Thomas Jamerson
What are some of your most memorable experiences as a performer, and who are some of the artists you’ve performed with?
When I was still attending graduate school at Louisiana State University, I was offered a contract with the Metropolitan Opera National Company, which eventually led to the exciting opportunity to sing the role of the Marquis in a recording of La Traviata with RCA Red Seal Records in Italy with Montserrat Caballé, Carlo Bergonzi, and Sherrill Milnes. Soon afterwards, in my debut season at New York City Opera, I sang Valentin in Gounod’s Faust at Lincoln Center with Beverly Sills, Norman Treigle, and Michele Molese. At first I felt quite intimidated by the thought of working with these fabulous artists, but they later became dear friends of mine.
The response of our audiences was deeply gratifying. One example that will always stand out in my mind is our reception singing La Bohème with the Israeli Philharmonic. After the final performances, fans mobbed the stage door, requiring security to place three cars surrounding the area just outside the stage door for our safety. Beyond that area there seemed to be over a thousand people trying to get to us for autographs and pictures.
Two special opportunities which I had as a performer were singing the Papageno – Papagena duet in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and singing the role of Pish Tush in excerpts from The Mikado, along with fellow singers from City Opera in the movie Foul Play. Dudley Moore played the role of the conductor, but his part was filmed in San Francisco, while we were filmed in Los Angeles. The proscenium of the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles was made to look like that of the San Francisco Opera House, and the videographers were able to blend together the shots of the stage and of the audience perfectly in the movie. I remember our eating lunch, which was brought to the shoot and served in the parking lot outside the Shrine Auditorium. Goldie Hawn questioned me as to how we had managed to arrange for the prime rib, as the actors had never been served such a good lunch previous to this!
A very important aspect of the profession is the special relationships you develop with your colleagues over the years. I still remember the production of Andrea Chénier with Plácido Domingo in the title role, in which I sang Roucher, Chénier’s best friend. Due to a scheduling delay of a recording being made of Mr. Domingo, he arrived only a few days prior to the first performance (quite an uncommon situation for Plácido). My entire role consisted of our scenes together. There was no time to actually stage the scenes with him, so he and I improvised the staging — quite well, I might add. It was different in each performance. Later, we realized that we had each previously done a different production of this particular opera which was directed by the same director (not the one credited for the production we were in), and we were able to use that character relationship to improvise on the spot. I still have an autographed photograph of the two of us in that production, and it is one of my most prized possessions.
What is the value of the MCW Vocal Academy experience for students, and what it contributes to the vocal program?
The Vocal Performance Academy is an intensive two-week summer program, which the Conservatory initiated to provide a more intensive study experience for young singers of age fourteen and above. Students are trained in vocal technique, stage movement, sight singing, diction, vocal anatomy, and musical styles and genres, including classical, musical theatre, jazz and gospel. Our teachers, who have extensive experience in the fields of opera, concert and musical theatre, pass this knowledge on to the students and give them a thorough understanding of what to expect in these fields. We assign students repertoire appropriate to their age and level of experience, to challenge them and help them grow alongside their colleagues in a supportive environment. Read more »
Tags: foul play, MCW, Music Conservatory, Thomas Jamerson, Westchester
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