Here’s the news: Luciano Pavarotti does not live in Kenilworth Subdivision, but Michael Hendrick does. And Michael Hendrick recently debuted at the Metropolitan Opera!

“It really was not like becoming the vice president of a bank or hitting the peak in your field, but it was certainly a great opportunity,” said Hendrick who sings for a living with some of the world’s most respected opera companies and orchestras. 

He has received much critical praise for his appearances as Don José in “Carmen;” with LIV Festival Ópera de A Coruña in Galicia, Spain; Palacio de Festivales in Santander in Cantabria, Spain; New York City Opera and Opera Pacific in Costa Mesa, Calif.; as Bacchus in “Ariadne auf Naxos” with Pittsburgh Opera, L’Opera de Montréal and Seattle Opera; as the title role in “Parsifal,” with Lyric Opera of Chicago; as Lennie Small in Carlisle Floyd’s “Of Mice and Men” with Washington National Opera; and in Male Chorus in “The Rape of Lucretia” with New York City Opera. 

A Really Big Deal

Hendrick, 39, wasn’t scheduled to make his debut on March 15, but when the opportunity presented itself, he made the most of it. Stepping in on opening night for the ailing lead tenor after the first act of Richard Strauss’ 1928 opera, Die Ägyptische Helena, he “saved the day,” in the role of Menelas, “singing with husky sound and energy,” according to the New York Times. 

He went on to sing the second performance as well, and soon after, he was the feature of a Live from the Met interview and profile on Metropolitan Opera Radio (Channel 85 on the Sirius Satellite Network). More about him and his accomplishments can be found at www.michaelhendrick.com.

First Cover or Understudy

After more than 20 years of studying, practicing, auditioning and performing opera roles around the world, Hendrick had 15 minutes’ notice that he would be making his Metropolitan Opera debut. He had been scheduled as the “firstcover,” or understudy, but the other tenor became ill, giving Hendrick a surprise chance. 

Earlier that week, he replaced the ailing Torsten Kerl for the final dress rehearsal, a gala 11 a.m. affair with a full house of invited guests and patrons. “That was my first time to sing onstage at the Met, other than my original audition back in November 2005,” he said. The unexpected opening night opportunity was almost as rare as the opera itself. “Egyptian Helen” is a seldom-performed work based on Helen of Troy, last sung at the Met in 1928. 

Hendrick described the scenario that unfolded when the Met’s artistic administrator and general director suddenly appeared at his dressing room, informing him that Kerl, who had sung the first act, was unable to continue. “I was already warmed up,” he said. “I had just enough time to slap on makeup and throw on my costume.” 

He did take time to fire off a text message to his wife, Nancy (who was raised in Magnolia Woods Subdivision): “Going on for (Act) two.” She messaged back, “Are you serious?” but he was already on stage.

A Huge Success

The performance was a huge success, he said. “Some people in the crowd actually yelled out bravos and others screamed when they announced at the top of Act Two that Michael Hendrick was replacing the other tenor,” he said. 

That surprised him, he said. Because he hadn’t expected to perform, he had no family or close friends in the audience. “For my bows after the performance, the place roared when I came forward both times. Standing ovations,” he recalled. 

Reviews of the performance were mixed – some less than kind, others quite favorable. 

A New York Times reviewer wrote: “Making your Met debut in such tense circumstances has to be intimidating. Still, Mr. Hendrick saved the day, singing with husky sound and energy.” 

Favorite Memory

One of Hendrick’s favorite memories came immediately after the performance as he worried out loud that he did not have a tie to wear to the after-concert party. “I wore a suit and a dark blue dress shirt to the opera, but not a tie. I did not think I would need it. Well, one of the patrons heard me talking about this outside my dressing room and offered his tie to me. It was a perfect color match.”

Hendrick, a native of LaGrange, GA and a 1989 graduate of Berry College in Mt. Berry, GA, earned a master’s degree at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1991, followed by an artist’s degree, also from Cincinnati, in 1993. He has appeared at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw as Midas in Strauss’ “Die Liebe der Danae” with Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland, and at Washington’s Kennedy Center as the title role in “La clemenza di Tito” with the National Symphony Orchestra. 

His Czech repertoire includes appearances as Laca in Janacek’s “Jenufa” with Asociacion Bilbaina de Amigos de la Opera in Bizkaia, Spain, and as Zivny in Janacek’s “Osud” with Bard Summerscape Festival in Annandaleon-Hudson, N.Y. In Russian opera, he has appeared as Count Vodémon in Tchaikovsky’s “Iolanta” in New York, as Levko in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “May Night” with Sarasota Opera and Shuisky in “Boris Godunov” with Milwaukee Symphony. His Hungarian repertoire includes Dvorak’s “Psalmus Hungaricus” with Detroit Symphony.

London Philharmonic

Upcoming are roles in Mahler’s “Das Klagende Lied” with Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest; Menelaus (first-cover) in Strauss’ “Die Aegyptische Helena” with the Metropolitan Opera; “Das Klagende Lied” and Kongold’s “Das Wunder der Heliane,” both with the London Philharmonic. 

This fall, he’ll be performing in London. But his international career and extensive performing credits made his Met debut even sweeter, Hendrick said. 

“It is a dream, the whole thing,” he said. “This was a wonderful, exciting opportunity.” 

Hendrick said he is little known among people in the music scene locally because he is so seldom in Baton Rouge. “I’m here for a couple of months hanging around in my pajamas and the neighbors are asking each other ‘When does this guy go to work?’ ” he said. “And then I’m gone for months and they say ‘I guess they’re getting a divorce’.”

He explained that in many ways opera is a business not totally unlike other businesses. “You go with a circle of influence after music school,” he said. “And you just keep on keeping on after 20 years if you can continue to sing, or you retire and teach.”

“Going to a good music school is very important,” said Hendrick. “LSU has an excellent music program that is getting better steadily.”

http://www.neighborsmag.com/South_Michael%20Hendrick