How Meghan Picerno Went from Opera to The Phantom of the Opera

Like Kelli O’Hara or Sarah Brightman, Meghan Picerno has that rare voice that can tackle both operas and musicals. And now she gets to play an opera diva on Broadway; she took her bow as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera last October. In a recent #LiveAtFive interview with Paul Wontorek, Picerno talked about how Phantom director Harold Prince became her very own angel of music.

Picerno studied music at Illinois Weslyan University and Manhattan School of Music, and was a quarterfinalist in Plácido Domingo’s prestigious Operalia International Vocal Competition at The Royal Opera House. She's performed opera at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. But her first foray into musical theater was in the 2017 New York City Opera production of Candide. That production was directed by Prince, who became a close mentor of Picerno’s. “He just took me under his wing,” she said, “and became a mentor, and a grandfather figure and everything, as he does to so many of us, and changed my life.”

Prince cast her as Cunegonde, who sings the Act One show-stopper “Glitter and Be Gay," also known as one of the most challenging arias a soprano can sing in the musical theater canon. “All of a sudden, I was on a crazy, wild ride,” she said with a laugh. Prince then took her to see Phantom for the first time, and before she knew it, Picerno was introduced to Andrew Lloyd Webber and was cast in the first North American tour of Love Never Dies, Webber's sequel to Phantom.

She was in Love Never Dies for 15 months. Then came a seven month stint in Phantom's world tour, where Picerno again played Christine. In playing an older Christine in Love Never Dies, and then a younger Christine in Phantom, you can say that Picerno has gone back in time. “There’s only a few of us that have done both roles,” she noted.

Importantly, that touring experience has helped Picerno broaden her characterization of Christine. “I played 400, almost 500 performances of my older self, so knowing what happens to her, not just the actual actions but who she becomes–not everyone becomes a world famous opera diva and a superstar–those seeds are always in there somewhere,” she explained. “They just hadn’t blossomed, so I do think even though she’s experiencing everything for the first time in Phantom–she’s a strong person, and perhaps a little bit stronger than other versions of the character.”

The Phantom of the Opera is currently running on Broadway. 

Watch Picerno's #LiveAtFive interview below.