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On this #ThrowbackThursday, I’m reminiscing about my debut of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème at Madison Opera. For any tenor, this role is a rite of passage, but more than just a milestone for me, it was in many ways a fulfillment of why I started singing. I would jump at the chance to sing it again, but today I’m reflecting on the fact that an important piece of my journey has already been completed and how grateful I am for that. Here I am singing the iconic aria “Che gelida manina” at one of our dress rehearsals.
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#opera #puccini #laboheme #tenor operasingersofinstagram

I am beyond excited to sing two important role debuts for me this season: Rodolfo in La Bohème and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. As I prepare this music, I have moments during my study where I have to stop and reflect as to how lucky I am to have the opportunity to sing some of the best music ever written. It’s a true privilege and I hope both of these roles are the first of many encores ahead.

I’m also thrilled to make my professional debut as Edgardo. This role was so important to my development and is near and dear to my heart. Not only did I perform it at IU in what was a magical time for me, but it was the first opera CD I ever discovered as a kid - the beautiful recording of Pavarotti and Sutherland in the leading roles.

I look forward to making a house debut in Atlanta in a return to Turandot, this time as Pong, and to two concerts this season in Montana and Cincinnati, returning to the latter for the world premiere of Lalovavi, which I can already tell will be a special production.

None of this would be possible without @sammysnook, who has guided my career thus far to ever greater heights.

Andiamo!

I am beyond excited to sing two important role debuts for me this season: Rodolfo in La Bohème and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. As I prepare this music, I have moments during my study where I have to stop and reflect as to how lucky I am to have the opportunity to sing some of the best music ever written. It’s a true privilege and I hope both of these roles are the first of many encores ahead.

I’m also thrilled to make my professional debut as Edgardo. This role was so important to my development and is near and dear to my heart. Not only did I perform it at IU in what was a magical time for me, but it was the first opera CD I ever discovered as a kid - the beautiful recording of Pavarotti and Sutherland in the leading roles.

I look forward to making a house debut in Atlanta in a return to Turandot, this time as Pong, and to two concerts this season in Montana and Cincinnati, returning to the latter for the world premiere of Lalovavi, which I can already tell will be a special production.

None of this would be possible without @sammysnook, who has guided my career thus far to ever greater heights.

Andiamo!

What better entrance music is there than “Esultate” from Verdi’s Otello? Talk about coming in with a bang! This week on Between the Arias we’re looking at two legendary tenors singing this beast of a passage.
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#tenor #opera #mariodelmonaco #beniaminogigli #otello

This past weekend I had the honor and pleasure of singing Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses with the Oakland Symphony under the baton of dear friend Mo. Kedrick Armstrong.

It’s so interesting to me how you can never fully know how a piece will hit you once you get to the contract. You learn the notes, you develop ideas for the phrasing, you begin to think as the character. But then you get to the contract and feel your voice mold to the character and you feel him rising up through you. That’s a very special experience and one I felt singing this music.

This short clip is Moses’s opening lines in the piece.
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#tenor #opera #classical #bayarea #oakland

Turandot @theatlantaopera was a blast! It was incredible to be part of a production with all the frills, literally. I’m going to miss my epaulets!

Swipe to the end for a surprise dressed-down stage rehearsal sneak peek. 😉

📷: Raftermen for The Atlanta Opera
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#tenor #opera #turandot #puccini #atlanta

Turandot @theatlantaopera was a blast! It was incredible to be part of a production with all the frills, literally. I’m going to miss my epaulets!

Swipe to the end for a surprise dressed-down stage rehearsal sneak peek. 😉

📷: Raftermen for The Atlanta Opera
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#tenor #opera #turandot #puccini #atlanta

Turandot @theatlantaopera was a blast! It was incredible to be part of a production with all the frills, literally. I’m going to miss my epaulets!

Swipe to the end for a surprise dressed-down stage rehearsal sneak peek. 😉

📷: Raftermen for The Atlanta Opera
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#tenor #opera #turandot #puccini #atlanta

Turandot @theatlantaopera was a blast! It was incredible to be part of a production with all the frills, literally. I’m going to miss my epaulets!

Swipe to the end for a surprise dressed-down stage rehearsal sneak peek. 😉

📷: Raftermen for The Atlanta Opera
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#tenor #opera #turandot #puccini #atlanta

Werther is one the greatest operas ever written, and it’s been so awesome to see it programmed more in recent years. Massenet gives us so many hits in one score, but on today’s Between the Arias we’re looking at the end of the opera, where Charlotte and Werther share a dark (and still so beautiful!) farewell.

In this scene, Werther laments that because of the way he died, he will have an unmarked grave that not even a priest would pass and pity. He finds peace knowing that Charlotte will remember him and mourn his fate.
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#tenor #opera #massenet #werther #classicalmusic

A little meditation on gratitude, especially for artists, as we navigate a world (both in and out of the art world!) that is always shifting. Gratitude is a nice word and an admirable ideal to strive for, but if you’re like me it’s hard to simply feel something by telling yourself to. I hope this way of thinking of gratitude helps you find more of it in your life.
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#opera #philosophy #gratitude #tenor #journey

A year ago this month, I was stepping into Jitka for the very first time.

Dalibor doesn't come up often, it lives in a quieter corner of the repertoire, but this production was such a gift. An incredible cast, music that genuinely surprised me, and a role I'll carry with me for a long time.

"Slava vam" - Dalibor (Smetana)
Bard SummerScape @fishercenterbard with @tenorterrence

#opera #soprano #dalibor #smetana #operaperformance #classicalmusic

Così fan tutte is often dismissed as a farce dramatically, but I think it has some of the best ensemble writing in any Mozart opera. The part writing is so rich in its layers, and with that, of course there is a tenor moment that shines through.

This tenor arioso in the Act II duet Fra gli amplessi is something I look forward to any time I sing or see this opera.
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#tenor #opera #operasinger #cosifantutte #mozart

It’s opening night! Part of preparing for opening any show is of course weeks of rehearsal, poring over music and staging. On the day of the show though, one of the most important aspects of preparation is how we fuel our bodies.

Of course, if you have a pre-show food practice that works for you, that’s great! However, it’s always good to take stock and remember that if we consider that singing is part athletic, even if not in the same way as running a marathon, then we can maximize our comfort on stage by fueling our bodies in ways that support our performance.
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#tenor #opera #health #performance #wellness

The arias for tenor are some of the most beloved in the operatic repertoire for any voice type, but I myself often enjoy the music that I sing outside of arias the most. Of course every singer loves to show off their skills in a big solo piece, but for tenor music in particular, I find my most beautiful melodies are not in my arias.

To that end, I wanted to start a little series here that will highlight non-aria tenor moments in opera. I think these less well-known or talked about passages are the spice of operatic life. Hopefully you’ll either hear something you also love or learn about something you can lean into the next time you see one of these operas.

Introducing “Between the Arias”!
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#tenor #opera #operasinger #singing #aida

A violinist can see and hear their instrument. Singers have to feel theirs — from the inside. A performance beginning “inside” finds its way outward to an audience. Common wisdom around singing tells us that the best performances don’t feel controlled but inhabited.

How can we inhabit our bodies to thus inhabit the characters to whom we lend our voices? Today I wanted to share how physical and mindful practices enhance what’s called proprioception, the awareness of our body’s positioning and movement in space (especially for singers, our inner body!). Through increased proprioception, we can give our voices, via our bodies, the tools of creation and expression.

Music: Close in the Distance - Masayoshi Soken for FFXIV: Endwalker
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#tenor #opera #fitness #bodyawareness #intuition