Patrick Carfizzi and Nathan Stark Discuss Sharing Roles and Supportive Environments in The Barber of Seville

In an ensemble cast of famous characters and fantastic performers, Nathan Stark and Patrick Carfizzi have made for a memorable duo as Dr. Bartolo and Don Basilio, respectively, in this Festival Season’s The Barber of Seville. As the pair of conniving and humorous foils to the opera’s main couple, the two men–who have each sung the other’s role in previous productions–create incredible scenes due to the chemistry they have on stage and the shared knowledge of each character. In an interview with Press and Communications Intern Sam Tarter, the two spoke on the creative process behind their performances, the creative environment of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), and how understanding your companion’s role can allow for the best forms of comedy.

Sam Tarter (ST): My supervisor mentioned how in previous productions of Barber, you each had played the opposite role that you are playing now. And in rehearsals you accidentally sang each other’s parts, which I thought was so interesting. So did you know each other before this production or was that how you two met and befriended one another?

Nathan Stark (NS): Well, I’ll start this one. So, I’ve known of him for a long time. He’s a celebrity up to the big house in New York. And as a cover, and as somebody who hides in the shadows, I’ve admired him for years. But I’ve never had a chance to work with him directly. So, when I saw the cast list, and I saw that Patrick Carfizzi was going to be Don Basilio, I thought, ‘oh my gosh, now the pressure’s on.’ I knew that Dr. Bartolo was a role that he had done that I’m now doing. But also, I was excited to work with him because I haven’t heard one bad thing from any colleagues. So, this is the first time I’ve actually got a chance to be on stage with him.

Patrick Carfizzi (PC): Yeah, exactly. I mean, I’ve known that name as well for quite a while. We have lots of friends in common and lots of colleagues in common. And there have been multiple times that we might have crossed paths professionally…

NS: Brushed shoulders.

PC: Exactly. You’re doing one thing, I’m doing another thing… so it’s awesome to finally get to play together. After hearing so much… there’s just this sense of plain enjoyment and freedom when you are sharing a role with a colleague who knows it so intimately. It kind of keeps one-upping it in the best way. We can go one step further again and again and again, and that is a great joy. And with Nate, it’s just easy.

NS: And that goes with almost anybody you work with who has done roles multiple times, or knows the other role really well; they come in with a brand-new idea or a brand new concept of this role.

ST: So what were rehearsals like? That moment that you started singing each other’s parts, it clearly led to this camaraderie.

NS: Well, I think it’s like a dance you know? Sometimes you find a dance partner who you just click with. You follow their lead a little bit, and then you might lead a little bit and see if they follow you. It seems like it was a well-oiled machine, and I had never worked with him on stage but because we have worked on this opera many times, it was just natural.

PC: Absolutely. That kind of comfort in a room where you just know that regardless of whether you’re going to turn left, right or upside down, you’re all going to go there together, it’s going to be just fine, and the result is going to usually be surprising in a great way. And if it runs a little bit afoul, that’s okay, because we all know how to get back together. Those moments on stage are not just fun for us as collaborators, but they’re also really cool evidence of when you’ve had a role and a process that has depth to it… that allows you that flexibility when those moments come, and they always do. Especially with comedy, comedy is hard… it’s hard because of the level of trust that must exist within the entire company.

ST: Was there anything from your experiences of previous productions that you carried into this role? Any knowledge of each other’s characters that you provided or worked with?

PC: Yeah, what we do is so cumulative to begin with, ya know? Everything, every role, every production of Barber feeds into and informs the next one… so that kind of natural evolution. But that kind of freedom that you find and that kind of depth that you keep finding, they are definitely specific to these roles and how they interact. And that’s just how they relate to each other, but also these roles kind of build each other up and tear each other down in the arc of the story. There are always the moments of polarity when you all of a sudden are like, ‘nope, not your line,’ but there’s also great benefit in the amount of dynamic range you can bring into the court, into either role. So, it’s just kind of being able to put the Bartolo hat on and think ‘Bartolo may do this, oh, Nate does this’… they keep teaching each other as you go.

NS: And on top of that, you know, every time you repeat a role, you learn something new in the colleagues around you and the environment that the director has you work with. So, I feel like when you come to the next show, you have like this toolbox of shtick you can use, and certainly that was the case with this show, and this cast that we were part of, and certainly that was the case with Patrick… getting new ideas to put into your toolbox constantly.

PC: Yeah, all the past, present, and future work is intertwined and is constantly informing the moment.

