(Photo credit: Jiyang Chen)

Grammy and Emmy Award-winning baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. met with OperaWire to discuss his exciting 2025-26 season. Throughout the conversation, Smith details his dedication to reaching diverse audiences and explains how his background in music education enhances his performance career.

Later this month, Smith will make his long-awaited role debut as Porgy in Francesca Zambello’s production of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” Having performed several other roles in this opera, Smith is uniquely acquainted with the characters. In the interview, he shares how this experience helped prepare him for taking on the iconic title role.

OperaWire: Can you talk about your recent performance at Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera?

Reginald Smith Jr.: I started off the season at Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera in a production of “Cavalleria Rusticana,” that was semi-staged. They actually had the orchestra on the stage in the center and there was sort of a U-shape of platforms that went around and along the sides of the orchestra, and we also played downstage of the orchestra. So, it presented some fun challenges – when you’re sitting in front of the maestro at a table and you’re trying to act and lean back and look at the cue and sing out, but it worked very well because it was up close and personal with the audience and you still got the power and the magnitude of the symphony. It was great working with Ari Pelto, who’s a fantastic conductor, and the amazing cast with Catherine Martin and Roberto de Blasio, and Nikola Printz —we did “The Italian Girl in Algiers” together. Talk about a difference between repertoire! For this production (“Cavalleria Rusticana”) she (Printz) did Lola and I sang Alfio. I actually covered Alfio at San Francisco Opera a couple of seasons ago, pre-pandemic, but I actually never got to do it because of COVID. So, when this opportunity came around, I was really excited to actually do the role that I covered like six years ago.

OW: What else do you have this season?

RSJ: I have some return trips and then some vastly different repertoire, which I love. I love being able to sing a little bit of everything instead of sort of pigeonholing myself into one specific repertoire. I’m doing a concert recital where I’m singing African American art songs, with poetry by African Americans as well. And it’s “I Dream a World,” after the Langston Hughes poem. And so, you know, something different than “Cavalleria,” then I go and do “Beethoven 9” with the New Jersey Symphony. And then from “Beethoven 9” I go and do “Porgy.” And right after “Porgy,” I return to the Baltimore Symphony to do “Aïda” as Amonasro. If that’s not wild enough, in the fall I make my debut at Seattle Opera singing the Pirate King.

OW: Can you talk more about the diversity of your repertoire?

RSJ: When it comes to recitals and concerts I love mixing it up. I love bringing people in with things that might be familiar to them and introducing them to things that they probably would not have been exposed to. I also love throwing in things that make them go, ‘now, wait a minute.’ Last year I did a couple of recitals at Temple University and Texas State and I opened with Handel, then I did Poulenc, and so on but, I closed with a set of Disney songs. I told the kids, ‘no, this is really what you think it is. Please sing along.’ I did “Be Prepared,” from “The Lion King” and I closed with “Remember Me,” from “Coco.” And you know, that average university kid that came just getting recital credit might not remember the Handel but they probably will remember “Coco,” and you want to leave them with something. You want to be able to reach all people, and you might not reach them with everything but there should be at least one piece for every person.

OW: You also do a fair amount of masterclasses. How do you approach teaching a masterclass?

RSJ: My original goal was to be the best high school choir teacher, so I went to school for music education, K through 12 choral music as well as vocal performance. But, it’s funny because sometimes people think of education as a fall back, but I never do. I always wanted to teach and I love teaching, so I thought if singing doesn’t work out, then I can still be a teacher. Also, I thought if I were a better singer and I had more experiences it would make me a better teacher. I’ve always liked the building blocks of singing, the ‘aha’ moments, and the fundamentals. That’s why I love being involved with the Schmidt Foundation – the competitions are always so fun to see and hear the high school students. Working with them in a masterclass setting and helping them find their voices, I just love doing that. The music nerd in me comes out and then the overexcited teacher in me comes out.  But, really when I get to work with students I get to use a different part of my brain and my musicianship. I love giving back and I love seeing the development and helping people get to that next level. That’s a very special thing for me.

OW: You are about to make your role debut as Porgy in “Porgy and Bess” with Washington National Opera, I would love to know about your experience singing multiple roles in this production.

