BRJMarch23Flipbook - Flipbook - Page 15
Photo by Michael Willis
viding opportunities to emerging opera artists that they may not
have had before. The Opera Magnifico crew has a strong passion
for sharing opera that makes their work shine, and their mission
of making opera accessible above all else breathes fresh life into
the art form.
Starting his own opera company, let alone even pursuing music
professionally, was a journey younger Stephen almost didn’t embark on. While music was always a large part of his life – playing
piano since the age of three and placing first in All-State Choir in
high school – Stephen almost studied engineering in college. Split
between this more traditional route and his passion for opera, he
applied to both engineering and music colleges, and ended up attending Indiana University, one of the top music schools, because
of the affordability. “They gave me a really good scholarship, so
I ended up going there and learning a lot,” Stephen recalls. “It
just felt like the universe was pointing me towards opera and classical music.”
The world of opera, though, is typically harder to access outside of academia. To gain experience and build their resumes,
emerging opera singers often have to perform unpaid, and sometimes even pay opera companies themselves just to be cast in a
production. When keeping up with the cost of living alone can
be difficult, being asked to pay out of pocket to perform can force
many to abandon opera before they even get started. “Wealthier
people tend to be more successful in opera because they’re able
to take those opportunities, where you pay literally $8,000 to sing
for nine weeks,” explains Stephen. “It ends up making it so much
Jose Olivares as Dr. Dulcamara and
Michael Laporte as Nemorino
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BRJ 2023
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