NS: It’s kind of funny… backstage we’ll almost be breathing with the music because we’ve done so many Barbers, so when he’s singing his famous aria, I hear myself singing it with him in a way. I’m sure when I’m pattering for my life, he’s probably doing it with me.

PC: I am. We’re always sending out the good vibes because it is such a team effort. And that’s another virtue of comedy, even more so, I daresay, then drama. I think comedy is even more of a team effort. And if you don’t have that collaboration in comedy, you can lose a lot of the essence of the story.

ST: Watching you both and learning about you, I see this camaraderie you have built with past experiences and rehearsals… it just feels like the knowledge of the role has allowed for such great chemistry. Anything that you want to say on that chemistry, the knowledge and experience kind of building together?

NS: I just think you learn so much from watching other people and colleagues, and everybody here is such a fantastic performer. You’re learning something that you can take and utilize for another performance of Barber. I would love to at some point, before I throw in the towel of my singing career, to do another show with Patrick but to do one in Italian or do the full length version. It shows the relationship I think a little bit better than what we were able to get here.

PC: I would build on that and say, I too, would love to do this with you again.

NS: Vice versa.

PC: I would actually have a blast because there’s a tradition with Don Basilio and Bartolo in some cases where the two performers have the role fully learned and you just show up and they’re like “which would you like to do tonight?,” and we would have so much fun with that.

NS: We could flip a coin.

PC: Literally. ‘What are you feeling like tonight? Do you feel like scandal? Or do you want to be puttering your lips all night?’

NS: ‘Has your coffee kicked in? No? Okay, I’ll do Bartolo then.’

PC: But I would love that kind of spontaneity because we do have such an ease and chemistry on stage… that would be a blast. And in Italian? Just divine. There are moments when you play both of these characters and inhabit both these complete lunatics, and they are both complete lunatics… each have their particular way. You kind of wish for those moments, and you wish for that depth to mine a little more.

NS: Before we leave, we’ll make a list…

PC: Exactly, all the roles I wish that we could just kind of tag-team off of depending on the night.

ST: For sure. Going off of that, you know, something that I noticed in your performances is that your characters have so much interaction and connective tissue, and you play so well off of each other. But from what I can tell, you have become friends and comrades, and you really enjoy and appreciate each other’s company. How has performing and rehearsing alongside each other led to that? Has working at OTSL together kind of fostered that collaboration and that friendship?

NS: It’s nothing but joy. I mean, I knew it was going to be that way from talking to colleagues and mutual friends of ours. I enjoy every second I get a chance to work with this guy. It’s kind of interesting because we play a lot of the same characters who can sing along the same road, so when you actually get to work with somebody who you admire, who has the same voice type, who understands the trials and tribulations of being a bass player… It’s like he understands and it’s been great. It’s been amazing.

PC: And likewise. I mean, having heard of Nate… having the joy and the fun, just being able to finally jump into the sandbox together. And OTSL makes an amazing environment for that. They really do. They provide a really wonderful creative atmosphere.

NS: Absolutely. They always have. They specialize in bringing good people together, and bringing the right balance of singing actors together.

PC: Well said.

NS: And that has been something consistent in past seasons, I’ve also seen them do… hopefully they’ll continue to in that same vein.

PC: I think so. When you have that creative atmosphere, then you have the perfect setting to really dig into the storytelling.

NS: It’s like making a pie or a cake. You got to have the right ingredients. They make good cakes here.

PC: They put together very, very good cakes.

ST: For people that haven’t seen the production yet, is there a scene or a moment, whether it’s just you two playing off one another or a scene throughout the entire piece, that people should be on the lookout for?

NS: Well, a lot of our scenes are fast, and we have to make the best of the time we both have together on stage… I would say for people coming in, watch the little moments between Bartolo and Basilio in this production even in some of the big crazy ensemble moments. You might catch something that might be humorous or funny.

PC: There is a specific moment, which I think really typifies that intimacy of the relationship, even in the large ensembles, that you can really see between us, and it is basically like a tennis match. A musical tennis match where we are literally alternating off, and it’s manifested musically, vocally, and physically. It is a key turning point in the ensemble, the first act finale. It’s just this great moment where you see the two of them starting to kind of mentally rip apart, not from each other but from themselves, and that’s one of the key conceits to this type of work. They are blinded by their own arrogance…

NS: It’s brilliant

PC: It really is, and so to get to play that together is just an absolute blast… and a lot of those moments just came organically in rehearsals.

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