“I always want to do everything!”: Nikola Hillebrand in conversation

Whether on the opera stage, in the concert hall or at an intimate recital, Nikola Hillebrand savours every moment on stage – with a smile on her face. Shortly before her departure for the Bregenz Festival, where she sings the premiere of Der Freischütz, I (digitally) met the German soprano and spoke with her about her early love of the stage, her time as an ensemble singer before she goes freelance next season, hiking and – especially important for a Viennese – Kaiserschmarrn and Marillenknödel.

I have had the opportunity to see you on stage in Vienna three times this season, in very different ways. There was the Strauss concert with the Tonkünstler at the Musikverein, Candide at MusikTheater an der Wien and then the duo recital with Patricia Nolz at the Konzerthaus at the end of April. It's obvious that you love being on stage – always with a smile on your face. Has it always been like that?

Yes, it's always been like that, and that's exactly how I got into the profession. I love telling this anecdote, even though I can't remember it myself. But my mum told me about my first big ballet performance with lots of children – when I was five – and as soon as it was over, everyone wanted to get out quickly, change, play, do something. And apparently I said to my mum: “No, the stage is free right now, I have to dance alone for a moment!” That was, I think, a key moment where you could see that this child obviously had to be on stage, in whatever form.

How did you then move from ballet to singing?

Classical music was already there, of course; my parents listened to classical music and somehow I thought, wow, what is this? We sometimes danced to pieces from Carmen and Carmina Burana. And I always sang as a child anyway.

I ended up, actually quite unplanned, with a singing teacher who only taught classical singing. That's also something that runs through my career: things happen to me, I meet people who inspire me or give me a little push. There was always something, a meeting or a person who said, watch out, I've got an idea, why don't you go here, apply there, why don't you go to that teacher. It's almost a bit scary sometimes.

But I'm an optimistic person, so maybe I was simply born under a lucky star.

Although there is hard work behind the luck, of course. You’ve a reputation as a great jump-in. If you don't yet know the role or have done the preparation at some point, then it's not just about luck...

Yes, that's true. In this profession, it's this combination of discipline and work and passion, but then also luck. If you're not in the right place at the right time, it doesn’t matter how hard you work or how disciplined you are.

Jumping in is not everyone's cup of tea, of course, but I really enjoy going into an unknown production. It inspires me and then I'm not afraid. As a stand-in, you're the saviour, so to speak.

There's probably also just a little less pressure.

I don't feel any pressure at all! [laughs] Of course, it's different when it's a house debut, but if it's not meant to be, then it's not meant to be. I've had really great experiences so far as a jump-in with some great consequences that have then followed.

The best-known jump-in story for you was Die Fledermaus. As Adele with Jonas Kaufmann, on New Year's Eve, broadcast live on TV...

I was lucky! I watch the video from time to time or it pops up somewhere and I have to remind myself that it’s me! I can't remember it at all.

The luck at that moment was that it was such short notice that I simply didn't have a chance to think about it. How big it was, how many people were watching it on TV, Jonas Kaufmann singing Eisenstein... In the end, there were 2 million viewers on ZDF, so if I had thought about that before the performance, I think I would have wet myself! But it was cool as it was.

Can you remember your first opera?

The very first one was Die Zauberflöte, at the Theater für Kinder in Munich. Especially with the Queen of the Night, I thought, how can that be? How can anyone sing that? I could never have imagined that I would be singing the role myself a few years later. The first actual opera was Siegfried. 

So something nice and easy to start with...

Short and snappy!

What was the first opera you sang?

My first true professional role was at the Theater Bonn, singing Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, and shortly afterwards Papagena in Die Zauberflöte. That's where I took my first steps...

You then joined the ensemble in Mannheim and have spent the last few years at the Semperoper Dresden. What can one learn and take away from such a permanent contract?

Oh, so much. I don't regret a single day. I was in an ensemble for a total of eight years now – four years in Mannheim, four years in Dresden.

On the one hand, of course, I built up a pretty impressive repertoire. I was also lucky that I was always at theatres that played a wide repertoire and that had a lot of confidence in me, especially in Mannheim. I had already taken my first steps in Bonn, but suddenly you're in the ensemble full-time.

A permanent contract gives you the chance to really get to know yourself as a singer, and also your own limits. How much can I sing? How much can I do at the same time? Sometimes I was working on three or four pieces – two in rehearsal, two already on stage.

Sometimes you realise that you've reached your upper limit and you test it. When is the point where, if I'm ill or feeling under the weather, I have to cancel or when is it bad for me if I don't cancel?

Dealing with colleagues, conductors, directors, orchestras – there's no textbook for that, it just comes with practice.

You'll be on the road as a freelance singer from next season. Is the anticipation winning out at the moment or is there a bit of a queasy feeling that you're leaving the safety of your nest?

No, not queasy at all! I'm so completely looking forward to it that I get a tingling sensation.

I’ve already had a lot of freedom here in Dresden. My diary was also full of guest engagements, both opera and concerts and Lieder. That will actually continue in the same way, it will just be at other houses and in other countries. There won't be any less travelling either, so I don't feel that much will change, except that I'll probably enjoy the periods when I come home even more. It's always a huge luxury to be able to sleep in my own bed.

How do you start preparing for a new role?

I always start with background research first. With the composer, of course, when the piece was written, in which phase of their career.

