Meet the Luciano Pavarotti of Hoppers Crossing.
Opera singer Michael Lapina has a busy few months ahead after he was chosen to be in the Opera Australia Chorus for three productions during its autumn season – La Bohème, The Pearlfishers and Luisa Miller.
The 42-year-old developed a taste for opera when he began studying a bachelor of music (performance) at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1993.
He went on to perform with the Victorian Symphony Orchestra and Walt Disney in his final year, and is now a principal with the Victorian Opera.
Lapina is a ‘dramatic lyric tenor’, meaning his voice resembles that of opera great Pavarotti.
“Opera’s not easy,” he says. “From a singing perspective, it’s like the Olympics.
“There’s a real fine art to having the skills to be an opera singer. You’re not miked, so you need to create a sound that cuts through a 100-piece orchestra.
“Music is one of those things that’s really easy to memorise because it’s linked to emotions – you’re feeling and you’re performing at the same time. I’m passionate about what I do.”
Lapina juggles opera with a career in banking, and he also volunteers with Central Melbourne Sunrise Rotary.
