Interview with
Pasquale Esposito by John Rizzo
When you think about it, a 2% chance to win a lottery is a pretty good deal. Yet one would still have to be quite lucky to walk off with the first prize, especially if that prize was no less than a Green Card leading to becoming a citizen of the United States! But that’s exactly what happened to Pasquale Esposito, an immigrant from Naples who won the “Diversity Immigrant Visa” lottery. Like any truly successful individual Pasquale is a risk taker, not only gambling on the prize of U.S. citizenship, but on his choice of careers--professional singing! Yet today he finds himself a prominent singer on the threshold of stardom, Esposito proudly claims, “Now I’m an American citizen.” He may be an American, but he is pioneering a new kind of vocal art that is uniquely Italian. He calls it “pop-opera.” Although any kind of a singing career is a daring crapshoot, the pop-opera genre makes more sense for the trained vocalist than straight opera in today’s entertainment scene. Going all the way back to the beginning of the recorded music industry, which was jump-started by the great Enrico Caruso, most of the first rank opera singers, especially Italian tenors, did not neglect the current pop favorites in their choice of repertoire. Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Giovanni di Stefano, Mario del Monaco
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and Luciano Pavarotti all recorded popular hits like George M. Cohan’s “Over There,” or Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Some Enchanted Evening.” But these efforts could be very successful in an artistic climate where traditional opera was still a very potent force. In the nineteenth century, the most famous and best paid singers were opera stars. Even for a significant part of the twentieth century, opera singing could be a very lucrative endeavor, even with the breathtaking explosion in popularity of American music and the legendary crooners like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. But with the wild surge in technology and the appeal of related musical forms that have resulted in things like Ipods, MP3s, MTV and The American Idol, opera’s niche seems to have shrunk to a small but well-heeled clique of snobs and die-hards. Thus, for someone like Pasquale Esposito, who admits, “I am trained in opera,” professional singing may indeed appear to be a tough road to hoe. Actually, even with the weak economy, opera is in fairly solid financial shape, thanks to the plethora of new professional American opera companies that have sprouted up in the last twenty years or so. Even so, for one with a strong desire to make his or her mark on the contemporary culture scene, vocal versatility, or the ability to apply singing talent to more than just the opera genre, is clearly indicated. Fortunately for Pasquale, he is a master of both the opera and the pop genres. On the one hand, “I am a lyric tenor, and I have a high ‘C,’” This would make him eminently suitable for performing the most exquisite Verdi and Puccini arias, and a compelling draw for opera lovers. He also takes his pop music seriously, and actually composes some of his most significant music in this vein, including the title number from his most recent CD, A Brand New Me. In this multifaceted style, he recognizes that “Andrea Bocelli has the greatest influence.” We can all remember the stunning impact that Bocelli had when he first appeared on the musical scene, flashing like a comet into our consciousness. And certainly a great part of the perceived freshness of the Three Tenors was their collective ability to sing opera favorites directly followed by pop standards. There is simply no question anymore that a singer who can come across effectively in both opera and pop music has an enhanced shot at celebrity.
Patrizio Buanne & Pasquale Esposito Those who note the origins of distinguished singers will agree that Naples first comes to mind as the art’s most auspicious breeding ground. For centuries, Naples was the unchallenged European capital of singing and the birthplace of the Bel Canto. It is the native city of opera greats of the past, like Giovanni Paisiello and Enrico Caruso, and some of the best Italian singers today, like Patrizio Buanne and Pasquale Esposito. “My uncle had the greatest influence on me as a boy,” recalls Pasquale. “He lived near the [San Carlo] opera house and was always listening to opera. One day I knocked over and broke a big Gramophone. He said ‘You broke the Gramophone, now you will sing!’ And that’s how I started singing, from breaking that Gramophone.” He also “sang in the choir” throughout his school years, then came to America and attended San Jose State. “I love to travel,” says Pasquale, and it’s a good thing. Like the most sought-after opera stars, he sings often and in places that are very far apart. For example, he hosts a concert in Reno, Nevada at an Italian festival on October 10 and 11. Then he plays Boston on October 24 and the next evening, October 25, sings in Chicago. Then it’s Monterey on November 14 and San Francisco on December 6! Whenever he gets the chance Pasquale Esposito reverts to his Napoletan’ roots. We know this because whenever he’s in the Chicago area, he visits his favorite restaurant, Spacca Napoli, at 1769 Sunnyside in Chicago, where they make that wonderful, authentic Napoletan’ pizza! To hear some of Pasquale’s music and follow his travels, or even book some tickets to his concerts, visit www.pasqualeesposito.com
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