Filipino-American tenor Arthur Espiritu, 36, is a new name in the Philippine performing arts scene where opera productions come few and far between.

He is referred to as “La Scala tenor” because of his stint at that illustrious opera house, and will do the role of Alfredo in “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi at the CCP Main Theater on March 2-4.

Espiritu has been described as a regal tenor with a beautiful lyric voice. But for this much praised singer, going the way of classical singing has not always been a clear-cut road.

“I used to sing just for fun, to make me happy,” says Espiritu. As a high-school student in New Orleans, Louisiana where he and his parents had emigrated, he joined the choir after much prodding from a teacher and performed in stage productions and Broadway musicals, at one time playing Aladdin even.

“My teacher, Mr. Thomas, was always pushing kids to do a little bit more than they should,” Espiritu said. “He enrolled me in the Gifted and Talented program.”

Under Mr. Thomas’ wing, Espiritu learned to read music and his first classical song “Ave Maria” by Schubert. He went on to join a state-wide talent competition for high-school students and landed the first prize of $5,000. “It was the easiest money I could ever make.”

After high school, Espiritu had set his sights on joining the air force and wanted take up aeronautics. But after a talk with his father, he had a change of heart. “When I got a scholarship to the University of New Orleans, we decided to go with music. Music made more sense.”

But his parents were also insistent on a career on medicine and so Espiritu double majored in pre-med and music, taking on 25 units a semester. Later, he decided to concentrate on music full time and never looked back.

He earned an artist diploma from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in 2004 and got both his Bachelor of Arts (2000) and Master of Music (2002) degrees from the University of New Orleans.

Espiritu has had many defining moments in his singing career. But he tells of two experiences that were particularly memorable.

“There’s the gig in La Scala, Milan and also the one in Pittsburgh Opera,” he said. “I was in the Young Artist Program of Pittsburgh Opera for two years and they gave me an opportunity the next year to sing the lead role in Bellini’s ‘I Capuleti e I Montecchi’ with today’s stars like Laura Claycomb and Vivica Genaux. I was starstruck! I had a good time with them. They’re like gods when they sing but when you meet them, they’re just like regular people. I was moved by that.

“I’ve always viewed opera singers and classical music as high brow and mayabang. I realized that it was very doable to do this profession and still stay true to yourself. That was pretty defining for me and I realized I should move forward.”

La Scala fellowship

Espiritu won the Teatro alla Scala Award as part of the Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna, Austria, in 2008. The award gave him the opportunity to train at the Accademia of Teatro alla Scala for six months in its Young Artists Program. “It was a star-studded staff of teachers there.” Espiritu recalls. “They figure out if you’re good enough to cast on their main stage… and they gave me the role of Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte. I was so glad. It was a defining moment for me because I had to prove to them that I could do the role.”

He did Ferrando again at the Teatro Piccolo Milan. Ferrando, Espiritu says, is one of his favorite roles. “Ferrando is a very romantic guy who is clueless. He’s very serious and funny but he doesn’t know he is funny.”

Espiritu’s career has included important assignments in Europe and the United States. Aside from his performances at La Scala, he has also performed with the Opera Fuoco in Paris and Theatre St. Gallen in Switzerland in the 2009-2010 season.

He has appeared on the main stages of Pittsburgh Opera, Theatre du Champs Elysees, Israeli Opera (Tel Aviv), Brucknerhalle (Linz). He performed for the very first time in the Philippines at the Philamlife Theater, Manila in Viva belcanto “Manila Debut Recital.”

From rock drummer to tenor

Opera music was once boring to Espiritu. “It wasn’t cool to me. My favorite bands were Bon Jovi and heavy metal bands like Dream Theater and Def Leppard. I used to play the drums and we had a band in high school.”

He can’t tell exactly how he made the leap to opera, saying something clicked in him. “It’s actually pleasing to the mind, it makes you think. I realized that I grew intellectually singing classical music because I had to know all aspects of this genre. I had to know what I am singing, I had to do math, science and research to sing this. I actually had to work hard. It was pretty compelling to me.”

Hurricane ‘Katrina’ victims

Espiritu’s parents returned to the Philippines, after losing their home in New Orleans to Hurricane “Katrina.” He remembers the day the hurricane struck. He was driving back to New Orleans from Pittsburgh but couldn’t continue on.

“I had to get rid of my car because I knew I couldn’t get down there. I decided to go to Pittsburgh where my next contract was. I just had my summer clothes and it was getting cold. No jackets. People heard about my situation when I was interviewed on radio. A lot of people helped me. I couldn’t find my parents for one week, couldn’t get in touch with them. It was a very scary situation. But they were alive, and survived. We rebuilt.”

After losing all they owned in New Orleans, his parents moved to Arizona but decided to return to their hometown of Tanay, Rizal, in 2008. When Tropical Storm “Ondoy” hit, they again suffered damage to their home and had to rebuild again. With his parents now living in the Philippines, Espiritu is considering making Manila his base.

“I feel that I need to go back to my roots and for a few years figure out what I can do here and see how it works,” he says. Espiritu, in fact, is freelancing and slated to perform with the Pittsburgh Opera in 2013 and with the Theater St. Gallen this year and 2013.

He is excited about essaying the role of Alfredo in La Traviata.

He joins the Filipino cast led by Rachelle Gerodias as Violetta and Andrew Fernando as Germont on March 2. Korean opera stars—soprano Yun-Kyoung Yi, baritone Daesan No, and tenor JaeWook Lee will perform on March 2 and 4.

Jae Joon Lee leads the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra which will provide live orchestral music, while the internationally awarded Univesity of Santo Tomas Singers will render choral support.

Floy Quintos will direct the production with set and costume design by Eric Cruz.

“La Traviata” is presented by the CCP in cooperation with the Opera Guild Foundation of the Philippines and the Daejeon Opera Company.