“The Young Artist program was started at a time when many regional opera companies had decided to offer a training ground for young operatic talent,” said Julie Maykowski, head of the Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist program. “The growth we have seen from the Young Artists this season has been extraordinary. They have a much broader sense of the art form, they are willing and able to take risks as artists instead of playing it safe…”

Adam Lau, a member of Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist in Residency, doesn’t play it safe. This week he sings the roles of Angelotti and Sciarrone in Tosca, which opens this Saturday, March 29th through April 12th at the Arsht Center and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Last year Lau debuted with Santa Fe Opera singing Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro. I had the opportunity to interview Lau between his love for food and superheros.

Adam Lau.

Neil de la Flor: Can you talk about the (big and small) ways the FGO Young Artist Residency Program has impacted your personal and professional life?

Adam Lau: Being a second year FGO young artist and reflecting back on my time here, I would have to say that the greatest gift the FGO YA program gave to me was in helping me become a professional singer.  Like every good student, I came prepared with my music learned and repertoire on the ready. However, something was missing. On the first day of work at FGO, Maestro Tebar said to us all (and I must paraphrase): “Do not think that this program is your bridge between school and the professional world.  You are no longer students. You are professionals. Young professionals, but still professionals.”

Those words have stuck with me ever since.  Making this mental switch from “I’m a student” to “I’m a professional singer” is so critical in every young singer’s development. It’s about taking charge and responsibility of your work and craft. For me this meant owning up to what you do as a singer and, quite frankly, in life in general.

All of this was achieved by the unique circumstances of my first year here. I was very fortunate to have been cast in every mainstage production last year. Having that kind of role responsibility had an immediate effect on my growth musically, artistically and most importantly on how I viewed myself as an artist. Being surrounded by professional opera singers, conductors and directors every day in rehearsals just elevated my craft. Also, being given the opportunity to work and apply my craft on the stage of a nearly 2,500 seat house with a full orchestra was invaluable. It was an incredibly empowering year! I took this confidence, experience and knowledge with me to my other jobs after my first year at FGO and into my first summer as a young artist apprentice at Santa Fe. One of the first comments I would get wherever I went was how professional I was. When I look back at my first year at FGO, Maestro Tebar was right.

ND: How has the program specifically informed your role in Tosca?

AL: FGO taught me the art of preparation.  With the two roles in Tosca, I had to really do some historical research to get context of the characters and the atmosphere of the political climate that they were thrust in.  All of this work really enriched my perception of the characters.  Here at FGO, we observe traditional conventions of the music, study what is given to us in the scores and then create a synthesis of what we believe is the truth about the music and the characters that are portrayed.

ND: What were the biggest challenges being a young artist resident?

AL: I think the biggest challenge that most young artists in residency encounter is how to pace. It can be a very tricky balancing act because young artists are constantly busy with many singing responsibilities. For example, last year I was in two mainstage productions that overlapped. As a result, I was staging one opera during the day and performing another opera at night. All the while, I had outreach events, coachings, concerts, and I was learning two other operas for the month of April and May. With all the activities I had, I learned how to multitask and quickly.

ND: Where do you envision yourself in 10 years?

AL: Gosh, in 10 years, I will be almost 40! I’d like to still hold onto my precious 20 for a little while longer! But in all seriousness, I hope I will be an international opera singer gracing the stages of all of the major opera houses, including FGO, of course.

ND: When did you first realize that opera would be your future?

AL: This realization was VERY late in my development. Growing up, we are all told we should become doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc. These are the “classic norm” vocations that I think most people think of when they think of getting a “job.” After all, who wants to be a starving artist? What I didn’t realize until the end of college was that your passion can also be your vocation. They don’t have to be separate entities.

This happened through a series of last-minute events that pulled me into music more and more seriously. These events started occurring in my junior year of college. The first thing that occurred, ironically, was during the one semester that I had no music classes. One of my teachers suggested at last minute that I enter into a local singing competition. Not thinking much about it or what to expect, I submitted my application. Always being up for a challenge, I decided one of the songs I would learn would be the famous Schubert’s “Erlking” or “Erlkönig.” I didn’t know any German at that point, but being a young and hasty junior in college I decided, “What the heck?  It was a dramatically challenging and vocally exciting piece. I could learn it. Sure! No problem.”

