial arts, we learn about breath, centering, concentration, relaxation, vision and many other skills that, when combined with techniques, can produce something special, unique, powerful and truly beautiful._1a.jpg)
Mark does that in two different worlds. He is a world famous operatic baritone and a skilled custom knife marker. In fact, being an opera lover for most of my life and a collector of knives, the interview and research process with Mark has been a particularly fun and exciting journey.
But on to Mark Delavan…the first question I asked Mark was how his roles as an opera singer and as a knife maker informed each other. He replied, “Art, of any kind, in any discipline, is three-fold: Physical, Mental (including emotions), and Spiritual.” He notes that, “if I’m not totally in the moment with either discipline something bad is going to happen.” Thinking about dinner, he writes, may cost him a line or two while singing, or a digit or two while knife making. “Both disciplines take extreme concentration. So the mental aspects of both are essential. If I’m not paying attention in the 3rd act of ‘Othello’ [by Verdi] during the trio I will lose track of the beat and get lost. If I don’t pay attention while trying to carve a [knife] handle, I will cut myself.”
“Plus, being in the moment of both disciplines can be so rewarding. I remember the moments on stage in the last act of [Wagner’s] ‘Die Walkure’ where the sheer pleasure of the music was not to be missed. While sanding certain woods, the smells of the woods can be intensely pleasurable. Once again, the sensation is not to be missed.” “It is very interesting though that my work as a [skilled] knife maker is very relaxing, and it has a very rejuvenating effect on my opera singing.” And he adds, “Both have an amazing effect on my sleep and rest patterns. In dreams I will be singing the latest new role on stage, or I’ll wake up with a new idea for a knife.
One of my latest [knives] (which is in the process of being built as we speak) I got while napping.” He goes on to describe the “…idea of bonded woods in vertical striped patterns. I’ve done horizontal before, but never vertical. So I had this idea of a red and black handle. If a red and black handle, why not a red and black sheath?” I might add here that Mark’s knives are beautiful creations. They combine both the aesthetic of the knife and a functional beauty. (His web site for his knives is posted at the end of this feature.) 
When the subject of creativity came up, Mark wrote, “For me, creativity in singing opera, and in knife making [is] a simple expression of the Divine.…As humans…we are designed to be creative.” He wrote, “Several of my knives have made their operatic debut. I took a big Zebrawood piece on stage with me in the title role of [Verdi’s] ‘Simone Boccanegra.’ In the title role [in Verdi’s] ‘Nabucco’ which I performed a few years ago with Opera Carolina, I provide all the weaponry on the stage. I wore two of my pieces, the soprano wore one and the tenor wore the last one. That was kind of a blast.”
Part II of my feature about Mark Delavan will be published later this week. These photographs are used with Mark Delavan’s permission.
Mark Delavan’s two web sites are: Mark Delavan Baritone and The Delavan Edge. He appeared in the role of Wotan this summer in the San Francisco Opera's production of "Die Walkure." He'll reprise that role again next year when the San Francisco Opera presents the complete "Ring of the Nibelung," the four opera cycle by Richard Wagner.
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