Opera fandom might be thought of as diva-dominated, but tenors often rouse the greatest passions. From Enrico Caruso to Luciano Pavarotti to Jonas Kaufmann, those heroes who thrill us with the high notes win the loudest bravos. These days, American tenors dominate the international opera scene as almost never before, and seven of the busiest—Ben Bliss, Michael Fabiano, Clay Hilley, Brian Jagde, Brandon Jovanovich, Jonathan Tetelman and Russell Thomas—recently took time to share some thoughts about their art and future plans with Observer.
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While acknowledging wonderful Canadian and Mexican tenors, here “American” refers to those born and/or raised in the United States. Our sopranos rose to opera’s highest ranks beginning in the late 19th Century. Record collectors treasure samples of early prima donnas Lillian Nordica, Olive Fremstad and Emma Eames; Massenet and Debussy wrote operas for Sibyl Sanderson and Mary Garden, while Geraldine Farrar and Rosa Ponselle attained fame that transcended the opera house. It took much longer for our tenors to achieve similar status.
The 1940s saw the rise of Jan Peerce and Richard Tucker, who incidentally were related by marriage, and American tenors began to attain the worldwide prominence that their soprano counterparts had long enjoyed. Although George Shirley and John Alexander performed primarily in the United States, others like James McCracken had to go to Europe to break through. Demanding Wagner and Strauss operas found assured proponents in Jess Thomas and James King, while the bel canto renaissance advanced by Maria Callas and Beverly Sills had to wait for years to hear equally stylish tenors like Rockwell Blake, Chris Merritt and Bruce Ford. Another of that era, Gregory Kunde, who made his professional debut in 1978, gradually transitioned from bel canto to the most dramatic French and Italian roles which he still performs—without resorting to transposed high notes!—at the major opera houses at seventy. Retired from leading roles, Neil Shicoff returns to the stage as the elderly Emperor Altoum in Washington National Opera’s Turandot this month.
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Of today’s pride of tenors, Jonathan Tetelman has recently been the subject of great media attention. Born in Chile, adopted by American parents and raised in New Jersey, he recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut in circumstances that recalled Roberto Alagna’s almost exactly twenty-eight years earlier. Like Alagna, Tetelman arrived armed with an exclusive recording contract with a major label—a very rare asset these days. His deluxe pair of solo CDs on Deutsche Grammophon have been greeted with enthusiasm, so anticipation surrounding his debut was high. But unlike Alagna who belied the advance hype and stumbled in his first Met appearance in La Bohème, at his debut Tetelman garnered an ardent ovation by partnering Angel Blue in Puccini’s lesser-known La Rondine.
With his second CD devoted exclusively to Puccini, Tetelman told Observer that he “is perhaps one of the most challenging composers because the operas reside in between late bel canto and verismo. I consider myself lucky to have a voice that works well in his repertoire. However, planting my flag as a Puccini tenor also has its disadvantages. Representing myself as a diverse tenor can be challenging because I am often only asked for Puccini.”
The Met has done precisely that as Tetelman’s second Met role this season is Pinkerton, the cad who marries, then abandons the naïve geisha in Madama Butterfly. While the tenor will be absent from New York next season, he’ll record a new Tosca but also stretch his repertoire with a new Verdi role. “My next big challenge is coming this season at the Deutsche Oper, Don Carlo. It will be the four-act Italian version. I also believe that Verdi roles need their time, if not more, to mature. I have plans for Un ballo in Maschera, Il Trovatore, Luisa Miller and Aïda down the line, four to five years away.”
Though he missed........