After 10 years learning his craft on the international opera scene, Kiwi baritone Julien Van Mellaerts is home for the role of Guglielmo in New Zealand Opera's Cosi fan Tutte. He tells Cityscape he’s having a ball in rehearsals and also reacquainting himself with steak and cheese pies.

With your growing international success, how often do you get to perform at home these days? Sadly not as much as I would like. Luckily I was back last September and October for the At the World's Edge Festival in Central Otago, now for a couple of months with New Zealand Opera and again later this year for Wozzeck with Orchestra Wellington, but that is out of the ordinary, haha. I hadn’t been home for 3½ years before last September, and in 10 years abroad now I think I’ve only been back several times. But I am hoping to change that!

Take us through what has happened to you since you left our shores. It has been a whirlwind, that is for sure! I first left to audition and see if this operatic career was even a possibility. I was offered a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Music in London, and that was the best decision I made. I studied there for four years on the Masters of Performance programme and then the International Opera School, and it all kicked off from there. I’m now back teaching at the Royal College of Music actually, which is hugely rewarding. During and after my studies I won some international competitions, which really launched my career, and one thing led to another. Since 2017 I have been a full-time freelance opera singer travelling the world, working with some of the world’s best musicians and singers, and I couldn’t be luckier or happier with what I get to do for a living! This year so far I have sung in Salzburg at the Mozartwoche, recorded two CDs for release this year/next year, performed a new opera production in France, Spain, the UK and Israel, and I’m now here in New Zealand.

When did you start to see opera as a possible career? I’m not from a musical family at all. My first love was really the piano, and I had to nag my parents to let me learn. They eventually caved and my seventh birthday present was piano lessons. I always sang as a kid in choirs, school shows etc, and I didn’t even see an opera until I was 16 or 17 on a school trip. I loved it. I’m not sure exactly when I saw it as a real career for me to be honest. I loved singing and knew I wanted to sing for a living all my life, but I didn’t know how that worked or what it looked like. So becoming an opera singer was more by accident than good management. When I moved to London and saw how it might work as a career, I think that’s really when I thought this was a possibility. The first aria (song) I sang from an opera was when I was 16 or 17 from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, an opera I’ve now done in four different productions. That aria (Figaro’s Act 1 aria) is one I sang in Salzburg with Sir András Schiff conducting and Rolando Villazón directing just before the pandemic. A wonderful full-circle moment.

Anyone you credit with getting you started? My family, for sure. My parents and brothers have always been and continue to be super supportive. I also had a very informative piano and music teacher as a kid, who supported me the whole way through my studies and early stages of my career, Neville Nielsen. Sadly he passed away during the pandemic, but he was still around for some of my big milestones in Europe. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has been an enormous support since I moved to London as well. A wonderfully generous mentor, teacher and supporter of her artists around the world.

Now living between London and Spain and very much part of the international opera scene – do you still pinch yourself at times? 100%! I can hardly believe it most days. A healthy dose of imposter syndrome I think keeps a musician driven. Seriously though, I get to sing for a living. It is a dream come true.

How do you keep your voice healthy? New Zealand craft beers... nope, probably shouldn’t say that. Everyone has their own routine and it’s important to know what works for you. For me I try to exercise, eat well, drink loads of water, rest when I can etc. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes not. But the main thing is keeping the voice working well and using your technique and not pushing or shouting or taking on too much. I’m hyper aware of my voice I think, so I know when I need to stop or when I can keep going. There’s no shame in saying no either. We can’t do everything, and the voice does take priority. It pays my bills after all!

How do you prepare for a performance? Any rituals or superstitions? I was once told you should never have any rituals because what would happen when you can’t do them! The main thing is sleep and rest beforehand. Don’t over-exert yourself on the day of a show or concert. You want to be fresh, so it’s forced rest sometimes, or avoiding being too social/busy beforehand. I try to have a nap in the afternoon if I can – maybe that’s the Spanish living coming through – and then warm up physically and vocally and just stay hydrated and focused.

What have you been looking forward to about being back home? Steak and cheese pies, and my family. My Nana is 95 years young and going strong. It was a highlight of this trip to spend some time with her in Mount Maunganui. It’s been priceless to also spend time with my aunts, cousins and friends. There really is no place like home. Also, New Zealand native bush is just so stunning, there’s nothing else like it.

Tell us about Guglielmo, your role in Cosi fan tutte. Guglielmo is a role I have always wanted to sing so I’m stoked to be able to make my debut here at home. Musically and vocally it has been high on the list for a long time, and I love singing Mozart. His character is interesting: he is a lad, he is fun but he is flawed. I mean, he knowingly goes through with the bet and gets together with his best friend’s fiancée. Every character shows their flaws in this opera, and it is human nature, albeit at the extreme.

It’s a fraught opera for modern times – do you think it reclaims some relevancy? It can be a fraught opera for sure, but also I think it is a great opera for modern times. The focus of the opera isn’t so much on the antics but on human nature – humans are ultimately flawed. No one comes off well at the end of the opera and everyone has made their mistakes, but also hopefully learned from them. In today’s world of social media and reality TV, we see this all too regularly as a form of captivating entertainment. Mozart and Da Ponte were well ahead of their time! I’m sure we can all use it as a chance to reflect on how we do behave and how we can learn from our mistakes. The cast and creative teams are amazing. We have had a ball discovering this show together and exploring these characters.

Isaac Theatre Royal, with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Wed 28 June – Sun 2 July
nzopera.com