Branch Fields | COLLEGIATETIMES: Tech grad finds career in opera

Overwhelmed by a major he did not enjoy and little idea of what he was going to do when he graduated, Branch Fields found himself in a common dilemma as he neared graduation at Virginia Tech. Yet unlike most seniors, he combated this predicament not with a visit to career services, but his local voice teacher.

Seventeen years later, Fields' distinctive bass voice has earned him roles on prestigious stages such as Broadway, New York City Opera and Operaestival di Roma. He will return to Tech today to perform a guest artist recital in the Recital Salon at Virginia Tech at 8 p.m.

Fields shared details about his upcoming performance and his start in the opera world with the Collegiate Times during an interview last week.

COLLEGIATE TIMES: You completed your undergraduate degree at Tech. How did you decide on Tech?

BRANCH FIELDS: My sister was at Tech, and I wanted to go into chemistry, and I just loved the campus. She had invited me there to visit, and I just really loved the atmosphere there, and the campus and the chemistry department was good so I decided on it for that reason.

CT: So you came in as a chemistry major, but did you graduate with a degree in music?

FIELDS: No, no. (Laughs) I did a couple, or three, semesters of chemistry. Then I sold books over the summer door to door and made a lot of money. I made $10,000 selling books for the Southwestern Company. So I came back to school and hadn't been doing well in chemistry, and I said, "I'm going to switch to marketing because that's my ticket, you know, something I'm good at." So I switched to marketing, but straight after that decided I didn't like it at all. I was good at it, but I didn't like it. I almost finished a business major in marketing, but my voice teacher sat me down about a month into the semester and said, "You know, I've told you this before, and I'll bet you'll never believe me, but I've got a pitch for you now. You need to think about going to grad school in music and having an opera career. I think you've got it," and you know, I didn't believe him. So I went home one weekend and called up a voice teacher in my neighborhood ... and asked her if she would listen to me, and she said yes. I came over there, and I sang ... for her, and she sat me down and said, "Branch, I can't tell you how bad I felt when you hung up the phone with me and I told you to come over. I thought ... how am I going to let this boy down easy?" Then she heard me sing, and she says, "I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with them. I think you should pursue music."

CT: What was your next step in pursuing music?

FIELDS: Getting into Indiana for my master's degree was huge. I was able to study with a really famous bass named Giorgio Tozzi ... the voice that sings in the movie "South Pacific" for Rossano Brazzi. He sings "Some Enchanted Evening" and all of those. So, a real famous guy and a wonderful teacher. So that was my next step: getting a master's degree at Indiana. Indiana was the No. 1 school in music back then, tied with Juilliard.

CT: How did you get your start in the opera world?

FIELDS: I got my start when I was taking lessons at Virginia Tech, and my voice teacher was the artistic director for Opera Roanoke. He asked me to be in the chorus of the opera. I think it was Don Giovanni. And that was my first experience.

CT: You've preformed in a number of productions for New York City Opera and other operas throughout the nation - what has been your favorite production?

FIELDS: I guess my debut at City Opera was huge. I thought I was going to be nervous, and I was nervous, but I was nervous in a good way, and it was just an exhilarating feeling, just being out there. It was my New York debut so going into it I thought, "How am I going to deal with the nerves?" But once I was out there, it was nothing but positive and just a great night. When I came to the bow at the end of the show, I felt like falling on my knees and kissing the stage. Someone said I should have, but I didn't. (Laughs)

CT: Have you always been drawn to opera, or is it just because you have the voice for it that you find yourself doing it?

FIELDS: I think it's really just because people thought I had the voice for it. I'm not an opera snob. I'll sing any kind of music that sounds good to sing.

CT: Who are your favorite singers and musicians?

FIELDS: Oh gee, um, I love Giorgio Tozzi, he's my favorite opera singer. He and Cesare Siepi, but I like Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, and you know, I love Bono and Sting, all those guys.

CT: How do you deal with the pressure of having to put yourself out there and sell yourself and your art?

FIELDS: Well, it's really in the hands of God. I deal with it from the religious standpoint that I'm just blessed. I have a voice to sing, and I don't look at it as a burden, you know. And just think, it's OK. I give it my best, and I don't put pressure on myself to do any better than that, you know? I think that's key to it.

CT: What advice do you have for students pursuing a career in the arts?

FIELDS: Um, keep your day job. (Laughs) Uh, no. It's just the economy these days. It's hard to think of something crazy like opera, but you know if you get advice, do it. Just make sure it's the right decision, that people you trust are telling you you can do it, and then when you decide, give it everything you've got. I hinted to my first professor in marketing that I loved music, and I was taking voice lessons, and I would really love to be a musician someday, and he said, "You know, if you go in that direction, you've got to give up everything else and just do that. Don't dabble in other things and just dabble in music and expect to make it. You've got to give it 100 percent."

CT: Will you describe what the production at Tech is going to entail - give us a peek?

FIELDS: Oh it's going to be a big show. I've got a Shakespeare monologue that goes into a song setting of that monologue, a scene from an opera that was just written in 2007 between Pocahontas and John Rolfe. It's pretty hot. (Laughs) And then, you know, traditional heart songs that are all my favorite, the most beautiful songs I know, that's what I'm singing that night. And "Some Enchanted Evening" - I was on Broadway in the South Pacific, so I've got to do my bread and butter, which is "Some Enchanted Evening."

http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/14195/tech-grad-hits-the-right-notes-finds-career-in-opera