Page 38 - Classical Singer Magazine November/December 2019

Singing on the Side
“As I got older, law was something that became increasingly interesting to me. And what it really came down to was doing something that I thought could help people and provide for my family in a way that opera hadn’t been able to do.”
From the Stage to the Court Room
After a lengthy career that spanned musical theatre and opera, Peterson’s vocational prospects recently took to sharp turn. He began embarking upon law school at Oklahoma City University.
It’s a swift change of pace for the 39-year-old tenor. But nding a fallback of interest is something he highly recommends that up-and-coming singers keep an open mind about.
“I was very lucky that my parents were very supportive,” Peterson says. “They were farmers. My dad worked in a factory. He always told me that I had the rest of my life to work a 9 to 5, so if I could make a living with my voice, I should go and do it. It was never really put in my head to have a backup plan, but it’s
something I can’t emphasize to singers enough to think about.”
The tipping point for Peterson was the many years both he and his wife, a coloratura soprano, spent pounding the pavement, living, and constantly auditioning in the pricey zip code of New York City.
“It became increasingly clear to me there was a lot
of denial surrounding the state of the industry,” he says. “There are two conversations to be had. On the art side, opera is very much alive. On the business side, it has been in decline for the past 10 years.”
Peterson believes that opera’s Achilles’ heel is that many arts organizations are dependent on donations and grants for operational expenses. Those revenue streams are drying up with only a percentage of income resulting
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38 Classical Singer | November/December 2019
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