He himself claims to be the black sheep of his clan: Juan Carlos Falcón, born and raised in Palma de Mallorca, was the only family member who drifted off into artistic realms.
He has been with the ensemble at Gärtnerplatz since 2016: in Josef E. Köpplinger's production of Offenbach's "The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein", he embodies the title heroine.
How did you react to the offer from director Köpplinger?
At first I was quite amazed.
But then I thought: Josef has known me well for years, and if he, as an experienced director, believes me capable of it, then I trust his judgement.
Years ago I had seen a video recording of this operetta, with Anne Sofie von Otter in the title role - and I could vividly remember that she spoke very dirty and seemed very boyish in general.
That's why I had the feeling that this could also work with a male cast.
How should one imagine that with you? Like Hape Kerkeling in Queen Beatrix's garb?
It goes in a similar direction: I play a woman, but I speak and sing in my normal tenor voice.
Only sometimes do I use the falsetto, for example for a "yikes!" or a little drama queen outburst.
But I didn't want to overdo it.
I find the mixture of dark and light vocal coloring extremely appealing.
That might take some getting used to for some people in the audience - but at least it doesn't get boring because there's a special tension right from the start.
The predominantly dark tone of her voice also suits the Grand Duchess in that she is an extremely resolute person who mercilessly abuses her power - and, for example, recruits the host of her lovers from her army without further ado...
Yes, but I think deep down she is sad and lonely because she is actually looking for a partner for life.
I imagine that she was born in the body of a boy, but even as a child she preferred to play with dolls and wear women's clothing, which is why she faced massive rejection in her youth.
Since then she has been using her position of power to get at least halfway to the pot.
What was the biggest challenge for you in this project?
Having to walk in high heels.
However, I'll readily admit that these shoes have now given me a wonderfully feminine, aristocratic posture.
Luckily there are no steep inclines or similar tripping hazards in our stage design, just a few steps - and if I have to climb them, I can always hook my arm with our dancers.
Offenbach impressively shows how wrong it is to differentiate between serious and light music - and to take the light muse lightly.
It's correct.
Even during my first engagement in Coburg, where I sang around 130 performances in one season, I realized that operetta is actually the most difficult discipline because you have to master so many different things: singing, acting, the Movement on stage, the rapid change between music and spoken dialogue... In addition, unfortunately, you have to get along with many directors who have not understood the nature of the operetta at all - in contrast to Josef Köpplinger, who has an extremely fine feeling for this genre has developed.
Apparently you were so convincing as the witch in "Hansel and Gretel" that you were passionately booed by the children. What reactions are you hoping for from your Grand Duchess?
The most important thing for me would be that people have a great time and have a good time in our theater.
And I wish they would find it funny that a man was doing the title role.
What do you wish for your professional future? Are there any dream roles that you would still like to create?
no
I'm very careful about dreams.
Because if you set yourself too high goals, you will often be disappointed.
I never dreamed of singing at the Met in New York, only of just being able to keep working.
In fact, I always got the right roles at the right time - and I hope it stays that way for a while!
The interview was conducted by Marco Schmidt.
Premiering on January 26th.