“No make-up!”… Max Emanuel Cencic

Which is the main feature of your personality?
I am very consequent in all things I do.
Your worst flaw?
Impatience. 
Which is your star sign?
Virgo.
Are you superstitious?
Sometimes. 
What did you dream to become as an adult when you were a child?
Fashion Designer. 
Which are your favorite readings?
History Books in general.
Which is the book you have loved the most so far?
The letters of Liselotte von der Pfalz. 
Did your family influence your choices?
Never. 
Was music a vocation?
Well, in a family with Mother and Aunt as Opera singer and father as orchestra conductor, music was part of the life.
What’s missing in your life today?
I am missing most my home, and my kitchen.
The greatest disappointment?
That’s a very difficult question.
Which is your most cherished memory?
My childhood which I spent almost in Opera, all the time.I refused to go to kindergarden, so my parents took me to Opera wher I watched all stage rehearsals in the morning and afternoon, and in the evening I watched the performances. Drama, Ballet and Opera.
How important is money to you?
Money makes the world go round.
Which is the item you like spending money on the most?
It’s a sickness. Clothes.
Do you collect anything?
I collect old master paintings, contemporary art and antique furniture.
Do you have a recurrent dream?
I do not remember my dreams.
What are you afraid of the most?
Illness.
Which is your most ambitious dream?
To become an Operadirector.
The moment you felt the proudest?
When I signed my first contract with Virgin Classics for my Rossini CD.
Your biggest challenge?
So far it was to record my Handel album which contains some of the most difficult arias Handel ever wrote for a singer.
What or who makes you feel embarrassed?
My mother, when she gets too excited.
Which is the situation you consider the most relaxing?
Going to a spa.
Your favorite subject at school?
Art History.
Favorite city?
Rome.
Favorite color?
Black.
Favorite flower?
Orchid.
The holiday or the trip you’d like to take?
Japan and Brazil.
Day or night?
Day.
Tell us your ideal day.
Sunny, hot, and having to take care of nothing.
Which is your hideaway?
My home in Baden.
The film you love the most?
There are many.
Your favorite season?
Summer.
Which is the place where cooking is the worst ever?
It would be too undiplomatic to say this.
How would you define your relation with food ?
As a singer, you rely on your health and healthy diet is one of the most important things.
Your favourite dish?
Sarma.
The dish you cook the best?
Roasted Duck with potatoes.
Red or white wine?
red.
What’s never missing in your refrigerator?
Milk.
What’s your weakness in kitchen?
White fish – I never get the form right.
What’s the soundtrack to your life?
“Rosenkavalier Suite”.
Your favourite singer?
Barbara Bonney.
What would you want someone who doesn’t know your voice to listen to?
“Salda quercia ” from my new Händel Album.
How did your voice change through the years and how do you take care of it, choosing the roles and the repertoire to perform?
My voice, as the voice of any other singer, is in a constant change of time. It is a challenge for the technique to adapt to it.So, the change is continuous and subtle.I only try to adapt to my needs and listen into myself. This is the only way how I choose what I sing.
If you were granted the chance to chose a role, which one would it be?
“Serse” from Händel.
Which is the first record you ever bought?
Brigitte Fassbänder and Aribert Reimann Schwanengesang by Schubert.
How’s your attitude towards TV ?
I watch it when I am bored.
What do you do an hour prior to go on stage?
Rest.
What’s never missing in your dressing room?
Water.
What do you think of when looking at yourself in the mirror?
That’s too complex.
How would you prefer to die ?
Fall asleep and never get up.
Your mood at the moment?
Quite good.
What’s your motto?
Never give up.