A talent for singing R&B, a musical introduction to The Three Tenors via a cassette tape and some well-placed karaoke competitions all helped Lucas Meachem find his way to stardom in the opera world.
Meachem, a baritone who earned a Grammy for the role of Figaro in "The Ghosts of Versailles" with the L.A. Opera, started singing at a young age, but says learning opera was more of a process than just being a good singer.
"Opera singing is kind of like an Olympic event," he said in a recent phone interview ahead of performances in Chapel Hill, where he is participating in UNC's Artist in Residence program. "You can't start working on it until your voice changes. So that means you have to go through puberty before you even begin. Because of the nature of the human voice, you can't begin until you're in your teens and because of that you get a bit of the later start, and the voice develops later as well, so you reach the peak of your career at age 35 or 40."
Still, Meachem, who was born in Raleigh and grew up in Moore County, got an early start to learning about his own voice.
"I could sing along to the radio and mimic really well any singer that came on, like Freddie Mercury or Steve Perry, even Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston," he said. "I could sing like them because my falsetto was really strong when I was young."
But, opera singing was something he looked at as a challenge. When he was in high school, his mother got him a tape of the Three Tenors _ Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti.
"I got this tape and here were these guys that were singing in a way that I could not even fathom doing," he said. "I could not create that sound. ... I was just mesmerized by it and I thought, 'you know what, I'm going to see if I can make that sound.' "
He worked on his voice through high school and college. He describes his time studying music at Appalachian State University as an incubator for his voice.
It was in college, eager to make money and to get his voice heard, that he discovered karaoke competitions.
His go-to songs were Billy Joel's "Piano Man," Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" and Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On."
Meachem says if he had sang the songs in his opera voice he would probably have been booed off the stage, so he went back to his car-radio singing for the competitions. "I have a unique ability to sing R&B," he says. "I had to learn to sing opera, but I already knew R&B."
He continued karaoke competitions into his young professional career. And at a competition in Paris, 10 years into Meachem studying opera, he met Susan Graham, a well-known mezzo-soprano who recommended him for a job at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Meachem, who had been training at the San Francisco Opera, said that helped "push his career ahead a year or two."
Ten years later, in 2016, he won a Grammy for Best Opera Recording for "Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles," which he sang with the LA Opera Orchestra. He's performed around the world and most recently was in New York City performing at The Met in "La Boheme" and "Iolanta."
"I'm at a point in my career where I'm in the middle and I am going through a time frame of evolving into the next stage," he says. "I've got the whole opera world on my side, it's really quite nice."
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Meachem, who lives in Minneapolis, says his favorite places to perform are The Met in New York City, Opera National de Paris and the Hollywood Bowl.
But North Carolina holds a special place in his heart. "Every time I get off the plane in North Carolina and breathe that first breath of crisp North Carolina air, I just relax," he said. "I feel like five years has been lifted off my shoulders."
He says participating in UNC's Artist in Residence program is a way "to give back to the state that has given so much to me."
The program is an event hosted by UNC with the Carolina Performing Arts. It starts Sunday, Feb. 24, with a performance from Meachem and his wife, Irina, that offers a review of his musical journey to the present. This performance is especially important and emotional because the two just found out that they were expecting a baby. It is open to the public.
Then, throughout the week, until March 1, Meachem will spend his time coaching students in both private and public environments. Three masterclasses on Feb. 25, Feb. 27 and March 1 are open to the public.
"I love to teach so for me to bring this back home is wonderful," he said. "I think if you're an actor you will get a lot out of it. (If you're) a singer and, of course, an opera singer, you will get the most."
The UNC Music Department and Meachem came up with the schedule for the week together, helping to optimize different lessons for student's career success.
"I am really excited to see what these students have in store for me. I can't wait to work with them, help them and nurture the talent of North Carolina."
For more information about Lucas Meachem or the Artist in Residence program go to: http://nando.com/53u
