Pursuing an Unexpected Vocational Calling
Opera an Unexpected Career Choice for this Artist Diploma Student

by Betty Gabrielli

Something electric happened this spring when Michael Chipman -- wearing Ray-Bans, a dangling tie, and a rumpled suit from the 1930s -- burst onto the stage of Hall Auditorium as the title character in Don Giovanni.

With Donna Anna in hot pursuit and her father not far behind, Chipman connected instantly with the audience, there to see the Oberlin Opera Theater's contemporary production of Mozart's high-spirited dramma giocoso.The 27-year old's looks and lean, rangy energy were reminiscent of a young Tom Cruise, said several in the audience later.

Giving a bravura performance as the dissolute nobleman Don Juan, Chipman matched the libertine's vitality, arrogant courage, and sense of humor with his own. "I do love playing the bad guys," he said with a big laugh. He also likes playing the good guys. "I think I could do the Mozart baritone roles the rest of the my life and be completely happy."

Opera itself is a departure for Chipman, who was born and rear-ed in the Mormon Church (his great-great-great-great grandfather was the church's third president). He spent two years as a missionary in Brazil and currently teaches a Sunday school class in an area Mormon Church.

"My culture is very practical. If you love music, you teach it -- lead a choral group or join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. You don't become an opera singer. Most people are shocked when I tell them what I do. At family reunions relatives will ask, 'You get paid to do that?' Yes, being in opera has been quite an adventure for me."

And a challenge. Chipman always sang in church and there was a lot of music in his home, but he didn't take the idea of going into opera seriously until he studied voice with Jean Ronald-Lafone at Utah State. "He told me, 'You don't realize what you have.'"

"I'll never forget that," Chipman said. "I often thought about it and finally decided I had to find out what it is exactly that I have. If there is something there, if I have something special to offer, then I want to find it and be able to use it."

To establish a solid technical foundation for his singing, Chipman came to the Conservatory two years ago as an artist diploma candidate in opera/vocal performance to study with Richard Miller.

"Michael has a fine baritone voice capable of the song, opera, and oratorio literatures," said Miller, who first heard him sing in a master class he presented in Salt Lake City. He was impressed by Chipman's musicianship as well as his voice.

"I felt that, although having clearly done excellent work with his teacher there, he was not yet realizing the full capacity of his instrument, and I invited him to audition at Oberlin."

Since then, Miller added, "Michael's voice has taken on new dimensions of resonance, and his range has expanded considerably. Michael was a sensitive singer and communicative performer, and his additional vocal freedom and technical growth have furthered his artistry."

Believing the challenge now is to infuse artistry into the technical strength that Miller has given him, Chipman flew to Europe the day after Don Giovanniclosed to audition for a three-year program of study at the Paris National Opera.

He didn't get in, "but that's just how things go in this business. It's really competitive -- at least 200 singers from the world's best conservatories were vying for those two openings. You do all the auditions you can and if you get one, you're lucky, and if not, you just keep going."

For Chipman that means setting off for North Carolina to play the title role of Gianni Schicchiat the Brevard Music Center's summer music festival. After that, it's on to New York, and "auditions, auditions, auditions."

Sweatshop-free Zone

There's strength in numbers. By joining with other colleges and universities in the Worker Rights Coalition (WRC), Oberlin College hopes to improve working conditions and eliminate child labor in factories around the world. The WRC, a national, student-formed organization, supports and verifies licensee compliance with production codes of conduct to ensure that goods produced for the multi-billion-dollar collegiate apparel industry are made under conditions that respect the basic rights of workers. Oberlin College became the fifth WRC member institution in February. To learn more about the Worker Rights Coalition, visit their website at www.workersrights.org.