Vocalist.org archive


From:  ccaleffie@i...
ccaleffie@i...
Date:  Tue Oct 10, 2000  3:26 pm
Subject:  A New Member


Dear List,

Hi! This is an introduction suggested by Isabelle. It is a bit long because I
have been at the business of opera for 25 years, and twelve of those years I
spent in Europe, trying to get into bigger and better opera houses.

I made my debut at age 20, 25 years ago with the Arizona Opera (then known as
Tucson Opera Company) in CARMEN as El Dancairo, a baritone. I told the
Maestro, however, that I was 25. I felt it would be cool to say I was older.
(Please - no ageism comments...)

I later restudied as a tenor and changed to spinto. I had the voice to become
a Dramatic/Heldentenor, but was told by everyone that I had to wait a few
years. I am now considered a dramatic tenor, at age 45. I now know why I was
told to wait.

In the summer of 1976, I traveled to Salzburg, Austria and studied at the
Mozarteum, then moved to Vienna, where I lived for 5.5 years. I studied at
the Hochschule fuer Musik, and privately with James King, who taught me
something very important - how to sing softly. The hardest part was learning to
speak German well enough to do roles with dialogue in the Viennese operettas of
J. Strauss, Kalman and Lehar. That was the biggest challenge, given that the
Viennese dialect is a mixture of words from the Czech, Hungarian and Polish
languages with a touch of German grammar. Vienna is the place to go if you're
looking for a touch of the past - the old Hapsburg Empire still lives, if only
as a ghost with a daub of Schlagobers (whipped cream) on its nose.

I sang professionally in Austria and Germany from 1978-89 --- at the
Landestheater Schleswig-Holstein, the Staatstheater Kassel, and the
Raimundtheater in Vienna. I came home on the eve of German reunification - a
tough time for American singers to get work permits for Germany. I had every
hope of going back to Europe, and then met my wife-to-be in 1992 in Denver, CO.

I completed university at USC - music and German, not graduating until Summer,
1985. I am still trying to work on a Masters in Music here in North Carolina.
My wife, Dr. Maria Boccia, is on the research faculty at University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill. We are here, basically for her position, as a Ph.D.
research psychologist. She works with children and monkeys in experimental
models of the Fragile X syndrome - to help find a cure. She is also working on
a second Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Counseling.

I teach and sing locally in productions, and try to do some singing outside the
area, too. I am from Los Angeles originally, and my wife is from New York (the
Bronx). We're up in the New York area quite often.

I started out singing in the chorus, since I wasn't fluent in German. Later, I
sang (was made to sing) everything but the kitchen sink, big roles, small roles
- Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Mussorgsky, R. Strauss, J. Strauss (operettas),
Kalman, Milloecker, Lehar, Lerner und Loewe (even MY FAIR LADY in German),
most in German, and some Italian, Russian and French, too. I am a specialist
in German diction, English, too. I just sang three performances of Carlisle
Floyd's SUSANNAH with the Long Leaf Opera Company last week here in Raleigh,
NC., in the role of Elder Gleaton. I enjoy American and British opera, too.

I have been involved with the travel industry, as European Travel Specialist
for a company in Raleigh. I help clients set up tours to visit opera and
concert venues in Europe, and consult with others on traveling in Europe. I
also give seminars on "Doing Europe on a Shoestring Budget". Being in the
travel industry helps me to be able to get back to Europe for almost nothing
or very little. I do try to keep in touch with the Zentralebuehnenvermittlung
from time to time.

That's a little about me. I enjoy talking with other singers, especially
tenors and male singers, and have met several singers from lists I am on
already, and also post privately to singers who have any kind of query. From
our opera discussion group, I have met Sarah Huff and Olive McKrell, both very
fine sopranos.

Incidentally, I won't argue online with fellow posters....I cannot get into
such matters, for it is just too emotional and time-investing. I bow out if
there are arguments. I give one opinion, for discussion, and leave it at that.
I signed off Opera-L simply because I was once criticized for my views on a
certain matter ---- BEFORE I ever had a chance to post my view! How can this
be???

Anyway, I consider myself a very tolerant and sensitive person with a great
love for singing and performing. I miss the repertory theater, the German and
Austrian houses where I used to sing. I also miss the European life style. I
still hope to return there someday to do some more singing.

I think often about having a "Melange" at an outdoor café in Vienna. If you
ever go to Vienna, sit out at an outdoor café and order a "Melange". You won't
be sorry, but make sure it's nice and hot when they bring it.

Chris

Christopher Caleffi
European Travel Specialist

emusic.com