Swiss opera singer comes ‘back home’
FORMER Drakensberg Boys Choir and Hilton College choralist Nathan Julius will take centre stage on his return to Durban tomorrow as an established Switzerland-based counter-tenor delivering classical music in his typical falsetto register.
Julius, who revels in his role as a professional soloist, will perform at 3pm at the Howard College Theatre, backed by pianist Christopher Cockburn.
The Durban Chamber Choir, directed by Andrew-John Bethke, will also perform.
“I’m looking forward to the concert. I performed there many times with the Drakensberg Boys Choir, so it’s nice to be back as a soloist.”
He said the audience could look forward to his counter-tenor voice, which is akin to a man singing in a woman’s register, just as the BeeGees, Tevin Campbell and Earth, Wind and Fire have done in pop culture.
“My programme in classical music is special because I have incorporated not only the staple repertoire of the counter-tenors, which is usually baroque music, but I also sing romantic songs.
“From French melody, German art songs, French opera... the audience can look forward to a mixed bag of gems,” he said.
Whenever Julius sings, his delivery is from the bottom of his heart.
“Singing is about passion that comes from within. It cannot be done without everything invested.
“When we start studying singing, most teachers say you cannot fool an audience. People come to the opera because they expect a voice that sings expertly.”
Julius explained that opera and the music it was infused with was highly emotive poetry that drew people to it.
“It’s the artist's job to meditate on it and find a way to deliver with excellence,” he said.
Given Julius’ genre of choice, it’s to his benefit that he’s proficient in German and speaks Italian and French competently.
“As a classical singer it is good to have the basics of European languages.
“In the beginning it was difficult when you didn’t know these things and you had to learn the rules. The way I learnt music was to recite the text and the accent of the original language. The thing that disrupts music is when there is a jarring accent. It’s an artist’s job to work on such things behind closed doors.”
To make music that is “touching”, Julius believes a singer must be able to immerse themselves to evoke the audience’s feelings.
“It’s like an actor does in a movie. We are like singing actors. We are on stage as classical musicians who entertain.”
He ranks “staying healthy” as his number priority to be on song for performances and spending enough time rehearsing with the pianist.
“Rehearsing is not always about singing, but there is a wonderful meditative process we go through just from talking and reflect deeply on the music.
“I’m partnering with pianist Chris Cockburn. I worked with him before in 2019. It was a “wonderful experience” because he was sensitive to the nuances of singing.
Julius has been based in Zurich for seven years and has performed in all the major concert houses in Switzerland, as well as other parts of Europe.
His affinity for singing dates back to his boyhood.
While in Grade 4 at the Holy Cross Primary School in Bellville, Cape Town, a call was made for choir singers.
He told himself “this is my time”, and became the choir’s only boy.
“I always loved to sing and hear people sing.
“R&B was my music of choice. Beyonce was my biggest inspiration. Her voice was amazing, it intrigued me.”
His then choirmaster told him the Drakensberg Boys Choir was in town and suggested he audition.
Julius was successful, but when he and his granny, Marita Sanders, looked at the school fees, they knew they couldn’t afford it.
Sanders was his guiding hand because his mother had been incapacitated in a car accident and his father was absent.
“My gran supported me, she would drive me to all my concerts. She knew my ability and getting into the school was something I wanted.
“Luckily enough we were able to get a bursary and I joined in Grade 7.
“I realised I had to prove myself quickly. It helped that I was a fast learner and I got bigger bursaries along the way.”
A good Drakensberg memory was the school’s 3-week tour of the Netherlands.
“It was a special experience. Europeans who experience our traditions go crazy about what we do with music.”
Julius was also successful with his audition to join Hilton and earn a music bursary.
It was there that his “voice broke” and his road to counter-tenor opened.
He remembered telling his voice teacher (Jaco Dippenaar) that he couldn’t sing as a tenor or bass any longer and wanted to be a counter-tenor.
Dippenaar said he had never trained counter-tenors and, “once the teacher realised I made more progress as a counter-tenor he decided we should take it further and afforded me so many wonderful masterclasses with top singers.
“Hilton was the place where I found my independent music-making ability.”
Julius loves making music with others but said there was a limit to that.
“I love more autonomy when I’m singing.
“In opera, you have the orchestra and the conductor, but the vocal line is very important and is usually the one in charge.
“Opera is about the beauty of sound, which comes only when you have independence. That is what drew me to it.”
Julius’ European break came while he was a student at the University of Cape Town for a few months.
“Mr Dippenaar arranged for an audition at a school in Basel, Switzerland. He said they were excited to listen to me and I must go.”
Julius was accepted to the Schola Cantorum Basiliesis (School of Singing), which had a long history of developing excellent singers, in September 2017.
He has since completed his bachelors and masters degree in singing, specialising in baroque music, and is currently doing his second masters degree, which will be completed in January.
“Once I’m done, my aim is to get more involved in the operatic stream in Europe.
“I would also love to perform a few Mozart operas because he is one of my favourite composers and the most difficult composer to sing.”