RSJ: Lawyer Frazier was my professional debut at Cincinnati Opera in 2012. Then I did Jake at the University of Kentucky, then again at Cincinnati Opera, and in New Orleans and Atlanta. And I did Jim at the Met. But this is my first time doing Porgy. It’s really exciting after being involved with the opera for so long to actually take on such a titan of a role.

OW: What goes into learning each of these roles? Do you approach each role the same way?

RSJ: I do a lot of score study right in edition, there’s a lot of color coding and highlighting of my score, it looks kind of silly but it helps me visually. Also, looking for what the composer and librettist originally intended and if it’s based on a true story or something else. So for “Porgy and Bess,” I have to go back to the book where it all started and see the development of the character, see their character traits, and things in there that lets me know how old is this person, what is their life condition and how did they get here, and how do they relate to the other characters.

For example, if you listen to “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin,” they say, ‘How he change! He ain’t cross with chillen no more, an’ ain’t you hear how he an’ Bess all de time singin’ in their room?’ which clearly means to me at the beginning of the opera he’s not as happy and friendly with children, he’s not one that’s just singing in his room, so there has to be a bit of presence that says hello to my neighbors, but also a bit of sadness or darkness that’s in the character from the very beginning, then when he’s with Bess we see the brighter light.

So, I do a lot of those types things, reading libretti, going through different texts or books about the stories just to give me insight. That really helps me be more secure in my interpretation of the character.

OW: What affect, if any, is there when you play multiple characters in the same opera?

RSJ: So, in addition to this particular opera, in “La bohème” I’ve sung Colline twice and I’ve sung Marcello twice. Knowing Colline’s lines helped me learn Marcello and it also helps me know more of the character relations between the two of them. Likewise, in “Le Nozze di Figaro” I’ve sung Antonio the gardener, I’ve sung Figaro, and I’ve sung Count Almaviva. So, the Act two finale is always fun, when they’re all talking to each other. But again, it really helps you know more about the character you’re speaking to.

Back to “Porgy,” in addition to learning Porgy, I’m also learning Bess. I’m also learning Serena and Clara. And I’m learning how these people relate to each other in this community and how Porgy relates to them and how they relate to Porgy, that makes a huge difference. It’s the same way with Conte, how Susanna relates to Conte differently than she relates to Figaro or Antonio, for that matter. So coming in with the knowledge of Jake, coming in with the knowledge of Jim, who speaks directly to Porgy. It’s actually the first time we hear him mention Bess is in that relationship with Jim. I think again it helps to know all of the characters and having that in-depth background knowledge helps you shape the relationship in a more meaningful way.

OW: Do you have a favorite role in “Porgy and Bess?”

RSJ: I’d love to do Sportin’ Life. He’s the snake in the grass, the one planting seeds of doubt, selling dope, slipping in and out of the community. He’s the villain, but people still like him. And he has great music.

But the thing about Porgy I look forward to discovering and experiencing is the humanity of the character. He’s someone with a disability, he’s disenfranchised, yet still has a positive outlook, he’s deeply loved by his community, he has this spiritual element about him, but at the same time when Crown tries to come and steal his woman, he kills a man, and he’s still charming, and he’s still beloved. You have to have that motivation in you the same way you have to have the religious fervor, and the passion of being in love, and that determination to want life to be better, and you’re going to will it no matter what. I think that’s a beautiful arc and depiction of a person. There’s a big journey to take from the beginning of the opera to the end, but I think it’s a worth while trip.

OW: Can you talk about working with Francesca Zambello in the upcoming production of “Porgy and Bess?”

RSJ: I’ve done Francesca’s production singing Jake a couple of times. I really like Francesca’s production, one, because it keeps everything sort of insular, as opposed to the big spread out set. The sort of warehouse worn down look brings you in to the community, and then you put all the people inside of that shape, so you really see that these people are close knit in proximity as well as in their relations to each other, and the sense of community. I love the different surprises the set has to offer especially in the hurricane scene. I think that it’s still grand in its visual presentation but it allows you to really see some of these characters in a more streamlined way. It’s easy to see that this is Maria’s shop right here on the corner, everyone knows you see Maria by her shop and you see people come to her throughout the scenes, and it works because even if the scenes have nothing to do with Maria, it’s just people living their normal lives. So it’s things like that I think it really helps to solidify that these folks love each other deeply and that they are close knit, and so when something happens to this community everyone is affected. I think is really powerful storytelling device.