Jonathan Tetelman, tenor; Prague Philharmonia; Carlo Rizzi, conductor – The Great Puccini (Deutsche Grammophon)
Tenor Jonathan Tetelman started his singing career at the American Boy Choir School. Later, at the Manhattan School of Music, he was a frustrated baritone. But once he discovered his authentic voice as a tenor, the floodgates of possibility opened up. He’s now been on the Metropolitan Opera stage twice this season, and he just released his second solo recording, The Great Puccini.
At what point did you decide to try and have a career in singing?
“I was thwarted by my inability to become a tenor at 21. I was a DJ in New York City and a club promoter for about four years. I had always identified as an opera singer, and I wasn't really doing opera, so I said, ‘I'm going to be an opera singer. I'm going to give it my all.’ I put together my voice with a different teacher. It took about a year and then I got my first Metropolitan Opera contract to cover a small role in Norma. So that was really a big turning point for me.”
Why do you think Giacomo Puccini is such a great operatic composer?
"Puccini is is not only great; he's also extremely challenging. You have to ride this fine line of delivering a lot of sound and being true to the music, all the while being this realistic or somewhat realistic character. So I think he’s is one of the ultimate challenges for any opera singer.”
In May, you're going to be on the Metropolitan Opera stage as Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly. This is a role that you have played a few times. What have you discovered about the character along the way?
“He's a bit of a rascal. He's going through a life crisis in some ways, and he doesn't think about the repercussions of any of his actions. And I think that makes for a very exciting character. I also think it makes room for some sympathy at the end when he realizes that he was wrong and he was horrible.”
Resources
Jonathan Tetelman, tenor; Prague Philharmonia; Carlo Rizzi, conductor – The Great Puccini (Deutsche Grammophon)
Jonathan Tetelman, tenor; Prague Philharmonia; Carlo Rizzi, conductor – The Great Puccini (Amazon)
Jonathan Tetelman (official site)
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