I think it's incredibly important that you know these things, including the circumstances under which the piece was created, or that you have read the source material, such as Figaro or Bohème, which were based on plays. What is my role there? What might the composer or librettist have changed and why?

Then I go to the text. I read the entire libretto so that I know how the characters relate to each other. And – now this might sound a bit nerdy – I create a profile for the role. If there's not enough in the libretto and the character is not yet tangible, then I just make up a few things about them. For example, where would she like to go on holiday, what is her favourite food?

It may sound nonsense, but I love it when I'm free in rehearsals and performances. I don't want to have to think about it any more. I can get into the character, can react and interact as this character – that's my ideal state.

Of course, I don't go into rehearsals with a finished role portrait, that wouldn't help either. A lot comes from the director during the rehearsal process.

Then comes the music. I usually listen to several different recordings to get an idea of tempi and transitions, how different conductors interpret certain things, perhaps from different eras.

Is there sometimes a danger, when you slip into a role, that your emotions can get the better of you on stage or can you save yourself just in time?

You have to! Of course there are roles where the combination of music, libretto, text and acting mean I really have to pull myself together. That's the case with the trio at the end of Der Rosenkavalier, for example. If you go one step further, you would just cry and you can't do that... you still have to sing!

There is a very fine line that you have to tread in order to open yourself up emotionally. If you go too far, it's dangerous. You have to keep a bit of a cool head.

What is it like when you revisit a role? Do you sometimes have a completely different view a few years later?

Totally! I'm slowly starting to repeat roles. I love unpacking a role again after a few years and seeing what has changed; vocally, of course, but also in terms of content. Sometimes you sing other roles in between that contribute to that change.

What's great, of course, is when you've sung a role in different productions, it then becomes more rounded. You get input from the director, but also from your colleagues.

Debuting roles is also something both exciting and thrilling. But let me put it this way, when you sing a role for the first time, it's rarely the case that it's your best. The experience does something to you.

Sometimes you also have to rework the old technique. It's a bit like ironing; if you've ironed in a crease, it's even more difficult to iron the crease out than by simply starting afresh.

You are not only at home in opera, but also in concert and Lieder recitals. To what extent do the three genres complement each other? Or where do they differ?

They give each other so much. You need certain tools or skills for opera that are also good for Lieder and concerts. I also love the variety. I think it's good for the voice because stylistically you sometimes have to do different things. Especially in Lieder, it's extremely fine and you have to have a great piano… which you can then take back to the opera house.

On the other hand, you can't just croon the whole song recital, you take something from the opera back into it. I'm also someone who loves Lieder that are operatic, where I can slip into a role, such as Gretchen am Spinnrade.

In opera, you can stay in one role, but that's more intense in a Lieder recital. So everything has its challenges. In a concert, I love the fact that you have the peace and quiet to focus fully on the music without distractions. That's all that matters at that moment.

But I wouldn't just want to do concerts, I have to be on stage! I have to wear make-up, put on wigs and costumes. That's such an important part of me.

I always want to do everything!

Are there any singers who inspire you?

I like to look back a long way. I'm a big fan of Lucia Popp and also Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. They are two I always look to: how did she do that? Or why did she sing it at that age, at that time?

You still have to make your own way, but with Popp I look at the roles she sang. Her musicality was simply insane and incredibly moving. She always sang with such soul.

A purely hypothetical – wishful – question, but is there a role where you think, hopefully my voice will develop in that direction?

So many. Well, hypothetically... Arabella!

Zdenka is already one of my three favourite roles. And that music! You've already got my favourite composer, Richard Strauss – plus Mozart, of course. I couldn't do without him. Susanna is another favourite role because she's on stage the whole evening, scurrying from left to right, which brings us back to the fact that I'm simply a stage person!

I also think of Die Zauberflöte. How many times have I heard it, how many times have I sung it – in different roles – yet it never loses its magic. You always find something new in it. He was simply a genius, that man, wasn't he?

And outside the soprano repertoire?

I always think it would be cool to play a villain, which is very rare in the soprano repertoire. Off the top of my head, I'd actually really like to sing Scarpia. That Te Deum in the first act alone!

And “Orsù, Tosca, parlate” in the second...

I'm afraid it's going to be a bit difficult with my voice. I'm working on it ;)

How do you strike a balance outside music?

I'm a great walker and also a hiker. I always have to be out in nature.

I grew up in Bavaria and we used to go hiking all the time. That's why I'm really looking forward to my time in Bregenz. My hiking boots are already in the pile of things I'm taking with me. And I also love the water – not so much as a swimmer, but just being near rivers or lakes. I can recharge my batteries that way.

Will there be music on your hike or city tour?

I enjoy silence and rarely have music on at home. When I do listen to music, it's usually something completely different, like Cuban rhythms or jazz. But when I'm walking, I'm happy just to hear the birds and the trees rustling. That's music enough.

You mentioned before that you create profiles for your roles. So what would be on yours?

I don't really have a dream holiday destination. I'm always travelling anyway, so I'm happy when I'm at home.

My favourite food would be pizza, or a nice fish fillet or sushi. My favourite pastry is Kaiserschmarrn. It even beats Apfelstrudel. Or Marillenknödel! If they're good Marillenknödel, I could eat eight of them! 

English translation by Mark Pullinger