Meet the Cast: Michael McCullough (Don Jose)

Introducing a series of interviews of our Cast, we sent out questions to members of our Cast, and we are publishing their answers. This is the first of that series, where we are happy to introduce to your our Michael McCullough as Don Jose.

Give a brief account of your background, what have you done in the past?

I have sung all of my life. I started acting and singing in musicals in high school and eventually began private voice lessons. It was during those lessons that I started to gravitate from musicals to more classical music, singing art songs and studying foreign languages. It wasn’t something that I planned to do as much as it was something that I COULD do. I always had a big voice and at last I found a music where I didn’t have to hide what I sounded like or worry about blending in with the other voices. And with my love of stage performing, when I realized I could sing AND act in opera, my career idea was cemented. Opera would be my lifelong goal. Ever since I have sung in a few operas, Mozart mostly, and performed the tenor solos in oratorio works like Handel’s Messiah, Gounod’s Messe Solennelle and Stainer’s Crucifixion. Carmen is my second Undercroft Opera performance after singing Alfredo in La Traviata in 2010.

What brought you to Undercroft Opera? What do you particularly like about working with Undercroft?

There are so many things that drew me to Undercroft Opera. The first, of course, is the company’s owner Mary Beth Sederberg. Her personality, voice, ability to oversee and manage this company, and her down-to-earth attitude were all pluses. But the big thing was her slogan “Everyone deserves an operatunity!” I was out of singing for 15 years when I decided to audition for Undercroft Opera. Mary Beth showed me that I wasn’t too old or too out of the loop to do what I have loved for so many years. Maestro Walter Morales was another fine addition to the company. I have heard many good things about him and am glad to be working with such a talented conductor and coach. His insight brings out more characterization and aspects of the role. Patrick Brannan is a great stage director and a man who is just as willing to take a suggestion as he is to offer an informed opinion to justify a movement or emotion. I enjoy his direction and the talent he brings to this show. And finally, I have to say Undercroft attracted me because I could afford to be in the company. There are very few opera companies in Pittsburgh that give an amateur singer the opportunity to perform without paying for that chance. Undercroft gives singers that chance and I am grateful for that “operatunity!”

Please describe your character, and what your challenges are for working with this character.

The character of Don Jose is a very complex role to perform. The acting, the emotional content, and the strenuousness of the singing get increasingly difficult as the opera progresses. Don Jose is a character with a past before the opera even begins. He is a soldier exiled from his home town because he murdered a man. With no other alternative, he becomes a soldier in Seville. Although he makes a promise to his mother to marry a sweet, innocent girl from his home village, his first encounter with the devilish Carmen torments him; Jose cannot resist her temptations. Eventually, by fate, Jose cannot even remain a soldier and joins the gypsy smugglers. Through the rest of the opera, the audience sees Jose’s downfall from smuggler to obsessed maniac. He will get Carmen in the end – or make sure no one else does. The last moments of the opera are the most emotional for Jose and Carmen, and for us as singers! It is very easy to become physically involved to the point of erratic breathing and shaking from the emotion that is being dealt. With any luck, the audience will be able to see and feel what we do to some extent.

What makes you the most excited about Carmen, and what do you think will give audiences the most thrill?

For me, the most exciting thing about this opera is the verismo quality of it…the real life drama, struggles, and potential downfall of someone based on love, or lust, if you will. Almost every guy (at least those I know of) has had that girl that got away, the one that they can’t let go, or the love that is lost but will remain forever with him. I know I have had that before, and with the setting in Seville, the allure of Carmen, the innocence of Michaela, and the downfall of Jose, there is something for everyone in this opera. Love, lust, violence, action, and eventually murder send the audience as well as the singers on an emotional ride for an evening of entertainment! And this is the largest cast that Undercroft has ever had, with an amazing chorus and delightful children’s choir that both sound wonderful! The audience will also recognize many of the songs like Carmen’s Habanera and the Toreador Song that Escamillo sings. This is definitely the opera to see!

What are you planning to be in after Carmen?

After Carmen I first need to find some work locally in Morgantown to support myself my new fiancee and my children. But in the meantime, I would like to start taking on some voice students and audition for some voice competitions and apprenticeships around the country. I would love to learn a couple of new roles and be able to sing them in different venues. Look, in the long run, I don’t have to sing at the Met. I don’t have to jet from country to country singing every role under the sun. And I don’t have to have my planner filled for the next three years. My goal is simple…to be able to support my family comfortably with my music. Regional opera houses, competitions, giving lessons…I can be satisfied doing any or all of those. And as long as there is music in my life, I will be a happy man.