Standing on the stages of the world, singing himself into the hearts of his audience, star tenor Lance Ryan is a devoted vegan. He talked with PETA Germany’s PETA50Plus, and we’re sharing the interview with PETA Prime readers.
Lance Ryan is one of the most sought-after tenor heroes in the world. Besides the tenor roles in Richard Strauss’ operas, the Canadian has had particularly great success with Wagner roles.
After his education with, among others, Gianni Raimondi and Carlo Bergonzi was finished and the first steps of his career in Italy were taken, Ryan relocated to Germany in 2005 in order to develop his career in German. As a member of the Baden State Theater Company, he had a lot of opportunity to debut important roles.
An array of guest performances soon led him to many of Europe’s opera houses: To mention just a few: He sang the role of Siegfried at the German Opera of Berlin under Donald Runnicles in 2014 as well as in Bayreuth at the Bavarian State Opera of Munich under Kent Nagano and in the Frankfurter Arena under Sebastian Weigle in 2013.
He’s at home around the globe, celebrated wherever he performs.
For some time, the tenor has been vegan. A decision that not only led to substantial weight loss but also conjured up a completely new attitude toward life.
You’ve been vegan for a while now. What led you to take this step?
My wife, Viviana, started to eat vegan a few months before my decision. Then I read The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. His arguments were so reasonable and simply laid out that I thought: “I would be really stupid not to take this advice!
How do you feel now compared to the years in which you weren’t eating purely plant-based?
Personally, I feel umpteen times better! I think that the difference could be different for everyone, but as far as my experience goes, the two diets are incomparable. In the last eight years, I have lost 25 kg little by little, and my health is excellent. The last time I saw my doctor, he said: “You’re a very boring patient.” And I think that’s what everyone would like to hear from their doctor.
You travel a lot because you sing on the great stages of the world. How are you able to remain vegan when you’re touring?
Well, at the beginning it wasn’t easy to stick to a diet while touring. But with time, I got to know which restaurants, snack bars or whole food shops to choose in each location. Some countries offer a wide range of vegan food, some don’t. In Germany, where awareness of veganism is greater, it’s relatively easy, but in France, it’s still difficult. The French don’t want to admit that their cuisine needs to evolve. But it’s clear to me that every year, it gets easier to eat vegan in restaurants. Nowadays it’s nearly impossible to find a server who doesn’t know what the word “vegan” means. The offerings and selections for vegans are gradually becoming more varied, and restaurants are increasingly accommodating vegan requests.
Has the change in your diet changed your perception of the world? For example, of nature, animals, and the environment?
Absolutely! My switch to vegan food was actually a personal and selfish decision. But the consequences of my decision have shown me little by little how serious the attitude of a vegan really is. The range of consequences of this diet on the environment is well documented, because sustainability is a big topic nowadays. Vegans are green, and that should not be underestimated. Furthermore, I find this argument of self-awareness very interesting. Humans are animals, too, and the simple fact that we know how to think doesn’t mean that we’re the only self-aware beings on Earth. Emotions have attracted a lot of attention (gained importance) in the last few years, because we now understand from a psychological viewpoint how strongly emotions steer our logical thought. That means that emotions are playing a very important role in our subconscious mind. By the way, Dr. Sigmund Freud already explained long ago how powerful the unconscious is. So we all can admit now that animals have feelings—the Cartesian view of animals is no longer valid. Logic leads us all to agree that animals are self-aware beings. And so the question remains: Can we, with a clear conscience, exploit these self-aware beings for our human desires? I think not.
Do you like cooking? If so, would you tell us your favourite dish?
Actually, I don’t like to cook, but since I spend a lot of time by myself in different apartments, I’m forced to cook. For that reason, all my favourite dishes are very easy and practical. One of them is pasta with broccoli. That’s whole-grain pasta with broccoli, garlic, and chili peppers, all fried in a pan. It’s easy, spicy, and delicious!
Photo credit: © Jochen Klink
