Singer got start in Catholic school

He is quick to credit his life-long love for singing and performing to his Catholic school education.

The Syracuse native, whose quick rise to fame has included performances for Presidents Clinton and Bush, Luciano Pavarotti and Pope John Paul II, will soon be making his second appearance this year at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady.

"I love performing at Proctor's Theatre," he said. "It's got great acoustics."

Early start

"At that young age, most boys can't sing, and those that do really don't want to," he said. "When I went forward [at an audition] and belted out the words of the song, the sister was quite impressed. I still remember the look on her face when she heard me sing."

As a teen, he was involved in various rock bands, easily recalling their names: Harlequin, Lady Luck, Eclipse and Lotus. He learned to play "lots of instruments including guitar, drums, bass and even the keyboard."

Going classical

"The director of our choir introduced me to classical music," he said, remembering that he heard a recording of Swedish tenor Jussi Bjoerling's "Una Furtiva Lagrima." After that, Mr. Amante knew exactly where he wanted to be: on stage, singing classical music.

While studying music at Syracuse University, he found that he could easily segue from the rigors of performing opera, where he could hit the F above high C in a classic Italian tenor, to delivering songs from Broadway musicals or popular Italian ballads.

Mr. Amante eventually transferred to the State University of New York at Oswego, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Number four

He has performed leading roles in classic operas, such as "La Boheme" and "Madama Butterfly," as well as in musicals, like "West Side Story" and "Jesus Christ Superstar." His first CD was a classical-crossover hit, and a PBS special, "Michael Amante: America's Tenor," was nominated for an Emmy award last season.

When he performs, he does a mixture of classical and popular songs because he wants to be directly involved with his audience.

"I love the whole stage thing; it drives me wild. I really like Tom Jones," he said, adding that he includes some of Jones' songs in his repertoire, as well as show tunes and opera favorites, like "Nessun Dorma" and "O Sole' Mio."

Pope and Pavarotti

"No matter how bad you are, you will always probably get a blessing from the Pope," he joked. Singing for Pavarotti, on the other hand, was "like Luke Skywalker meeting Darth Vader for the first time."

As intimidating as their encounter was, Mr. Amante said that the great tenor was "actually very nice, very complimentary" to him and his performance.

(Michael Amante will sing at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady on Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. Call the box office at 346-6204.)

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