Darien Native Wins Metropolitan Opera Competition

When Janai Brugger left stages in 2001, she never dreamed that a little more than a decade later she’d be one of the most promising young opera singers in the nation.

Brugger was a regular Broadway baby, playing Kim in Bye, Bye Birdie, Marian the Librarian in The Music Man and Marty Maraschino in Grease. (“I still have my pink ladies jacket,” she said.)

But as she refined her voice through classical lessons, she said she started having more success in opera than in musical theater.

“I was starting to pay more attention to that, and by the time I got to college it seemed pretty clear that I needed to focus on the world of opera,” she said.

The opera world, in return, is now turning its focus to her.

In March, Brugger was one of five winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, whose past champions include Renée Fleming and Jessye Norman.

“It’s unbelievable,” Brugger said from Los Angeles, where she’s in her second year with LA Opera's Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program. “It’s been really exciting and a whirlwind.” 

Patch chatted with the Darien native and DePaul graduate about her time at Hinsdale South, what it’s like to study with opera greats like Placido Domingo and how she preserves her voice.

Patch: At Hinsdale South, did you work with Drama Club Advisor Pam Baker?

Brugger: I love, love, love Ms. Baker. Ms. Baker was seriously one of the most influential teachers I had starting this kind of career and learning the basics of being professional. She always demanded that we had our lines memorized, were on time and were prepared to work hard. And I think that was the foundation of what’s gotten me to be where I am today. That kind of discipline is really important, especially when you’re young. 

Mr. (Brett) Goad was a huge inspiration as well. I was very lucky to have both (him and Baker) while I was there. He was our choral director for many years, but he was wonderful. A great music teacher, music director—very encouraging of his students and very encouraging to me as well. And still to this day he keeps in touch and is very supportive. 

A very important person who also helped me get started in the field of opera would be my very first voice teacher, Ingrid Mueller, who taught me for four years during my time at Hinsdale South. She is the one who started to enter me in competitions as well as start my classical training and introduced me to singing opera.

Are your parents musically talented? 

Both my parents can sing. They will tell you that they can’t, but they can. Everybody (in my family) is pretty musical, I’m just the only one attempting to pursue a career out of it. My mother is more into classical and my dad grew up with Motown, so it’s the best of both worlds for me. 

What’s a typical day like for you in the L.A. Opera Young Artist Program?

Your schedule is on a day-to-day basis. I won’t know what I’m doing tomorrow until 6 p.m. tonight. Mostly our days consist of coaching with faculty. They also bring in coaches from all over the world, amazing coaches to come in and teach us or coach us on things. We have movement lessons, to teach us to use our bodies in different ways. We have acting classes. We have improv classes—all these things that are invaluable in starting a professional operatic career.

We also get language coaching. As an opera singer, the more you can become fluent in these languages, the easier they are to sing. There are a zillion different languages, so it’s nice to get the inflection down and understand what you’re saying.

If there’s a production that we’re in, we also get rehearsals. We also usually get one day, maybe two days off per week, depending on the schedule. It’s intense.

What’s it like to work with world-famous singers such as Placido Domingo? 

It’s an incredible experience. You know, Placido Domingo, I’ve grown up listening to him my entire life because my mother is a huge, huge opera fanatic. I grew up listening to Placido Domingo and learning all about him, especially in college. To actually be in a program where you get to meet him—you realize this is a legend in the opera world, and he’s so humble and so gracious and so normal that it’s funny. We have him on this kind of pedestal, and here he’s just like everybody else. 

It’s fantastic to see that he’s just like us. Sometimes he gets nervous, and you’re like, “No way!” But he does! So that for me is such a humbling experience. He’s so patient and so sweet and he cares about every single aspect of the department. He cares about the singers, making sure we’re doing well and that we’re improving and that we’re happy, so it’s wonderful.

How do you protect your voice?

I’ve figured out that opera is a lifestyle and you have to be careful if you want to have a long, successful career. It’s a sometimes-tedious concept to think that every little thing might affect your voice, but as a singer, your entire body is your instrument. It’s not just your voice, so you really need to think like an athlete and take care of yourself—getting plenty of rest, drinking lots of water. It can be challenging because I’m a talker. I like to socialize, and sometimes I have to retreat from going out with friends or hanging out in places because I don’t want to wear myself out.

What did winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions mean to you?

Just getting to the semifinals, everyone is basically a winner, if you think about it, because you’ve come so far just to get to that point. You already feel like you’ve made this amazing accomplishment.

And winning? Winning the finals … gosh, I’m still in shock, to be honest. It was just a surreal experience the entire week I was there. I had never been to the Met, never even set foot outside of the Met, so just to get there and see it and see how big it is, it was just such a beautiful, beautiful experience. It’s a gorgeous opera house, and stepping out on that stage and being out there and seeing everyone was not only terrifying but extremely exciting. 

Brugger is scheduled to perform in The Magic Flute in August at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park. For more information or tickets, visit www.ravinia.org.