NEW YORK — In a bare rehearsal room three floors underground at the Metropolitan Opera, Michael Volle was learning how to move around on a set that wasn't there.
The German baritone had to be a quick study because just three days later he would be onstage as Hans Sachs, the poet-cobbler hero of Wagner's "Die Meistersinger," temporarily taking over the role from veteran James Morris.
"Over here there's a really nice shelf for your book, and over there's a pillar," instructed Paula Suozzi, who is directing the revival of Otto Schenk's two-decade-old production. "You'll see Jim comes there and leans. After that he rolls up his sleeves." With no shelf or pillar available in the rehearsal space, she guided Volle as if he were in Sachs' well-furnished workshop, while he sang his lines in full voice.
It's not unheard of for a singer to parachute into a Met production with little rehearsal, but these circumstances are extraordinary. "Meistersinger" is one of the longest operas in the repertory, a stream of glorious melody that clocks in at six hours including intermissions. Sachs is onstage and singing for much of that time.
What's more, Volle's visit is something of a whirlwind: He flew in from his home near Zurich, Switzerland, last Friday and heads back eight days later after just two performances, including a Saturday matinee that will be broadcast live in HD to movie theaters worldwide.
"Of course it's a little bit crazy to do this," Volle said with a hearty laugh during an interview after Saturday's rehearsal. "But there's also some suspense, in a good way, to be confronted with something new, and suddenly you have to sing and act."
From the airport, he had gone straight to a costume fitting. Saturday was a day of rehearsals capped by attending a performance that night so he could watch Morris in action. During intermissions he was invited up on the stage to stroll around the set. On Monday, more rehearsal, including a session with conductor James Levine "to talk about transitions and tempos." The first time he sang with the orchestra was Tuesday night.
It would have been hard to tell from that performance just how quickly it had all come together. Volle seemed at home in the set and interacted easily with his fellow performers, displaying delicious comic rapport with the town clerk Beckmesser, portrayed by baritone Johannes Martin Kraenzle. Volle's sturdy baritone glowed with warmth and filled the house during the climaxes.
