oboeinsight

Over five years of working with Kingsley, Olstad and a longtime Metropolitan Opera hand named Charles Riecker, Elash started appearing in amateur opera productions. In local restaurants, Eryn, perched on a piano, would sing “La Vie en Rose,” and her father would bring down the house with “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” When Elash did that song, and arias by Verdi and Wagner, at a concert in Palm Springs, a retired Metropolitan Opera baritone named Norman Mittelmann was in the audience. Impressed, he called his friend Irene Dalis.

Elash auditioned for Opera San Jose in 2005, joined the chorus in 2006 and was appointed resident artist in 2008, going on to sing leading roles. Next season, he will sing the role of Mephistopheles in Gounod’s “Faust.” “And if I never sang another note, it would be OK,” he says. “I have had such amazing experiences. I’m telling you, you can’t pay for the moments I’ve had.”

The above is from this article. It’s a fun read! And hoorah for Silas! I look forward to hearing him sing Bartolo next week, when we begin our rehearsals for Barber of Seville.