Christian Sebek on Jumping From Opera House to Broadway Stage in The Phantom of the Opera

Age & Hometown: “Old enough not to have to discuss it!”; Levittown, PA

Current Role: A Broadway debut as Piangi, the larger-than-life tenor and object of the title character’s scorn in The Phantom of the Opera.

Late Bloomer: Most singers begin developing their gift at a young age, but Sebek, who debuted as an operatic baritone before maturing into a tenor, never performed at all until his sophomore year in college. “My brother was the Broadway boy,” he says of older sib Herman Sebek, a dancer in Cats and the Engineer in Miss Saigon. “I studied finance and had a vision of myself as a set designer.” Everything changed when a choir director at the University of South Florida heard Christian sing. “I opened my mouth and a lot of sound came out!” he says with a laugh. “The teacher said, ‘You have a voice,’ and gave me a scholarship.”

Lauding Lloyd Webber: Sebek’s taste in opera coincides perfectly with the music he’s currently singing on Broadway. “Puccini and Verdi are my favorite composers,” he says, “and Andrew Lloyd Webber is like a modern-day Puccini.” Piangi’s solos have proven to be enjoyably challenging, he adds. “This is not meek, easy music—it’s at the top of any tenor’s range, with a high C and C sharp—so it’s exciting to sing.” And don’t dare suggest that the blustering Piangi is a figure of fun: “He’s over the top, but not the butt of the joke,” Sebek insists. “He’s a quintessential Italian tenor, fiercely proud, which is so much fun to play.”

Musical Family: As the father of two boys, now 10 and 13, Sebek is delighted that his new Broadway role allows him to step away from an opera singer’s typical on-the-go schedule. “I went off to Eastern Europe at one point for seven weeks, and the kids found it very difficult,” he says. His sons, who play several instruments and are budding singers themselves, boast musical genes from both sides of the family: Sebek’s wife, soprano Beth Roberts, teaches voice at Mannes College of Music. “For me, Broadway is kind of the ‘road not taken,’” Sebek reflects. “When I step into this theater, I feel energized. I'm always in motion! This show is alive, and it’s an amazing gift to do it.”