_{Artist of the Week} 19 Qs for Brett Polegato

When was your first singing lesson (and with whom)?
My first singing lesson was with Deborah Linton (nee Bateman). I was 13 years old and still a boy soprano. I sought her out after my school music teacher said, “You have a beautiful voice. You should take lessons.” Adult Me is really glad for this sage advice. But I must confess that 13-Year-Old Me thought, “If I have a good voice, what do I need lessons for?” Ah, the confidence of youth!

Drink of choice?
A (gin) martini (there is simply no other kind!). I like mine very dry with olives. I’ll occasionally change it up and order a Vesper, especially if I’m out for dinner.

If you weren’t a singer/instrumentalist/conductor, you’d be..?
An actuary (or some other such math geek). Most people don’t know this, but when I was in high school, I placed 12th in Canada for mathematics. I was offered a full scholarship to the University of Waterloo for computer science but turned them down to pursue a career in music, much to the dismay of my high school math and science teachers.

Top 3 favourite operas?
I have had the distinct honour of having sung all five of the “5 greatest operas”: L’Orfeo (Monteverdi), Don Giovanni (Mozart), Tristan und Isolde (Wagner), Don Carlo (Verdi) and Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy). I can see why, for the people who love them, each one is considered the greatest, and I’d hate to have to choose between them. I’m also a huge fan of Eugene Onegin.

Which opera role do you want to be singing right now?
Ugh, this is such a hard question. I am one of the lucky few who really has sung almost all of what I’ve ever dreamed of singing. I’d love another crack at Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande) and, having sung it in concert with Yannick, I would love to do a staged production of Parsifal so I can sing Amfortas again.

Which opera role do you want to be singing in 10 years?
Well, I’m looking forward to my first Hans Sachs (Die Meistersinger) and – spoiler alert – it’s going to be much sooner than 10 years from now!

What’s the strangest/funniest thing that has happened to you on stage?
I once kissed tenor Benjamin Butterfield, accidentally, onstage. We were doing a production of Die Zauberflöte for Opera Atelier. I was singing Papageno and, in one of the opening scenes, I was meant to turn quickly and say something petulant to Tamino. But I misjudged the distance and, being too close to him when I spun around, we locked lips. Poor Ben.

Which role do you wish you could sing, but is not in your voice type?
I would wear tighter trousers just to be able to sing “En fermant les yeux” (Des Grieux’s aria) from Manon.

What’s your ancestry?
On my mother’s side, the family is Scottish and English. But the roots go back far enough that I don’t really know much about them.

On my father’s side, however, my lineage is much clearer: both my grandfather and grandmother were born in Treviso, Italy. My grandfather came to Canada in 1921 to find work after the war, and both of my grandparents were still Italian when my father (and his siblings) were born, which is why I have Italian citizenship. In June of 2022, while visiting Venice, I took a train trip to Treviso to see the birthplace of my grandparents. It was an incredibly moving experience: I felt like an adoptee who was meeting his biological parents for the first time. I suddenly felt “complete.”

Are you a cat person or dog person?
Without a doubt, I am a cat person. My social media platforms bombard me daily with cat videos and I am totally okay with that. I had two cats – Linus and Jane (brother and sister) – whom I lost during COVID. But they were both almost 18 years old and had lived long – and spoiled – lives. But I still miss them.

What book are you reading at the moment?
I just finished reading a gem of a book, Seascraper by Benjamin Wood, which was shortlisted recently for the Booker Prize. I’m hoping to tackle Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski next. All 1,232 pages. Wish me luck!

Which TV show did you binge-watch last?
Heated Rivalry. Apparently the singers in my studio at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University thought my obsession with the show was “cute.”

Are you superstitious? If yes, can you share what it’s about?
I am not superstitious and I don’t have rituals except for this one thing: every night, when I arrive at the theatre/concert hall, I walk onstage and sing a scale or two (before EVERY performance) to remind myself of the acoustic.

What is something most people don’t know about you?
I am a strong advocate of new music and especially Canadian music, having given the Canadian and world premieres of many new works. Most recently, two song cycles by Canadian composers, were commissioned for me:

Songs for Judith by Matthew Ricketts had its world premiere in Calgary in October of 2024. It has since been performed by me in four other cities.
The Grief of Years by John Estacio will have its world premiere next month on March 4th at the Salle Bourgie in Montreal (along with the Montreal premiere of Matthew’s cycle).

 

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What is one thing that you cannot live without?
BOOKS. A well-written novel is a thing of joy (and often comfort) to me.

What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken for a production?
In April of last year, I completely tore the ACL in my left knee after Act One of the dress rehearsal of Madama Butterfly (I was singing Sharpless) at Vancouver Opera. I was immediately taken to Emergency and spent the night there. Luckily, one of the talented young baritones in the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program, Danlie Rae Acebuque, was able to sing the rest of the dress rehearsal from the side of the stage.

The next day, I saw a doctor and was fitted with a knee brace and, less than 24 hours later, I was onstage for opening night. I ended up doing all five performances (with a brace under my costume and a cane). The radiologist who did my MRI in Vancouver said, “I don’t know how you did five shows on that knee!”

I left the next week for the UK to rehearse and sing my first Golaud for Longborough Opera. Fortunately by that time, I no longer needed the cane!

The music industry is tough, and filled with rejection. How do you cope? Does it get easier?
There is no doubt that it is a tough business.

I am deeply grateful that, after 33 years, I am still singing and still being hired to sing. I think part of my success is that I never read reviews. Every time I step on stage to perform, I feel confident that I am prepared and I know I am offering the best I can on that particular day, so what good does a review do me? NOT reading reviews, on the other hand, has taken away their power over me. I find I am more likely to take risks during performances which allows me to be my most expressive self. And that’s a good thing. Besides, I am my own worse critic.

And no, it doesn’t get easier.

What is happiness for you?
Happiness is spending time with the people I love. While I get immense joy from singing and would never want to do anything else, this career is not my “life.” But it allows me to pursue a life full of happiness, surrounded by some of the best humans on this planet.

Are you a perfectionist?
Yes. Yes, I am. This fact will shock almost no one.