Opera Buffs’ Singers Share Their Stories and Perform Online
There is light at the end of the Covid tunnel for tenor Rodell Rosel. While most opera houses
remain dark at this time, the Metropolitan Opera has announced that it will present its family
version of Julie Taymor’s The Magic Flute in December 2021 and January 2022. Rodell – “RoRo”
to his friends – will reprise the role of Monostatos, which he performed with the Met in 2019.
RoRo rhymes with yoyo, the toy requiring skill to plunge down and wind up the toy’s string.
Rodel’s career during the pandemic has endured the same up-and-down challenges, including
confusion with his name. “Prior to singing opera professionally, I never had a problem with
‘Rodell,’ ” explains the singer who, pre-virus, has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric
Opera Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and the Royal Opera House, among
others. “Stage managers and directors would call me Rosel, Mr. Rodell, Rodell Rodell, or Rosel
Rosel. So, to make it simple, I started going by RoRo.”
Rosel became a character tenor at the advice of his current and longstanding teacher and
mentor, heldentenor Timothy Mussard. Rosel had natural physical agility, comedic and
dramatic talent and a huge voice, all prerequisites to become one of the most formidable
character tenors in the opera business today. The most well-known character tenor roles he has
sung are Mime in Wagner’s Ring Cycle (Das Rheingold and Siegfried), Goro in Puccini’s Madama
Butterfly, Monostatos in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and the title role in Britten’s Albert Herring.
Here is a make-up call for Rosel as Mime in Siegfried: https://youtu.be/37CwwZN0XHE
The tenor has taken a pragmatic approach to his career during the Covid crisis, describing the
inability to express himself in music for the public as “both manageable and frustrating.” In
time, he discovered opportunities to sing via Facebook. He has also produced a virtual nightly
live stream talk show, RoRo After Midnight – a concept he developed after regularly finding
himself on Facebook Live with compatriots from his native country, the Philippines … at
midnight or later. “It occurred to me that there are people like me who stay up late, browsing
through videos on FB, Instagram, and TikTok,” he explains. “I decided to create a talk show
shown live after midnight, as opposed to pre-recorded tapings like The Tonight Show or Late
Show.”
Inspired by Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live, the first episode aired November 25, 2020
and concluded 38 episodes later. Originally aired 6 nights/week, Season 2 of RoRo After
Midnight will broadcast Monday through Friday, premiering on March 22 at 10:01 pm Pacific
time. The first season is available at www.youtube.com/filipinotenor.
The roster of guests is impressive, including Joyce DiDonato, Ailyn Perez, Anthony Roth
Costanzo, Brandon Jovanovich, and Frederica Von Stade. “The only rule on my show is that
guests have to be people I know from school and singing,” he explains. “They can be friends,
teachers, coaches, fellow UCLA and Santa Monica College alumni as well as fellow opera,
musical theater, and pop singers.”
Serving as an online talk show producer is not Rosel’s only new venture this past year. He is also
a retail sales associate for two branches of 7-Eleven near Wrigley Field in Chicago, where he has
lived for 16 years. “Opera and sales go hand in hand,” the tenor explains. “When we sing, we
are selling an idea, an emotion and art to the audience and fans. At 7-Eleven, I use my
communications skills to interact with customers. As singers, when we prepare a new role, we
make sure we are very well organized and trained to perform at the highest level. I apply this
same discipline to my role as a sales associate, for food preparation, merchandise handling, and
organization.”
And sometimes, yes, while on the job, Rosel sings. If no customers are in the store, perhaps an
excerpt from an aria or song. Always wearing a mask. Co-workers – including the manager and
owner – often request operatic versions of hello, how are you? or have a great day.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLECb48h1kP/?igshid=1e0hbetg70ypu
“Only rarely do I sing to customers – usually when they become difficult, I have to ask them to
leave, and they refuse,” he adds. “I’ll show them out by singing, please leave, or you’ll have to
leave the store if you’re not wearing a mask.”
How do customers react? They smile. Which is all the applause “the Filipino Tenor” desires. As
he admits, “I always try to brighten people’s days.”
About this series – It’s a challenge to be grateful to Covid-19, but the pandemic has fostered
ingenuity, adaptability and creativity. Our Opera Buffs’ singers have become solopreneurs par
excellence – off on adventures despite sheltering in place. Through the power and beauty of
imagination, spirit, and voice, our young artists have discovered new ways, often through
unfamiliar terrain, to pursue their artistry. We are pleased to share their stories with you.