Hans Gregory Ashbaker's halo of curly blond hair frames an open, ingenuous face, and his red plaid shirt is unbuttoned halfway down to reveal the thick, short neck and the barrel chest of the born singer. Indeed, Ashbaker personifies the self-confident naivete of Wagner's Siegfried, who has never learned to fear.
But Ashbaker says that's certainly not the case. "I'm much less secure about myself than about the characters I play," he said, "and I still get butterflies in my stomach before every performance. As much as I sing, you'd think they would go away by now. But as soon as I go into the character, I forget the butterflies."Nor is this tenor the product of some remote, sophisticated kingdom. He hails from country just north of Utah - born and raised in Soda Springs, Idaho, a farming community of 3,200. There he had the most normal childhood, with no thought of singing at all, much less having an international career.
"My father ranched and worked for Monsanto," he said, "and I did everything - every sport, though I was never first best in anything; I thought everyone was better than me," he said with a laugh.
Hans played in the band and did odd jobs ranging from box boy at the grocery to radio disc jockey. He began a pre-med course at Idaho State in Pocatello, singing baritone in musicals as a hobby. "I loved the feeling of satisfaction every time I walked off the stage," he said.
"Then one of my professors took me aside and said, you really do have an instrument, you could go far with singing." This turned the tide for Ashbaker, who earned a B.A. in music, and an M.A. from Southern Illinois University.
"I went to Europe for three years to seek my fortune, but I didn't find it," he said. "There in 1982 I met the fine coach John Wustman, who encouraged me to come work with him at the U. of Illinois, Champaign/
Urbana.
"I was still under the protective baritone cover when in 1984 Wustman sent me to Chicago to sing for Pavarotti. He immediately told me I was no baritone, but must move up to tenor. During the three-hour drive back home I made my adjustment, and I've never regretted it."
At Philadelphia's Curtis Institute he bided his time, becoming acclimated to the new arias and range, though he was immediately more comfortable from not forcing his voice unnaturally low.
Ashbaker has had few teachers of technique, mainly coaches. "I learn a tremendous lot from my colleagues," he said. "And from my medical studies, I knew the physiology of voice before I ever came to sing. That was a big help." He has a simple guiding credo for tone production: If it feels wrong, it is wrong; if it feels right, don't mess with it. "If you feel a lot of sensation, what you are doing is wrong," he said.
He believes that breath control is the essence of singing; and he's surprised to be handling a career where breath is so important, because as a child he suffered from asthma. He works out every day to increase his breath power and capacity.
"And I believe in singing the old fashioned way - right from the heart, from the guts," he said. "In the U.S., technique is often God, and color, passion is not stressed. I can see on many singers' faces that they are preoccupied with their appearance and their technique. They must learn to leave the practice room behind and perform. Then they castigate themselves about their mistakes and shortcomings. Singers must accept that fact that once a performance is sung, it's over!"
Ashbaker loves what he does. "Where else but in opera can you get dressed up in all these great costumes and go out and perform? This is my second childhood, and I'm never going to leave it," he laughed. It's unlikely he'll have to in the immediate future. His career took off like a rocket during the 1984-85 season, and he's almost fully booked for the next three years. He has a nice home in Virginia Beach, where he'll be for only about 20 days this year.
His roles include Don Jose, Manrico, Tamino, Alfredo, Rodolfo, and of course the Duke, for the Operas of Houston, Kentucky, Miami, Seattle, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Louisville, Memphis, St. Louis and a dozen other regional houses. He's also a favorite in Australia.
Listeners by the busload from Soda Springs, Pocatello and other communities will be on hand for "Rigoletto," to cheer the hometown boy who made good. Ashbaker loves to visit his hundreds of friends in southern Idaho. "I've been back to do benefits in Soda Springs, and to see my two sisters and their children, who live there and in Pocatello. (My mother lives in Seattle.) Those kids are like my own," he said.
"I am proud to come from a small town that has high values, and I will be buried there, as my father is. Kids who live there realize the world is within their grasp."