The musical career of Leonardo Estevez I position him as one of the most outstanding Argentine baritones. Graduated from the Singing Course and the Master’s Degree Higher Institute of Art of the Teatro Colón, in which he had Marcela Esoin, Lucía Boero, Sergio Giai, Bruno D’Astoli and Reinaldo Censabella as teachers; He developed her career singing the main roles in important theaters such as the Teatro Colón, Teatro Avenida, Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Teatro Municipal de São Paulo and the Teatro Solís, among others.
In mid-November of last year, the baritone dazzled the audience by singing the Argentine national anthem at the Room of Lost Steps of the National Congress, in the Tribute to 40 years of Democracy, celebrated by NEWS. “It was one of the most honorable moments I have ever felt. The truth is that singing for all those people, with what it meant, with the 40 years of the return of democracy. Really, I felt in a very great place of honor. I did my best to make the anthem as Argentine as possible. I felt pleased and the word is honor. I treasure it as if it were a decoration,” described Estévez.
“At the age of twelve I started studying, I already had this voice that had developed early. At thirteen I entered Chamber Choir of the Municipality of Tres de Febrero, to which I am still linked 40 years later, emotionally and also professionally. My desire to do things for culture and generate change took me to various parts of the country and the world. “It was always in me to want a change, an evolution, and to exalt the human spirit,” the singer recalled.
News: Why did you gravitate towards classical music from an early age?
Leonardo Estevez: I felt that popular music could be done by anyone. On the other hand, academic music runs on much more limited tracks, with greater perfection and responsibility. You cannot do what you think, you must do, first, what is written and, second, the creator’s original idea. Imagine that you paint a painting and another one comes and changes all the colors. It is no longer your painting. Now there is an idea of resignifying all the works, I disbelieve a little of that.
News: How was your experience as a student at the Teatro Colón Higher Institute of Art?
Estevez: At the time of your training, imagine that you left your class, went up to the stage and were rehearsing Placido Domingo. Those types of meetings, talks and the possibility of seeing the best in the world in front of you; That generates unattainable growth. For a few years now, the institute left the building, and I hope it will return very soon. So, a little of that friction with the artist and the stage is lost if one is not in there. I have the best memories of the Teatro Colón, for me it was my home.
News: What was your pivotal moment?
Estevez: My debut with “The Barber of Seville” (1999) in Colón was the one that scored. When the buzzer sounded that the curtain opened and I appeared in that immensity of the theater, in that lion’s den, with the audience full of people and I felt alive. There was a switch that was off, which was turned on when I first stepped on stage. That moment marked me and I relive it every time I enter the stage. It is wonderful and of great importance, many times they ask “are you afraid” and the answer is no. It gives you a responsibility not to fail. Once you make a mistake there is no way to go back. It is being prepared with utmost responsibility.
News: The cultural panorama of that time was very different from now. What changes do you notice?
Estevez: I have experienced great things on a cultural level that now I don’t know if we continue to experience them. From watching the PISA tests to the economic indicators, everything has tangibly changed. Beyond the political ideas of each one, this is seen. We are in a very bad situation, and all of this is a cultural product. The problem is not economic, the problem is purely cultural. Our country, as long as it rains and the sun rises, we will have a quick way to generate foreign currency. The issue is that, culturally, either the will is not there or the expertise is not there. An educated person is more loyal, more honest, more professional and helpful. In culture there are three great pillars: truth, beauty and common good. And if something is missing or distorted, it is not culture or it is a bad culture, and that is paid for with a gray area. How is it reversed? With more education to have better politicians, economists and doctors.
News: Does this situation correspond to a local phenomenon or a much more global one?
Estevez: In other countries in the world there are things that are untouchable. Opera is opera and ballet is ballet. It doesn’t try to prioritize another show and take credit for one to prevail over the other. This is a bit of what the Frankfurt School: ‘be careful with popular culture because it is managed by governments’. The government favors what is best for it. This is tangible, they have used cultural platforms to spread propaganda. In our country there is a lot of ‘riverboquism’, perhaps everywhere, but it is hitting us very hard. I am very interested in this improving, but you have to roll up your sleeves and work hard. Let’s make an analogy, when we came out of the pandemic, first they opened the soccer fields, then we opened the other shows and we have relegated culture to last place. That happened with education, culture is the mother of education, in other times no one would have thought of not sending their children to study. In Slovenia, they study violin or piano from kindergarten. Since he was a child, knowledge has been put into his head.
News: Which character did you feel most connected to?
Estevez: I once asked that same question to Placido Domingo and he answered: ‘I fall in love with the character, whether he is good or bad.’ It’s a bit like that, you have to love the character. And at 50 years old, I feel very good. A baritone at that age is in the maturity of his career. Normally, you get roles as parents or villains or as a king or mature heartthrob. Characters that require an age and poise that begins to be noticeable at 45 and 50 years of age.
News: What perception do you have of the future of academic music in our country and with the advancement of technology?
Estevez: Argentina is a little different from the rest of the world. I heard that big cuts are coming to culture, just at the moment when it should not be done, it should be done. It is time that we should step on the accelerator and if funds are generated from elsewhere, try to put it there and do it conscientiously. Don’t give out money, do it right. Work for objectives, not do for the sake of doing. I am worried about what will happen, there are uncertain statements. In the world, artistic activity does not disappear, there are patronage laws, professionals want to practice, theaters continue to bet and things are much better.
Regarding the advancement of technology, if the technology goes against the original work, I don’t like it so much. If it is to support the work, I might like it. However, we have seen a lot of senseless nonsense in many places around the world. It was once seen at an opera in Paris, you could see a boheme on the moon and the characters in diving suits, it made no sense. I also saw a traviata in Milan with a betrayed lover character who kneaded pizza. There are things that I don’t think Verdi, nor his librettist, would have thought of. You have to be in service of the work, and if you want to do another work, you have to write another work and I agree. The work that has already been written must be given respect.
News Why is this happening?
Estevez: Now it has to have an effect very quickly or else people will leave. So one has to have a succession of different and innovative events all the time. What happened to music is going to happen to everyone. Before, any band had a certain number of musicians, today it is a person with a computer and a singer with a microphone, saying some moderately intoned words somewhere and a program called autotune that corrects it, cans it, goes on sale and has 50 million views. That has ruined millions of professions. He is now a music producer with headphones and a computer. We have already lost the musicians. We see the same thing in Argentina, why is a violinist going to burn his neck and fingers if we have less and less orchestra. I don’t know what the future will be like, everything is very uncertain. The pandemic also changed everything, the rehearsals were smaller. The way of working changed, for everyone. I see people giving tutorials on how to sing opera on YouTube. I do not think. The transfer of knowledge in art is not a teacher-student, it is a teacher and disciple. The disciple has to emulate the teacher.
News: Does this transformation go beyond an economic aspect?
Estevez: In the time of our grandparents, in every house there was a piano, or a guitar, or a bandoneon, and people played. Nowadays, all those activities have changed to playing online or being a community manager, all at a much faster speed. With immediacy, no one learns to play the piano or violin in two days. They sell courses on the internet with 4 videos. The demand is being lowered because everything happens very quickly and everything expires very quickly. Today the one with the most likes is more famous, not the best artist. The relationship between what is good and what is bad was lost, and the truth is only one. There are no great debatable truths.
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