Matthew Murphy
Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek studied opera and jazz in college, but he first performed in a punk band in the Fox Valley.
Actor/singer Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek has made the journey from small-town Wisconsin to the big city, and from Eagle Scout to Disney villain. He’s toured Italy and sung for luminaries like Carol Burnett and appeared in operas from La Boheme to The Marriage of Figaro. He also performed locally in Four Seasons Theatre’s Assassins in 2014. The prodigal baritone returns Jan. 13-17 to star as Gaston, the handsome villain in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the Overture Center.
Smith-Kotlarek took time out of his tour, calling in from Tulsa, Okla., to speak with Isthmus about Wisconsin pride, his wide-ranging musical background and how singing opera is like yelling for a football team.
Tell us about your Wisconsin roots.
I was raised in the Fox Valley. I had a pretty typical suburban upbringing. Sports in middle school, drama in high school, voice lessons, choir. I was even a snowboarding instructor and Eagle Scout. My family owns a cabin in a national forest. We’d make maple syrup in the spring.
You sound like the Wisconsin poster boy.
I have a lot of Wisconsin pride. It feels like a hidden gem. I live now in New York City, and people who haven’t been to Wisconsin just don’t know how great it is.
Now you’re an opera singer, yet you played in a punk band while you were in middle school.
My friends and I were skaters and we listened to punk at the time. I played guitar, sang and wrote the songs. We called ourselves Geoy [sounds like “Joey”].
Why that name?
One of the band member’s uncles worked in a garage and his name was Geoy and he had a bunch of embroidered shirts with his name on them. We figured we could get a lot of free shirts. It was a very economical decision.
You have a B.A. from UW-Madison in vocal performance, and you also studied jazz with acclaimed jazz professor Richard Davis. What did you learn here?
I got a really varied palette to work with. [Vocal professor] Paul Rowe gave me a very healthy way of singing that has sustained me. I learned not to force or push or try to be overly operatic too soon.
You also had a jazz band that played for a certain presidential hopeful.
While I was studying with Richard Davis, I formed a quintet that got to open up for [Barack] Obama when he came to the Monona Terrace in 2007. It was pretty cool to play my original songs in front of 3,000 people.
But you did end up studying opera, getting your master’s in voice at Indiana and also training at the Boston University Opera Institute. Why opera?
Being from Wisconsin, I make the analogy that it’s like being at a football game and yelling at the top of your lungs when you’re so excited for your team — but in a controlled, safe, healthy way. There’s an adrenaline rush from using your whole body to express yourself.
Are you aware you’re on a website called “Barihunks: The Sexiest Baritones in Opera”?
[Laughs] Yes, I’m aware. They have quite a following, and they’ve been very kind to feature me in the past.
How do you relate to Gaston, the villain in Beauty and the Beast?
I remember seeing it as a kid and being confused about whether you are supposed to like him or not. He looks so good and has so much fun in the tavern, but then he’s so out of control at the end. But I had to find out what makes him human. It’s not his fault he’s the way he is. He’s a person who has grown up his whole life being told he’s the best in town and always getting what he’s wants. He’s not accustomed to being told no. I think he reacts to Belle’s [rejection] because he really just wants her to accept him for who he is.
You’ve said you love to come back to Madison every chance you get. Any must-do activities?
I’ll see friends and walk around the Capitol or State Street. I definitely have to get the chicken apricot pie at Mediterranean Café — it’s dessert for lunch but it’s not dessert. Sweet and savory, just heavenly. And I ate there so often in college they remember me.
