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Unfortunately due to the pandemic many of his concerts were canceled but the talent and skills are there. I sponsored a concert for him in Berlin and Dresden. For example, this Italian pianist Sandro Russo is now one of Steinway and Sons Artists. And that has been extremely positive because the results were very good. I wanted to help them during a period that was not easy and sponsor concerts so they could bring their skills into the media and get them their recognition. That is the reason why I have been helping these artists because they have real talent and people that were recommended to me.

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My answer was, it should be fun and full of light because when we are performing we have to give the best of ourselves with top quality and technique. Tell me about that initiative? GR: Some time ago someone asked me what is the life of an artist.

OW: During this past year, you have also been sponsoring artists in concerts. In August I taught at the Lotte Lehmann Academy and I am doing whatever I can. I don't want to get false expectations and I prefer to go week by week, training, preparing operas, helping what I can. I have also worked in Prague and Budapest and in certain cities, they are doing rehearsals until the performance and in some cases, one performance out of 10 was done and they did a live stream. But I have a lot of colleagues who did not have the same fortune. In my case, I performed a lot in Germany and we were able to reach agreements with companies that were approved by the government. As guest artists, we are in a particular situation because we did not receive health from theaters. The losses have been huge and the backups are very minimum for the artistic world. This is my mentality at the moment and I am ready for any changes or circumstances that can happen. I have a number of productions and I am hoping for the best but waiting for the worst. What does it feel like to perform a full schedule? GR: I must tell you that I go week by week. OW: You are performing this at Leipzig, Savonlinna, and Essen. They are the ones that deeply appreciate classical music. They clapped and screamed after every aria, These people are the real audience. It was applause that I had not heard in Germany. Those 400 people were cheering and screaming as if it was a full theater. I sang 'Carmen' in Leipzig and the capacity was only 400. Personally, when we have a small capacity of people, those people in the theater are those that love opera and the arts. I am used to having at least 2,000 people in the audience and to have less than that is a little odd. It's a theater with only 400 or 500 people at most. But what feels weird is not my presence on stage or interaction with my colleagues.

I cannot complain because, during this period, I was able to sing every month. What did that feel like? GR: It was weird. OW: You were able to return to performances in the summer. I would read once a day and then not think of it. I also tried to read the least information connected to corona because it could depress me. I also tried to organize an exercise schedule and to run five or four times a week and reach 50 kilometers a week. I have also tried to run through a minimum of one opera a week. I was able to organize a schedule with coaches and pianists and sing as much as possible at home and in rehearsal rooms. The most sensitive part was to keep the voice moving and giving 50 performances a season and cutting that to 10 which I did this season was a huge difference. In the last year, I tried to take some time for myself and focus on the positive. I had been working and working for the last 10 years. We tried to take the best from this very chaotic and problematic situation. I needed to stop and slow down for a year. OperaWire: How have you been during this time of COVID-19? Gaston Rivero: It has not been an easy period but in a way, it is something that was very necessary for my life. He also continued his own performing career to live and virtual audiences As he gears up for the 2021-22 season, Rivero spoke with OperaWire about the work of his past year, his career development, and his relationship with Oper Leipzig. During this time, he became a member of the voice teachers team of the Lotte Lehmann's Akademie in Perleberg, Brandenburg, Germany and sponsored several artists in concert performances. It has made him think of the priorities in his life and what he wants to do with his career. September 4 2021, by: Francisco Salazar, 'Q & A: Gaston Rivero on Young Artists, Career Development, Mentors & Oper Leipzig During the past year, tenor Gaston Rivero has described the pandemic as a challenging period but a necessary break for him. Interviews (19) | Articles (298) | Magazine Covers (3) Interviews (19) (US)

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