From Dark Times to Opera’s Bright Lights
Thank you so much for coming to see Gaetano Donizetti’s 1832 comedic masterpiece L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love) here at Utah Opera. I’ll be singing the role of Nemorino—a role I sang many times in an abridged, English version of L’elisir performed for students all over the state of Utah as part of Utah Opera’s extensive education programs during my time as a Resident Artist from 2020 to 2022. Performing for local children was not only a great experience in spreading awareness about this artform, but was also an opportunity to hone my skills for the day that I’d eventually sing the full opera in Italian—something I am so excited to be doing for you this evening as I return to Utah Opera for the first time as a guest artist.
Utah Opera has a special place in my heart, because it was the first professional contract I ever had as an opera singer. It was also where I was introduced to my longtime voice teacher, Nova Thomas, who remains a driving force in my vocal development. At the time I auditioned for my Utah Opera residency, I was finishing my Master of Musician Vocal Performance at DePaul University’s School of Music in Chicago, Illinois. I accepted the job just before graduating as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking over the world. To my sheer luck, Utah Opera was somehow one of the only opera companies in the United States that found creative ways to resume performances in the fall of 2020. After testing twice per day on every day of production, my operatic debut was as Mr. Gray in Joseph Horovitz’s two-man operatic comedy Gentleman’s Island in October of 2020 at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre to a 15% capacity audience. While it was certainly not the glamorous debut to a packed house of thousands that most opera singers dream of, it was the start of a career that continues to grow far beyond what I had initially hoped for to this day.
Since my graduation from Utah Opera’s Resident Artist Program in 2022, I have sung all over the world at houses like The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Deutsche Oper Berlin. As I go from one performance to the next, I can’t help but think of how grateful I am to Utah Opera for taking a chance on a young singer like me at a time when the world seemed like it was at its darkest. Now, I suppose it’s time for me to step back into the light here at Utah Opera with the house at 100% capacity, as this cast of talented artists under the leadership of Maestro Steven White and Director Daniel Ellis performs L’elisir d’amore. Enjoy!
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