Meghan Picerno is capturing audiences with her colorful coloratura voice. After graduating from the Manhattan School of Music she sang a number of opera roles including Die Zauberflöte, La Traviata and Lucia di Lammermoor. The legendary Hal Prince picked her to be cast in his production of Candide which led to roles in Love Never Dies and then Phantom of the Opera. After shutdowns due to the pandemic, Meghan is back playing Christine on Broadway.
Natasha Barbieri: How did your musical journey begin?
Meghan Picerno: I started playing piano when I was four years old and became very talented at classical and jazz piano. I even played in a jazz band! As a high school freshman, I auditioned for my school’s production of The Music Man and landed the lead role, Marian. From there I was lucky to be cast as the lead in every show throughout my four years, including being cast as the leading lady in the Illinois’ All-State Theater production of Pirates of Penzance (my first operetta!). My love affair with Opera began during my junior year of high school when I saw Romeo e Julliete at Chicago Lyric Opera with my French class. I rather immediately began taking classical voice lessons just for fun.
Natasha Barbieri: Growing up did you listen to a lot of genres or were you mainly focused on opera?
Meghan Picerno: I really never listened to opera or music theatre growing up. Mostly other genres… especially a lot of classic rock – CCR, Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Rolling Stones, ACDC, Beatles!
Natasha Barbieri: In university, what were some of the favorite things you learned that stay with you today?
Meghan Picerno: “Keep going no matter what; like you are riding a bicycle.”
Another professor I loved said, “Why not try it? Just go for it, why not – you’re amazing!”
“Always be uncomfortable, you grow most when you aren’t comfortable. It’s best to dive into situations headfirst – you’ll swim!”
Natasha Barbieri: Tell us a little bit about some of your roles and experience in opera after graduating.
Meghan Picerno: After graduating with a Master of Music degree in Voice from Manhattan School of Music, some of the roles I’ve been lucky to play include Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and throughout the country as Gilda in Rigoletto, Violetta in La traviata, Olympia in Contes d’hoffmann and the titular role in Lucia di Lammermoor. And of course, I’m most well known world-wide for Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide (the role which literally changed my life!
Natasha Barbieri: You have quite an amazing story as to how you became Christine. Can you tell us a little bit about how Hal Prince first discovered you, if you went through an audition process, and finally getting the news that you would be Christine on Broadway?!
Meghan Picerno: I was singing opera in Spain and directly off the flight back to NYC. I was asked to do a concert at a gallery opening on the Upper East Side where I sang “Glitter & Be Gay” from Candide with my friend Michael on piano. He told me New York City Opera was looking for the leading role for their new production of Candide. I had just left my agents in Europe, meaning I was without representation, so my amazing mentors and “fairy godmothers,” as I like to call them (who are very wonderful and powerful women in the biz), got in touch with the General Director of NYCO, Michael Capasso, insisting he just had to hear me sing!
The following week I auditioned on their lunch break and sang “Glitter & Be Gay” and got a callback! During that audition, an “older gentleman” (who at the time I did not know) called me closer to sing and shouted down the table to the rest of those in casting as I was auditioning, “Well she’s fabulous!” “She’s fantastic…!” Haha I shall forever remember that. Turns out that lovely man was none other than the legend himself, Hal Prince.
Three weeks later I got an email saying, “Would you like to play the lead in Hal Prince’s New York City Opera [production] of Candide?” It was one of the most thrilling moments of my life. The show was run more like a Broadway show than an opera production because there were so many crossovers within the industry. At one point Hal and our choreographer (the legendary Pat Birch – also one of my fairy godmothers now!) asked if I had ever considered performing on Broadway. I hadn’t, really, but it of course sounded amazing. He asked if I had ever seen (his) The Phantom of the Opera. I very quietly (and rather embarrassingly) remarked that I had not seen the show and he laughed and replied with, “Well we are going to change that – I’ll get you my tickets.”
I saw the show that night sitting in his box at The Majestic, and thought it was absolutely epic and incredible! Once Candide ended, Hal advised me to sing for Tara Rubin Casting for the US Premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies. Two months later, I auditioned for the wonderful Andrew Lloyd Weber himself (which turned more into a coaching than an audition – it was awesome), and three hours later I was cast as the lead, Christine in his beloved show! Haha, it was the quickest response I’ve ever gotten from an audition in my life!
