When you hear about a Metropolitan Opera star, that title evokes someone far away, snobby, and foreign. Such a singer must be European-born or at least from New York, right? Well, it turns out that opera singers can come from just as varied a background as anyone else. Although many of the biggest names in opera still come from historically musical locales like Vienna or Paris, just as many were born in average American towns.
Many American opera companies proudly feature these homegrown talents. Ironically, some of these stars are now too busy performing in London, Sweden, or Brazil to grace the stages of their home state’s companies.
