Ten Questions with J. Adam Shelton

Ten Questions with...

J. Adam Shelton, tenor
Damon in Acis and Galatea

1. My favorite thing about being a singer is: 

I love learning something new! There's so much awesome music out there to be learning, researching, and singing that the geek inside of me is deeply satisfied!!

2. The greatest challenge in being a singer is: 
Cold and flu season.

3. A live music performance I’ve attended that I will never forget is: 
I saw Linda Eder perform in April. She sang some of her Broadway stuff, some jazz, some country, even Adele! I had a blast listening to the concert (and being on the list to meet her afterwards!). It's always refreshing and exciting to hear live singing.

4. A few of my favorite films are:

I'm looking at all of my DVDs right now and thinking, "Do they have room for 100?" Christopher Guest never seems to disappoint me, Kevin Smith films too, but if I could only live with three: (1) Young Frankenstein, (2) Clue, and (3) one of the Sister Act movies (I'm a sucker for nuns who sing Motown...)

5. Three things I can’t live without are:

(1) My iPhone - calendar, music, phone, email all-in-one without it I'd be lost; (2) a caramel macchiato from Starbucks; and (3) my immersion blender (you must own one to understand its numerous uses)!

6. My number one hobby is:

I try to craft, which sometimes is a mangled mess, but I do knit pretty well!

7. If you could perform with any singer, retired or deceased, who would it be? 
I imagine Beverly Sills and I would have gotten along great, not to mention how phenomenally talented she was!!

 

8. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in? 
I actually started undergrad as a deaf education major. I practiced interpreting the radio, songs, and tv in my spare time and decided to switch over to my other passion, music, and lucked myself into a good undergrad music program!

9. What role do you wish you could sing that you could never sing because it’s the wrong voice type/gender? 
I think Tosca could be fun. Plus you get to jump over the edge at the end, who wouldn't love that??

10. Describe your favorite moment on stage. 
My favorite moment is when the music stops, and there's that split second of silence. That silence that allows you to feel the electricity of the performance and the audience erupts. Aside from all the other amazing moments that can happen on stage, that moment always thrills me.

Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you (and the answer).

Where's the coolest place being a singer has taken you?

I have been to Italy and Russia, and they were awesome experiences. Except I was mugged in Russia, that wasn't cool, but everything else in Russia was great!!

See Adam in Madison Opera's production of Handel's Acis and Galatea January 10-13 in The Playhouse at Overture Center. Tickets start at just $20, but they're going fast!