Jonathan Tetelman's change from a nightclub DJ to an international opera star was quite dramatic, like something from an opera.
In 2011, he stopped singing and started mixing music for clubs in New York like Webster Hall, Pacha, Greenhouse, and W.i.P. Now, the 35-year-old performs at more prestigious venues such as London’s Royal Opera House and the Salzburg Festival.
Tetelman's career was reignited when he switched from baritone to tenor. He will be playing Ruggero in a Metropolitan Opera performance of Puccini’s “La Rondine (The Swallow)” with soprano Angel Blue, to be broadcasted live to theaters worldwide on Saturday. Starting April 26, he will portray Pinkerton in “Madama Butterfly” alongside soprano Asmik Grigorian in her Met debut.
Tetelman recalled how he used to tell people, 'I'm a DJ, but I'm also an opera singer.' The more he said it, the more he questioned if he really was an opera singer.
He gave himself six months to make a change.
He sold all his music equipment and focused completely on his new endeavor.
Born in Chile, Tetelman was adopted at 7 months and grew up in Hopewell Township, New Jersey. He obtained a degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 2011 and initially identified himself as a baritone.
Tetelman pursued further education at the Mannes School of Music where he was advised that his upper register held potential, but he struggled with the standards for auditions. Frustrated, he turned to the downtown nightlife scene in 2013.
He felt that it wasn't working out and decided to abandon that path.
Realizing that the nightclub scene was not his future, Tetelman started studying the vocal techniques of Luciano Pavarotti, Enrico Caruso, Franco Corelli, and Jonas Kaufmann. With the help of vocal coaches Mark Schnaible and Patricia McCaffrey, he began developing his tenor skills in 2015.
Schnaible described Tetelman as extremely talented.
By his mid-20s, Tetelman believed he was too old for professional training programs, so he found an agent. He participated in the young artists program at the Martina Arroyo Foundation in 2016 where he played Eisenstein in Johann Strauss II’s “Die Fledermaus (The Bat).” After attending an open casting audition, he secured the role of Rodolfo in Puccini’s “La Bohème” at the Fujian Grand Theatre in China in 2017.
He was cast in “Bohème” in November 2018 at the English National Opera, where all performances are in English.
In preparation, Tetelman sang in “La Boheme Warhola” — an adaptation of the classic set in Andy Warhol’s The Factory studio — with Pittsburgh Festival Opera at the Falk Auditorium, a 360-seat school theater. Around the same time, agent Alan Green arranged for Tetelman to take over the role of Rodolfo in a concert performance at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Festival after Piotr Beczała withdrew to replace Roberto Alagna at the Bayreuth Festival’s “Lohengrin.”
This experience raised Tetelman’s profile before he performed at the London Coliseum for the revival of Jonathan Miller’s 2009 staging, which greatly advanced his career.
Tetelman remembered clearly that the production and the theater were great, but he found the English version of 'La Bohème' to be terrible.
At 6-foot-4 with dark hair and a big smile, he became a sought-after singer for Puccini.
Conductor Speranza Scappucci said, 'He has a strong voice at the top. When he sings softly, which I always encourage, especially in the very personal moments, there's a gentleness.'
On the night of Tetelman’s Met debut on March 26, someone in the audience threw a bouquet, which he caught.
Met general manager Peter Gelb said, 'He's definitely a very charismatic presence, and the audiences are responding.'
Tetelman made his Salzburg Festival debut last summer in Krzysztof Warlikowski’s “Macbeth.” The staging opened in an obstetrician’s office with children wearing black and yellow patches warning of radiation.
Tetelman said, 'You had to be on like mushrooms or something to really understand it,' quickly adding, 'It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had. … I think working with him was actually a really inspiring moment for me.'
He plans to take on future roles such as Turiddu in Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and a title role in Saint-Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila,” along with the heavier Puccini parts of Dick Johnson in “La Fanciulla del West (Girl of the Golden West)” and des Grieux in “Manon Lescaut.” He also aims to perform Strauss’ Apollo in “Daphne” and Bacchus in “Ariadne auf Naxos” at some point.
Tetelman mentioned, 'I’m trying to book actually less and less Puccini just because I’ve booked so much.'
