American bass-baritone Alan Held spends his days singing big, beautiful roles, like Wagner’s Wotan, Puccini’s Scarpia, and Offenbach’s Four Villains. It seems as though he has sung in every major opera house in the world, from the Metropolitan Opera, to Teatro alla Scala, to Tokyo Opera Nomori.

Currently, he’s in Toronto, a common stop for Held in recent seasons, to sing the Wanderer in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Siegfried, opening January 23rd. He chats about being patient with big roles, building stamina, and Wagner as bel canto.