John McVeigh used to think all opera singers were fat.
“It was the stereotype,” he said.
It wasn’t until his high school voice teacher took him to a live performance that McVeigh realized opera could be his musical outlet.
“I originally thought I wanted to be on Broadway,” he said. “But then I thought the likelihood of getting on Broadway was pretty small; if your hair isn’t in the right place or they don’t like what you look like, you’re not going to make it.”
A New York native, McVeigh decided to enroll in courses at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. In addition to taking voice and acting lessons, he was required to take numerous foreign language and music theory courses.
“It was like I was getting a musicologist and music theory degree at the same time,” he said. “It was pretty rigorous.”
After three years with his nose to the grindstone, McVeigh decided to explore the world outside the Eastman School of Music and traveled to Vienna, Austria.
“I had to learn something else other than opera,” he said.
McVeigh returned to New York a year later and finished his courses at the Eastman School of Music – earning an undergraduate degree in music and voice performance – before being accepted to a young artist program with the Houston Grand Opera. He said completing such a program is a common first step in beginning an opera career.
“There are other ways to do it, but the ideal is to get into a major young artist program,” he said. “You are the emerging young artists in the industry, and they know you’re going to make mistakes and learn from them.”
McVeigh said he was “thrust onto the stage” almost immediately when he arrived in Houston and landed the role of Tybalt in a production of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
“It’s not like an internship,” he said. “You’re not just helping out. Sure, you’re taking fencing, acting and voice lessons, but you’re also being involved in the performances.”
McVeigh spent two years with the Houston Grand Opera before moving back to New York in 1995 and performing with the Metropolitan Opera. It was the beginning of his career as an independent performer, but not his voice training and acting lessons, which he said he still devotes much of his time to.
“They say doctors have to go to school for eight years, but sorry they’ve got nothing on opera singers,” he said. “I’m not saying I’m a brain surgeon, but it takes a long time to know how to do this job.”
Now, McVeigh, age 38, is an “opera singer for hire.”
“When I get hired it’s for a specific role in a specific performance. I show up, they tell me what they want and when it’s done I say goodbye,” he said.
Being an independent contractor allows McVeigh to perform around the world. He said he has sung with every major opera company in the United States and some in Spain, France and Germany. It is common for American singers to travel to different companies, but overseas they will often work for a single opera house, “festing” as it’s called in the business, McVeigh said.
“I knew I did not want to fest,” he said. “I wanted to see different cities and work with different directors.”
McVeigh said the most difficult part of his career is not singing or acting, but getting used to constantly being on the road. He bought an apartment in Portland’s Old Port in 2001 “as an escape place.”
“I was traveling 11 months out of the year and basically running a hotel out of my apartment in New York,” he said. “I wanted to be part of a community where I could get away from everything.”
After nearly 15 years of performing full time, McVeigh said he is traveling less, and he decided to move permanently to South Portland in July to take an active role in supporting local performing arts.
“At first, I didn’t want anyone to know I was an opera singer. I wanted to stay anonymous,” he said. “Then I realized it was ridiculous to be here in the Portland area and not be involved in the community. I can do my part and say I will work here for less than what my normal fee is, and hopefully help raise education, outreach and awareness for the performing arts in Maine.”
Most recently, McVeigh agreed to perform as Tybalt once again in the PORTopera production of “Roméo et Juliette” at the Merrill Auditorium on July 24 and 26, a script he has become familiar with.
“It’s a relief when you can come back to a role you already know,” he said. “Most opera singers try to have 10 roles in their pockets, and maybe do two new roles a year. These days I try not to do too many new scripts.”
Even though McVeigh has performed in up to six productions in a single year, he said it’s important for aspiring opera singers to develop other skills for “dry spells” that inevitably come with the business.
“To only have one skill is limiting and foolish for anybody,” he said. “You need something to rely on to get you through the tough times.”
McVeigh said he has worked on Wall Street, been a contract administrator for a pharmaceutical company and has recently started his own jewelry design business and has shows across the state and the northeast.
“The more well rounded you are the better off you’ll be,” he said. “I’ve been very fortunate in my career to be a full time opera singer, but there are always going to be dry spells. When I’m not singing, I’m in my studio.”
Despite the uncertainty that can mark a professional career in the performing arts, McVeigh said it’s worth the risk.
“I wish I had a pop star salary and a pop star home, but I don’t,” he said. “Still, there are many amazing benefits to the lifestyle that outweigh everything else.”