On Music and Wine

In my second life, I am training as an operatic baritone. A few weeks back, I attended a masterclass led by Stephanie Blythe at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where I will graduate with a master’s degree this coming May. Stephanie Blythe is one of the most sought-after mezzo-sopranos singing today – a sensational interpreter of the works of Verdi and Wagner, as well as a champion of the American art song. I’d had the distinct pleasure of watching her perform the role of Mrs. Lovett in San Francisco Opera’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical Sweeney Todd the night prior.

Midway through the class, Ms. Blythe asked one of my colleagues to recite the words to her song aloud. She subsequently went on to compare singing to drinking wine. She explained that a singer, much like a wine drinker, must explore the way the text feels on the palate. Some pieces may be languorous and chewy, others rapid and tempestuous. Above all, a singer should harness this experience to better recognize the true nature of a work and to then convey it before an audience.

I was in awe. Until that moment, I would have bet good money that every conversation about mouthfeel in that concert hall must have been initiated by me. I’ve long felt indebted to music for helping me understand wine. But, I’d never considered the inverse —that wine could teach me about singing. As I traverse my two worlds, I’ve come to realize that the parallels between music and wine are both ample and of tremendous value.