Richard Paul Fink as god of Valhalla Wotan opens Berkeley Opera's anticipated condensed Ring

Berkeley Opera Ring Cycle/Richard Paul Fink/Wotan

Baritone Richard Paul Fink performs as Wotan in Berkeley Opera's condensed Ring

Richard Paul Fink just sang Wotan in Berkeley Opera’s opening night of it’s anticipated condensed version of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, the whole four part festival condensed into about four hours. He must sing really fast you say? He seemed relaxed and happy chatting with me over the phone Sunday afternoon, me in El Cerrito where the new state of the art theater is. He and his wife Sharon were standing in line at the 360 degree Peter Pan show in San Francisco, feeling lucky to have a little sun. Playing a little hooky.

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How did he feel about playing two roles in one evening, Wotan and Gunther? He said he thought Marie Plette deserves a lot of credit with all those roles. Marie emerged as Woglinde, a Rhine daughter; Freia, one of the gods and Wotan’s sister-in-law; the mortal and incestuous twin Sieglinde; A gossipy Forest Bird and finally Gutrune of the Gibichung Family. One cannot even begin to analyze the Freudian implications.

Seattle Ring/Rhinemaidens and Alberich/Richard Paul Fink/Photo: Rosarii Lynch

I first saw Richard Paul Fink in Seattle’s wonderful Ring Cycle last summer, pictured above, with it’s magnificent natural settings of forest and sea and a whimsical folktale quality with it’s traditional dragon Fafner and a real horse for Brunnhilde. Fink was a lot of fun to watch as Greer Grimsley’s Wotan and Loge tricked Fink’s Alberich into turning himself into a frog. They promptly started playing hot potatoe with it.

Richard did mention he wants to be seen as singing more lyrically but he’s been buttonholed or pigeonholed as Alberich – as a villain. So Richard jumps at the chance to sing Verdi and Puccini. He has been Rigoletto.

Mark Streshinsky and Jonathan Khuner brought Richard down to get his feet wet with Wotan at Berkeley Opera. Wagner’s been very very good to me he quips. Berkeley Opera lets him give a little back.

It's all in the family: Richard Fink and Greer Grimsley cover for each other

Meanwhile Richard and Greer have known each other a long time and go way back to the Houston studio and the start of their professional careers. Richard’s wife Sharon worked with Greer and Greer’s wife Luretta Bybee worked with Richard. Greer’s teenage daughter is six months older than Richard’s daughter Lexi. One summer in Seattle there were about eight kids within a year and a half of each other. It was like, whose house will we have the slumber party at tonight? It was mainly girls, the Fem Force Five.

Was Richard getting a ticket to Peter Pan in San Francisco for his daughter? No he laughed, a teenage girl at Peter Pan? His daughter is leaving for cheerleading camp near Houston tomorrow. That’s her dream, she made it, varsity cheerleader. She is also playing Gypsy, a stripper. He says her cheerleading uniform is probably the more revealing of the two costumes.

Richard and Greer have a similar Wagnerian repertoire but also including Oscar Wilde's Salome and cover for each other. The Ring lets them work together though. It’s rare to have two major baritone roles in one show. They did Lohengrin together at the Met. Richard just finished the Ring at Los Angeles Opera this June and he goes to the Met for it’s new Ring in September. The Met has been known for the Otto Schenk thing but now the Met wants an all new cast to go with the new production. They need to keep backup though. So Richard will cover Alberich, perform once in Rheingold in the spring and one full Ring.

State of the art technology

The stage machinery alone is daunting. He gets emails warning him of the physical demands. The video on line is impressive.

He hopes it’s not the star of the show. He hopes Wagner’s Ring Cycle is still the star.

What did his wife Sharon think of the video set of Berkeley Opera’s Ring last night? I mentioned the three floor to ceiling video screens and the performers acting in silhouette.
She’s a traditionalist but she’s over the moon with the Berkeley production.

Speaking of new technology and concepts, Richard was in a Merola test drive of a new concept of surtitles. Any chance you have of bringing opera more to the people is a good thing. It whets the appetite, entices and audience. The ancient Greek theater wore masks on a raked amphitheater stage. We’ve come so far. Stage machinery evolves. So does the art form. It transports people to new locations.

Portland has three projection units and when he was there Portland used two. It’s a major expense. Mark Streshinsky was at the Opera America conference. It’s not cheaper than building a set. Renting a massive screen, projectors, video production. So it’s as much as a standard production. I’m a fan of it. I started in community theater in almost a black box environment. Just a frame for a set with no walls. Ropes were walls. No color or texture except in your imagination, like a book. But we are such a visually gratified world now. To see a camera drop or focus or a gorgeous skyline . . . it sets so many moods in peoples’ imaginations.

Richard says he loves ballet, the symphony, all other performing art forms. I’ll steal an idea! His acting teacher told a student to look up dramatically to Heaven. Aren’t those just tricks? asked the student. The teacher said They’re only tricks if you get caught using them.

A good ole pie in the face still works. But if you can surprise an audience with it.

He remarks on Peter Pan while he is standing in line. People have been flying on wires for years—but this is adding to it.

He liked Berkeley’s naturalistic take on the Ring but everybody is trying new.

I asked him if he ever wants to direct or teach?

He directed Shenendoah in Phoenix. He teaches an occasional master class.

How did he like working with Francesca Zambello?

He has worked with her since his studio days and at Wolftrap. She’s very detail oriented with a great view of the picture. Francesca is also the reason Richard’s seventeen year old daughter made her debut at fifteen months in a walk on, no carry on, role with his wife Sharon.

Berkeley Opera offers three more performances.

Wednesday, August 4, 7:30 p.m. (note early start time)
Friday, August 6, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 8, 2:00 p.m.

Tickets cost $15.00 to $65.00

Review of the Legend of the Ring to come.

For more info: www.BerkeleyOpera.org or Brownpapertickets

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