The competition had two rounds. The first round was for just a few adjudicators. The final round was for a full panel of judges and the public. I sang and somehow made it to the finals. When my name was called to stage, the judges requested that I sing “Erlkönig.” At that very moment when I walked on stage, something shifted inside of me. I could feel the audience hush in excitement and anticipation. Like many singers have described in the past, I felt for the first time that “electricity.” That connection with the audience was so visceral. I could feel them breathing with me as the story in the song unfolded. What I was doing on that stage, performing for people felt so natural to me. What I was doing felt so right. As strange as it seems, I felt more comfortable being on that stage than off it. In the finals, it was between myself and this other guy. Although I didn’t win and only placed second, it didn’t matter, because something more important happened. That competition was a pivotal moment in my life. Up until that competition I had planned on a semester abroad at the Turks and Caicos islands, where I intended to do marine research on coral growth. After the competition, I decided to scrap the semester abroad and I stayed on campus and auditioned for the school musical. Towards the end of my junior year, I was once again recommended to audition at last minute to audition for a summer music program. Taking that advice, I sent in a videotape recording and was accepted. That summer opened up a different world to me. That summer was also a test because, at last minute, one of the leads in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta was sick and could not attend. I was given three weeks to prepare the role. I loved the challenge of learning such a huge role so quickly. Each day I was surrounded by music and rehearsing, and I loved every minute of it. Ever since, I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. For the record, that summer I also took the time to plan and prepare for the same competition that I entered into the previous year. Again, I got into the finals and competed against the same singer, but this time I won.

ND: How do you contain the butterflies before you step onto the stage? Or do you keep them at home?

AL: The wonderful thing about FGO is that we have so many rehearsals. The repetition and reinforcement turns our actions into muscle memory and that helps with keeping the butterflies at bay. In truth, I actually find myself more comfortable on stage than off! However no one ever really can fully get rid of “butterflies.” I think it’s important to have them because they add a level of excitement, awareness and they keep us sharp and on our toes.

ND: What has been your most memorable professional moment to date? Most embarrassing?

AL: My most memorable professional moment was singing at the Troy Moss memorial last year. I sang Schubert’s “An die Musik.” This was one of the most rewarding moments of my singing career to date.  Singing at the memorial brought me back to the fundamentals of why I sing. It was all about just communicating with friends in the room. There were no costumes, staging or any artifice. It was simply just communicating, creating a connection with people, and speaking the words over the music – pure and simple. That was a very special day.

My most embarrassing moment at FGO was hands down when I was in La bohème at FGO. Colline was my debut role at FGO as a young artist and professional. It was during one of the final dress rehearsals where a photographer was present. Everything was going wonderfully until I had a wardrobe malfunction. I was zipping around stage having a blast, and then when we all sat down at the dinner table, the tenor whispers to me, “You’re mustache…it’s falling off.” To my horror, half of the mustache was limp and barely hanging on my upper lip.  Thankfully my tenor friend, Arturo Chacón-Cruz, who was singing Rodolfo, remedied the situation. He told me to turn up stage and in one fell swoop, he ripped off the mustache clean from my face, and I continued the opera as if nothing had happened.

ND: What’s your favorite meal?

AL: This is an impossible question. I LOVE FOOD. If music is my passion, food is my obsession!  In Miami, it’s probably ceviche. I love how fresh and tasty it is. Back home in San Francisco, I love this Chinese dish called Kow Yuk. It’s a braised pork belly dish that takes very long to prepare, but when done properly, the pork melts in your mouth. Chicharrón is probably the closest equivalent to Kow Yuk here.

ND: If you could do anything, what would you do?

AL: I have watched too many action hero movies that I’m not sure if I can answer this appropriately. If I had to choose a super power, it would be the ability to either fly or regenerate. Basically, I would want to be either Superman or Wolverine. I mean, who doesn’t?

Tosca runs March 29th – April 12th. Miami performances are at the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Ft. Lauderdale performances are at the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. 5th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale. Tickets are $21 – $250 and can be purchased online at tickets.fgo.org.