Dressed in hip clothes – cool sneakers, stocking cap pulled tightly over the head and all the rest – Marcus Shelton could pass for a rock star.
But the “Opera Rocks” T-shirt tells a different story.
The 29-year-old Edmonds native sang in rock bands back in the era of grunge, and he was a fan of bands such as Pearl Jam. He calls it “my flannel phase.” Several years ago, his career took a major U-turn, and these days his heroes include Luciano Pavarotti as well as Eddie Vedder.
The course correction came because Shelton has a beautiful tenor voice. He’s a lyric tenor to be precise, with plenty of big top notes that opera fans go crazy over. The voice was always there, Shelton said, and once he found it, he’s been focused on developing it with the goal of a career in opera.
He’ll showcase his talent this Sunday in Edmonds when the Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program presents a streamlined production of Bizet’s “Carmen” at the sleek new Edmonds Center for the Arts.
Bizet’s opera of obsessive love arguably has the best-known music of any opera, a hit-parade of opera favorites. People who have never seen an opera know the “Toreador” song.
The Young Artists, all gifted young singers poised for major careers, are touring this shortened version of “Carmen” around the state. The dozen singers are selected in a national search from hundreds of applicants. What follows is 20 weeks of intensive training and performance. To make it into the program is a big deal.
In “Carmen,” Shelton sings the role of Don Jose, a character who not only gets one of the greatest of all tenor arias – “The Flower Song” – but also goes completely off the beam in a jealous rage, with tragic results. The six singers in the cast perform with piano accompaniment.
Sunday’s concert will be a homecoming for Shelton. His parents are Steven and Leanne Shelton of Edmonds; the family’s artistic connection with the community comes through the Barclay Shelton Dance Centre in Edmonds.
Shelton always had a big voice. “It was always pretty high and the top notes were always easy,” he said, relaxing between voice lessons at Seattle Opera’s administrative offices. But the opera connection came late.
A stand-out athlete at King’s High School in Shoreline – he was the “jock guy” who also sang – Shelton considered playing football in college, but his knees told him otherwise.
At Seattle Pacific University, he majored in communications and sang in various musical groups including the school concert choir. “In my senior year I realized I might have picked the wrong major,” he said.
He graduated in 2000 and went to work as a media coordinator for a public relations firm. That lasted nine months. Everything changed in 2001 when he joined the Seattle Opera Chorus and began singing in such productions as Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” and Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffman.”
“This was really serious on-the-job training,” Shelton said. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is something really special.’ I was always very musical, but I didn’t consider myself a solo artist.”
Private voice lessons came next, as did preview work for Seattle Opera and then selection into the 2006 Young Artists Program. Singers in the program typically have a lot of formal music training and advanced degrees from some of the nation’s top music schools.
“I came from the chorus. It’s hard to break out,” Shelton said. “As unconventional as my road has been, I feel I belong here.” And he’s quick to credit the “unconditional support” of his parents and his wife, Tiffany, as he works to realize his potential.
Opera is more than just a great voice. There’s learning how to act, to breathe, to project and to sing in a foreign language. Singing opera, like playing sports, takes strength and stamina. And when everything is working, hitting those high notes is like being in the zone.
Bill Mohn photo
Marcus Shelton and Teresa Herold perform in “The Tragedy of Carmen.”
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