Granted, he`s not a household name, and he`s probably not going to put Luciano or Placido out of business.
But Siegmund Nimsgern has something that many more famous singers would relish-the passionate endorsement of some of the world`s most revered musicians.
”I suppose I owe a lot of my success to Zubin,” says Nimsgern, referring to New York Philharmonic music director Zubin Mehta, the man who helped turn a promising but unknown bass-baritone into a widely admired artist (Nimsgern is currently appearing as Amonasro in Lyric Opera`s ”Aida”).
”When I first got the call from Zubin (in 1971), it was two days before he wanted me to appear in a concert version of Strauss` opera `Salome`-and I had never seen the score in my life!
”Naturally, I didn`t tell Zubin that, or he probably would have said:
`Bye-bye Siegmund.` I just said that I knew the music well.
”You see, when Zubin calls, you jump,” laughs Nimsgern, who did just that, audaciously learning the demanding role of Jochanaan on the flight to Rome, where the concert was to take place.
”It`s true that I had butterflies in my stomach throughout the performance, which didn`t feel so well. But so what? The concert went great, and the gamble paid off.”
Indeed it did, as Mehta proceeded to book Nimsgern for concerts in Montreal, Jerusalem and throughout Europe. It didn`t take long before Pierre Boulez, the most powerful musician in France and one of Europe`s leading culture czars, jumped in to help the cause.
”I was never so nervous as when I first sang for Pierre,” recalls Nimsgern, referring to one of the last great composer-conductors and a certifiable musical genius. ”I mean, he has absolute pitch, he knows everything and everybody, and here I was singing atonal music by Schoenberg for him.
”I thought that after the first rehearsal that he might tear my performance to shreds. So you know what he did?
”He simply shut his score, walked over to me, shook my hand and said,
`Good.`
”Some people say Boulez is cold and aloof. But unlike most conductors in the world, he doesn`t tell you baloney. If he says he`ll do something for you, he will.”
And he did, further launching Nimsgern to the kind of singing career that only the best artists pursue: one comprised of consistently superior performances and a minimum of self-promotion.
Perhaps that`s why Nimsgern has been such a staple of Lyric Opera casts, with his appearance next fall in ”Tosca” (as Scarpia) marking his 10th consecutive season on the Civic Opera House stage. He is the kind of singer whom opera companies can`t seem to get enough of. Whether appearing in major or supporting roles, he has distinguished himself as a fiercely committed singer and compelling actor.
Witness his appearance last month in Lyric Opera`s production of Strauss` ”Salome,” in which Nimsgern appeared as Jochanaan, the beast-like man whose demise provides the opera`s gruesome climax. When Nimsgern`s Jochanaan slithered out of the cage in which he`s kept through much of the opera, one`s skin crawled.
”I`ve done this part 100 times by now,” Nimsgern says, ”but this production was the first that I was a bit apprehensive about. You see, I had run into Sir Peter Hall (who directed Lyric`s `Salome`) in London last year, and that`s when I realized he wanted me to be naked on the stage.
”So I said to him: `What`s this about being naked? What do you think I am?` ” recalls Nimsgern, whose outspokenness is one of his charms.
”So Peter-whom I call Sir Peter Warlock, which he doesn`t like at all-said, `Well, don`t worry, you won`t be completely naked; you`ll be wearing a wig.`
”And it wasn`t until I got to Chicago and saw that the wig was so long as to cover up my personal areas that I realized everything would be okay.”
It was more than okay, considering Nimsgern`s smashing performance.
”They tell me I always have been able to act,” Nimsgern says, ”but I cannot comment on this myself.
”I can only say that the first time I sang Orestes in Strauss`
`Elektra,` when it came to the scene where I move to kill my mother, people told me they were shocked. Although I had my back to the audience in this scene, people said they could feel the terror.
”I hope so.”
So Nimsgern, who still lives near the small West German town where he was born, about 180 kilometers from Frankfurt, continues to flourish in his art. If he has a single goal, it is a simple one: to perform at the opera houses that mean the most to him, such as Lyric Opera.
”For me, there is nothing quite like singing at the Lyric,” Nimsgern says.