Halfway through my run of Love Never Dies the music director, Kristen Blodgette (now also one of my fairy godmothers and conductors here on Phantom Broadway) Hal, and Andrew asked if I wanted to open the new world tour revival of Phantom, and then transfer to Broadway. Of course, the answer was YES! We basically built Phantom from the ground up with the New York Creative team and premiered the revival to Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, etc. I left the tour, and three weeks later I was in rehearsal for the Broadway production. I made my debut with my closest friends and family on stage, on the creative team, and in the audience. Hal was such an important and pivotal mentor in my life, and I will be forever grateful for him and miss him dearly. It’s been an INCREDIBLE journey… and I’m excited about what future adventures are ahead once I take my eventual final boat ride here at the Majestic!
Natasha Barbieri: People tend to think of classical or even Broadway singers as rather strait-laced given the seriousness of the music. Has it been fun to challenge those notions and show that the music really is for everyone?
Meghan Picerno: Absolutely! Human nature’s natural inclination is to sort each other into perfect, easy-to-recognize little boxes. I love to defy that notion. I love not being the typical leading lady in musical theatre or opera – people are often surprised when they meet me. Art is for everyone. Break out of the boundaries of society! Showing people who you are is very freeing and adds to the art. Most people don’t fit into one box and I think you should embrace every aspect of whatever your collection of unique shapes (not even a box) may be.
Natasha Barbieri: Opera and Broadway actually have a lot in common with the grandness of productions and power of the music. What would you say to entice fans of each to give the other a chance?
Meghan Picerno: In America I want people to know that opera is not just for older or wealthy people. It used to be pop music back in the day and the talent of these performers are Olympian and unparalleled. The stories are very human, even if you don’t speak the language, you will know what is going on and be able to feel the emotion of the performance.
People from the classical world need to give Broadway a chance because it is one of the most incredible forms of art. The realism and the in-the-moment stories are incredible. Also, the singing, acting, and dancing talents are unmatched. I love the can-do attitudes and sense of community the Broadway world brings to live performance.
I think there is a stigma that opera performers can’t act and some musical theater people can’t sing. That is far from the truth as both worlds have an unbelievable amount of mind-blowing talent. That’s why I love being a crossover because I am able to use tools from each genre that benefit the other. I also think being a crossover is becoming normalized in each genre.
Natasha Barbieri: In addition to Christine, what have been some of your favorite roles to play?
Meghan Picerno: Marian in The Music Man, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, and Maria in The Sound of Music.
Natasha Barbieri: Do you have a bucket list of roles you’d like to take on in the future?
Meghan Picerno: Glinda in Wicked is of course on the list – what fun this would be!, and I would also love to originate a new role.
Natasha Barbieri: Phantom, like opera, is a big sing and with so many shows a week how do you keep your voice healthy?
Meghan Picerno: I am like a soldier and I am a pro athlete – like all of my Broadway family. Everything I do is for the show. I don’t talk after shows. I keep a very strict diet: no spicy foods, tomatoes, vinegar, etc. and I drink a ton of water, take vitamins, and sleep as much as possible. Self-care is really important both physically and mentally. I make sure to listen to my body and don’t feel guilty about it. I always believe that you have to refill your glass, or else you will have nothing to give, and I always share as much as I humanly can to the audience when I am performing.
Natasha Barbieri: An important Phantom fan question, are you team Phantom or team Raoul?
Meghan Picerno: Haha neither: Team Christine all the way!!!
Natasha Barbieri: Having played Christine in Love Never Dies, does it change the way you play the original role at all to know how the story finishes?
Meghan Picerno: Slightly, because I know her future. I know what she is capable of. Not everyone has what it takes to be a world-famous opera diva (like she is in Love Never Dies). Which means those seeds were always there. But in Phantom, as my younger self, I of course do not know my destiny. So, I have to embody the beginnings of her blossoming in Phantom. There is such an arc for her growing from a girl into a woman from the beginning of Act 1 through the end of the show, which then sets the stage for what is to come in LND. And indeed, our wonderful Production Supervisor, Seth Sklar-Heyn has encouraged and given me license (particularly post-pandemic shutdown) for me to really sink my teeth in and play a much stronger, sometimes messy, passionate, intelligent, fiery, and very interesting human version of her. As a female actor, I LOVE THIS freedom. It’s a breath of fresh air. If you haven’t seen us since we re-opened, you must. It is just SUCH a fresh new take on the show!
Natasha Barbieri: Do you have a guilty pleasure tv show or podcast you binge?
Meghan Picerno: My biggest guilty pleasures on TV would have to be anything Sci-Fi, like Star Trek, Marvel, Star Wars, etc. I love it all!
Natasha Barbieri: Outside of music what are some of your favorite hobbies?
Meghan Picerno: I love fashion, art, travel, and food.
Follow Meghan’s journey on her official website. See her live in Sir Andrew Llyod Weber’s Phantom of the Opera on Broadway now.
