10 Questions with Roberto de Candia

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Roberto di Candia's long awaited debut in San Diego can't come soon enough, so we reached out to him earlier this month for a casual interview and to cool our toes.


Can you tell us a little about your role in Falstaff?

Sir John Falstaff is an impoverished noble man that carries his life trying to survive with all the means he can and living with two thieves that ensure him a certain amount of money in order to get wine, mostly, and food. Without going too deeply into the plot, we see him trying to “seduce” two ladies, Alice and Meg, in order to get into their purses.Not only, according to me. He also feels like he could be sexy again and really he will feel desirable again. What he doesn’t know is that everybody is making plans against him but he is too smart and wit and in the end he will win over everybody else with his irony. "Tutto nel mondo è burla" 

How do you relate/feel about your character or their personality?

I just love this character. I feel like him in his ingenuity and pureness of heart. Elderly people are like kids. They trust.

Are there any dream roles that you would love to sing and why? And since we're dreaming it doesn't even need to be in your fach.

Falstaff is already a dream role by itself. I couldn’t dream of more, even if I have small dreams like some Mozart roles and a few others by Verdi and the french repertoire. Ah, I also dream about being a sound engineer :-)
What was your introduction to opera and how did you decide this was the path you wanted to pursue?
I didn’t really decide. I studied cello when I was young and was singing in a polyphonic chorus. Then, just by chance, I got into Rome’s Opera House Chorus and then one of my colleagues pushed me towards studying as a soloist…. the rest has come. But once I started singing solo roles, it has been hard work with my teacher: Sesto Bruscantini
Who is your favorite opera singer in the game right now?

It’s difficult to say but I think I will just stay around my chord: Michele Pertusi, Ludovic Tezier and Luca Salsi.
Fill in the blank: "If I was not an opera singer, I would be a ____________.”

I would be a sound engineer.

Do you have a book next to your bed? What is it? If you’re not a reader, how about a video game or NETFLIX series?

I am reading a thriller novel by an Italian writer: Il Maestro delle Ombre by Donato Carrisi and a couple of another famous (in Italy at least) writer Andrea Camilleri
Name three bands or artists on your iPod that aren't opera related.

Coldplay, Negramaro (italians), Sting
What are you most looking forward to doing in San Diego while you’re in town?

I’m very curious. I hope I can have long long walks, I love walking. And interesting museums, of course. And sitting in coffee places to relax, of course :-)

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