John belle mer biography of christopher

John Bellemer was more than 15 years into a fulfilling operatic career and reaping the rewards. Opportunities for roles and concerts were abundant. He was living in New York, happily married to a mezzo-soprano he had met during his first residency.  

Over an eight-week period in the fall of 2011, the tenor had fielded seven job opportunities for the following season and turned down six of them.

The seventh, a role in Der Vampyr with Opera Boston, then Boston’s second largest company, was the one Bellemer chose.

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While the frustration of having to turn down what would have amounted to a great season had the contracts been spread out over the year, the role in Der Vampyr, an infrequently produced opera from the 1820s, promised something different and new. 

Then he got the news that Opera Boston was closing its doors.

Bellemer couldn’t stop thinking about the jobs he had passed up. 

“It was the worst-case scenario,” Bellemer said. “I went from