Born in Castro, Chile, but adopted from a very early age, Jonathan Tetelman grew up in New Jersey. He studied at Manhattan School of Music and the New School of Music and has been described as the most “exciting tenor discovery since Jonas Kaufmann,” “a total star,” and “a lyrical revelation,” among many other plaudits.

Tetelman has established a very solid career throughout Europe and has signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon, where his recently released album, “Arias,” has received huge critical acclaim. 

His upcoming busy schedule will see him sing throughout the US and Europe, performing Messa da Requiem, “La Bohème,” “Tosca,” “La Traviata,” “La Grande Voix,” “Fedora,” “Francesca da Rimini,” and “Macbeth,” alongside scheduled concerts and other performances.

OperaWire caught up with Tetelman at Bucharest airport.

OperaWire: You started singing from a very young age, and with some success. Tell us about that.

Jonathan Tetelman: I was in a choir school—the American Boychoir School. I was there from the ages of nine until 14, which is when the voice typically breaks over. I sang there with all these wonderful orchestras; I sang with San Francisco, with Chicago, with New York Philharmonic, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and it was a taste of what it’s like to have a career as a singer. We would go to these places, we would stay with these host families, we would fly there all together, take a bus, it was pretty cool.

It was like a young rock star’s life. And all the while we’re singing, we’re in school at the same time, so it was an extremely demanding schedule. I learned a lot about getting myself extremely focused and making sure that I can get everything done because, at that school, you’re really on your own. Unfortunately, the school is no longer around, and that’s a shame. It was a really great education. I would send my son there if I could.

OW: You started as a baritone.

JT: Well, or just an ambiguous voice type! I didn’t really know how to become a tenor at a younger age. It’s very demanding and can be very fatal for a lot of tenors. They learn how to sing in this, I would say, this bizarre way. You’re singing above where you speak all the time. It’s dangerous unless you really have good training, and unfortunately, it wasn’t until after college that I found someone that could really train me to build this part of my voice.

OW: When you were in your twenties, on the cusp of developing into something, and you quit everything, you have this crisis of confidence or a “quarter life crisis.”

JT: That’s exactly right. I just didn’t have the right direction. I didn’t have the right excitement around me to develop this part of who I was. Your voice is who you are. You can’t just pick up an instrument and play. You really have to dig in. It’s hard work, and I wasn’t inspired enough in my school to really push through it. It took about three years of doing other stuff—clubbing, DJ-ing, and enjoying. And then I was like, you know what? I really miss opera. There’s something inside me that says this is my calling, and I have to return to it.

OperaWire: You are invariably described as an American tenor, a Chilean tenor, and sometimes as a Chilean-American tenor. How do you prefer to see yourself?

JT: I guess I see myself as Chilean-American, but it is a difficult thing to say because I’m adopted. I see the Chilean side of me as the passion and drive for music. The American part of me is like, if you knew me as a guy, that’s who I am. So, the Chilean is on the inside and the American is on the outside.

OW: Many reviews I read about you often compare you, physically as well as vocally, to Jonas Kaufmann. Do you see this as a compliment or something that irritates you?

JT: Well, I think yes and no. Of course, I only want to be compared to myself, but comparisons are generally the easiest way for someone to understand who somebody is. To be compared to someone like Jonas Kaufmann … he’s a modern-day Pavarotti, you know, he’s a rock star opera singer and for me, it’s a huge compliment, even though I don’t see a lot of similarities. Maybe other people do because he’s the guy in focus now.

OW: South America has produced many great tenors throughout history, but who were your influences? Who did you aspire to be?

JT: That’s a long list, but I can give you the shortlist. I’ll start with the newest, definitely Jonas. He’s definitely someone who is an inspiration to a lot of young tenors and certainly a big inspiration to me. You know, he sang all the repertoire. That’s one thing that’s very uncommon for top-tier tenors to sing all the repertoire. I would also say [Plácido] Domingo, he’s another one of those guys. He’s still singing. It’s just crazy. I just did five performances with him and he was walking, meandering around the stage, and he just crashes (acting) to the floor and you’re like, “This was his last show! It had to be his last show.” He gets so emotional and connected to the body when he sings, it’s unbelievable.

But earlier than that, I love Pavarotti. I’m singing a lot of his repertoire now and I’m listening to him more and more. Earlier tenors, I would say: Corelli, big time, Del Monaco, big time, Bergonzi, and for my really early tenors, I would say Gigli and Caruso. So mostly, Italian tenors, I would say, are my go-to. I just did Don José, and I listened to Ramon Vinay, who’s Chilean, but no one can compare because this man sang tenor, baritone, and bass in his career, and that’s unheard of now. He’s like his own monster.

OW: You’re due to sing “Macbeth” next year. A New York Times article says of the opera: “It’s got no famous arias, no big tenor role, and it’s a mish-mash of styles.”

JT: And it’s long! (laughing)

OW: What attracted you to this role, and what do you hope to bring to it?

JT: I’ve done a lot of these big roles. I’ve done a lot of the leading man with the big aria, the big duets. I want to try something that is the opposite of that. There is an important aria in the role, but it’s more about the show. It’s more about the story. More about Shakespeare than it is about opera. I think there’s something that I can deliver that’s not necessarily always about the voice, always about the opera part. It can be this acting part that I really enjoy doing. And I think it will inspire other things that I’m going to do in the future with this kind of beginning with Macbeth. It’s just something totally different and I want to have the experience.

OW: That important aria is “Ah, la paterno mano.” Speaking of paternity, you recently became a father. How has fatherhood impacted you and your career?

JT: My friends said to me, it was so natural for you to become a dad. It just fits. It’s so strange, I never saw myself being a father. It’s something I just couldn’t picture. Maybe when I’m fifty or forty-five—sometime later —but I’m really happy that we had our daughter so young because I have a lot of time for her. I have a lot of energy for her. She needs people with energy around her! She travels really well. My fiancé is great with her and she has wonderful grandparents, so I can’t imagine life without her now.

OW: Joseph Calleja said in a recent interview that he thought opera’s future was bleak. How do you feel about that statement? Is that a view that you share?

JT: Yes and no. I think in certain places, it’s bleak. I think there needs to be a type of reformation in the people who make decisions in opera. They’re trying to put a square piece in a circular hole. Opera needs to be beautiful. You can’t cut corners. You have to go all in every show. That’s how we sing. We should sing like this is almost our last performance. That’s how much soul you want to deliver in this music. If you have a production that doesn’t supply that, what are we doing this for?

OW: Is this problem something you’ve experienced?

JT: I’ve seen some productions that are absolutely ridiculous. They have nothing to do with the composer or the librettist, or the editor’s vision. Instead, it is somebody else’s vision who didn’t do their homework. They just want to create something and make a stir. And I think opera is enough of a stir.

You know, if you take the story of “Tosca,” if you really take the time to understand what is going on with these characters and what’s going on in the story, that’s enough. It’s enough that the music makes you feel that way. Once you tear that apart and try to throw some stuff that you have in your mind, it’s not going to work. It’s going to kill it.

OW: I know you’re about to perform Verdi’s Messa da Requiem. That’s a demanding role. How have you prepared?

JT: (Laughing) I’ll start my preparations very soon! I’ve done it a few times, and I sang through it a couple of times the other day, and everything feels pretty good. When I land, I have three days prior to rehearsal and I’m bringing in a coach to shake off the rust a little. But I’ll be working on it on the airplane, listening to it, getting everything in order for some coaching, and it should be good to go.

The biggest problem with this Messa da Requiem is that we have three in a row! Friday, Saturday, and a Sunday matinee.