American tenor Brian Jagde was simply wrapping up Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino” in Barcelona final month when he bought a last-minute provide to sing the identical position in La Scala’s gala season premiere this Saturday, arguably the opera world’s most prestigious gig.

Jagde’s look as Don Alvaro reverse soprano Anna Netrebko will mark his third efficiency at Milan’s storied Teatro alla Scala. He appeared twice instead tenor reverse Netrebko, changing Roberto Alagna in “Turandot” this summer time, and now he’ll exchange Jonas Kaufmann within the coveted season opener.

“I’m blissful to be their man,’’ Jagde advised The Related Press in a telephone interview.

Whereas it’s not unprecedented for Individuals to sing on La Scala’s opening night time, a spotlight of the European cultural calendar, it stays a rarity in an opera home the place Europeans are likely to dominate.

Beside Maria Callas final century, American Brian Hymel opened the 2016 season in “Madame Butterfly” and Lisette Oropesa was solid in “Lucia di Lammermoor” however sang in a gala live performance to an empty theater when the 2020 season premiere was shuttered by the pandemic.

In 2008, American tenor Stuart Neill was promoted from understudy to the “Don Carlo” opening night time solid after the headlining tenor made too many gown rehearsal errors. Neill acquired beneficiant applause from the powerful La Scala crowd.

“It is undoubtedly one of many issues that each artist desires about,’’ Jagde stated. “I feel it’s in regards to the artist and assembly the second on the proper time. I feel that’s extra of what it is about than essentially the place they’re from.”

Jagde stated singers are drawn to La Scala’s “wealthy custom.”

“Each artist needs to not simply carry out there, however have nice success there,” Jagde stated. “The general public is understood to be a really devoted fanship — they usually can love you or they will hate you. You actually wish to be embraced by that viewers particularly.”

Thus far, the critiques from La Scala’s higher balconies of exacting opera followers have been optimistic on his earlier two outings, Jagde stated, including that artists ought to settle for all suggestions.

“It’s our job as artists to embrace the truth that we’re making folks really feel one thing. No matter they really feel is acceptable to them,” he stated.

Jagde, 45, grew up exterior of New York Metropolis, and began singing in musicals in excessive colleges and choirs in school, however by no means gave a thought to the opera. He began finding out pc science and enterprise upstate however then a classical music program at Buy School nearer to dwelling grabbed his consideration, considering it would lead him to Broadway.

“I didn’t know on the time that classical voice meant opera,” he stated laughing. He bought accepted off the ready checklist, and shortly fell in love with opera because the purest expression of the unadulterated voice.

“I bear in mind being on stage and experiencing one thing I had by no means skilled on stage earlier than, which was a totally acoustic, magical sound,” Jagde stated. “This was fully pure, listening to an orchestra beneath me, and my voice carrying over that. I bear in mind committing full-heartedly (to opera) on stage for the time being.”

His school academics pegged him as a baritone, and he spent eight years doing auditions and artists packages in that vary till he realized that “I used to be nonetheless warming as much as excessive Cs and nonetheless had no low notes.”

As soon as he began auditioning as a tenor, the provides began rolling in. He made his principal position debut on the Metropolitan opera in 2021 within the position of Cavaradossi in “Tosca,” and has sung on such famend levels because the Paris Opera, the Vienna Staatsoper and Naples’ Teatro di San Carlo.

In the course of the 2023/24 season, he warmed up his Don Alvaro on the Metropolitan Opera Home and London’s Royal Opera Home. His La Scala debut final spring was as Turiddu in “Cavalleria rusticana.”

La Scala common supervisor Dominique Meyer stated his solely consideration in casting an opera is whether or not a singer “is as much as the position.” Jagde, he stated, is amongst 5 – 6 tenors who may sing the Don Alvaro position, “and he was obtainable.”

Jagde completed his Barcelona performances on Nov. 18, and confirmed up for rehearsals at La Scala the following day. Don Alvaro, he stated, is a job, “that has form of grown with me, as I’ve grown as an artist.”

Jagde stated singing alongside a world opera star like Netrebko for the second time this 12 months will assist take a few of the jitters out of the gala premiere.

“She is an excellent colleague. She is an efficient particular person to work with, at all times obtainable to you. She is nothing however smiles and enjoyable,” he stated.