Student asks for opera ticket, gets leading role

A student opera singer telephoned for a last-minute concert ticket and was instead offered a lead role.

Adriano Graziani, 32, was asked if he would stand in for the tenor who had fallen ill with a cold, reports The Times.

He had called up for tickets to a gala concert last month by the Welsh National Opera at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff.

He had less than two hours to remind himself of the scores and make his way to the venue for a last-minute rehearsal.

And his performance was so well-received that he has been asked to perform a lead role with the WNO in a production of La Bohème next year.

Mr Graziani, a student at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, said: "I thought it would be nice to be in the audience for a change so I called up to buy a ticket.

"The man who answered the phone knew me vaguely and asked, 'You're a tenor, aren't you? I don't suppose you are free tonight? Our tenor is ill'.

"Being half-Italian and half-Welsh I had dreamt of one day singing Italian opera with the WNO - it's in my blood - but even getting an audition is hard enough."

A spokesman for the WNO said: "This is a great example of us nurturing new opera talent. We have high hopes for Adriano."

-Nova