IAmA a tenor with the Metropolitan Opera and have been for 29 years. I also have a masters in counseling. AMA!

What couple in Opera history do you think needs the most counseling, and how would you counsel them?

Romeo and Juliet. I would have told them to wait a few years to see if their love remained as vibrant at 20 as it was when they first fell in love.

How much do the Met singers and orchestra interact off-stage? In university settings I've found that the singers usually talk to singers and the instrumentalists usually talk to instrumentalists; does that sort of passive indifference continue at professional levels, or does it become more of a unified community?

For the most part, that they don't interact very often. Occasionally, we interact backstage, but more often in the cafeteria.

Have you ever been distracted by the amazing singing of the principle singers during a performance?

Yes, Elina Garanca.

Including rehearsals, prep-time (make-up, costume fittings) and performances, how many hour per week do you typically work?

During the performing season, I work 8-11 hours a day.

What Is your favorite opera to just listen to and why?

La Bohème, because I'm a pure romantic at heart.

Thanks for doing this! As a Vocal performance major pursuing a career in opera, I've been seriously considering going the chorister route alternative to a solo career. Do you find your salary at The Met to be sustainable? Or are you working in counseling to cover what's left?

The Met Chorus job is one of the best paying chorus jobs in the world. Without getting into numbers I can say that I am not a rich man but I am very comfortable. After almost 30 years of singing I am moving toward wanting counseling to be how I spend my working hours.

What advice would you give to a young opera singer these days debating between a professional solo career and one as a professional chorister?

Talent, luck, and perseverance are in both equations. Challenge yourself, continue to strive for your highest goal. Either you or the passing of time will inform you as to whether to continue in your quest to be a soloist, or to settle for a more secure career as a chorister.

I love the Met Opera Chorus. I'm so looking forward to hearing you all sing Guillaume Tell this year. Which opera(s) are you most looking forward to this season?

The Flying Dutchman

What language do you enjoy singing in the most?

Italian because I was trained as a Bel Canto singer, and though I was born in this country, singing in Italian has always been most satisfying as an opera singer.

If you were given the opportunity to sing one song of your choosing from any opera, which would it be?

Ah! lève-toi, soleil! because it's the aria that got me my job at the Met, and I have always had a fondness for it.

As someone just being introduced to opera, what shows from this upcoming met season would you recommend?

The Magic Flute, and Romeo and Juliet.

Not sure if I arrived to late to ask a question.

I am considering a music performance major, but I'm not sure I could get a job afterwards. Do you recommend an education major or theory major instead?

Imagine yourself 20 years from now going to work. Where do you imagine yourself being, and what do you imagine yourself doing that would bring you the most satisfaction?

Do you ever attend opera performances when you're not singing? Or is that too much of a busman's holiday? :-) What's the last opera you attended as an audience member?

Very seldom, but recently, after singing the opening backstage chorus of La bohème I decided to look for a seat because I was in the mood for a good cry that night.

What's your favorite restaurant near the Met?

Le Pain Quotidien

Do chorus members have to re-audition? How often?

No, they don't.

No.

Hey, thanks for reminding me that they still do the "live in HD" simulcasts, I used to love going to those but stopped some years ago. Now that I've remembered, I'd really like to see a show or two this season with my boyfriend who has never seen an opera. So my question is - which shows this season are the most accessible to a non opera person like him?

The Magic Flute, and Romeo and Juliet.

What would you recommend for a non-music-major but competent choral singer who wants to continue his choir singing after graduation?

Join as many choral organizations that are in your area that meet your professional standards and which you have time to commit to.

What do you think of encores?

Its a great thing for the performer because it means the audience wants more of them.

Do you sing in every opera requiring male choristers? If not, who chooses who sings in which opera? How do they decide?

No, I don't. Donald Palumbo, the chorus master decides, based on his own set of criteria.

I have a few questions 1 (18 y/o) male how long should you wait attempt art songs
2 do you need a music degree or education to be in to chorus 3 do you still have a day job? what is a day in your life on or off season?

1) Art songs are a great way to begin singing Bel Canto.

2) You don't need a degree.

Is there a stage director that you particularly enjoy working with? Why?

I was particularly enamored with Lesley Koenig's style, knowledge, approach to the stage.

Over the past 29 years, do you have a favorite costume? If so which opera and whose production?

No, I don't have a favorite costume. What I love most about my job is the singing part of it. Costumes and make-up are things that are required of me, but singing is the part of my job that I enjoy most.

Also, what is your best and worst experience working at the Met these past three decades?

My best experience was singing as a soloist alongside Pavarotti in Luisa Miller. My worst experience was in a rehearsal of La fanciulla del West a gun was fired near my ear which caused some hearing loss.

Have you ever found yourself emotionally caught while you were performing?

In my first years on stage doing Pagliacci, there were a number of times were I overcome by emotion and I was not able to sing. Fortunately, in the last act of Boheme, when Mimi dies, the chorus is on their way home.

What is the toughest part in any opera you've had to sing thus far?

Singing in Czech is especially difficult because much of the language is foreign to my ear.