When Alexander Rom joined the Dallas Opera after a successful preparation of its chorus for Prince Igor in 1990, he came to a historically Italianate company nicknamed La Scala West. The company was proud of its Italians: co-founder, conductor, and artistic director Nicola Rescignio and Maestro Roberto Benaglio, the legendary chorus master of La Scala. Having studied Italian opera with his longtime mentor and friend Maestro Dick Marzollo, at the time the main vocal coach of the Metropolitan Opera, Alexander Rom successfully continued Dallas Opera’s great musical traditions. His deep knowledge of operatic singing and vocal technique along with his experience as Russian opera coach at the Metropolitan Opera has greatly contributed to the sound of today’s Dallas Opera chorus: full, vocally expressive, rich, and capable of both pianissimos as well as full fortissimo singing. To step into the shoes of Maestro Benaglio was a challenge, but Alexander Rom succeeded to lead the Dallas Opera chorus to new heights.
A native of Kharkov, Ukraine, Alexander Rom graduated from the Leningrad Conservatory of Music, now The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, with a master’s degree in choral conducting. He was a student of Avenir Mikhailov, a Music Director of the St. Petersburg Singing Cappella, historically the first professional chorus in Russia, founded by Peter the Great.
Since immigrating to the United States, Maestro Rom has worked in many musical venues as a performer, conductor, educator, voice teacher, opera coach, and composer. Recently, he finished his 23rd season as Chorus Master at the Dallas Opera, where he has prepared its chorus to much critical acclaim. Maestro Rom has served as opera coach for numerous companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Savonlinna Opera Festivals in Finland, Cincinnati Festival, and Ravinia Festival.
In his coaching career he has worked with world-renowned singers such as Paul Plishka, Martti Talvela, Franz Mazura, Mirella Freni, Nikolai Ghiaurov, Aage Hogland, Jorma Hynninen, Helga Dernesch, Dawn Upshaw, Joyce di Donato, Stephanie Toczyska, and Jerry Hadley.
Maestro Rom is an Honorary Visiting Professor at Sibelius Academy and the Helsinki Conservatory of music in Helsinki, Finland, and was a Visiting Professor at the Savonlinna Opera Festival Music Institute for ten years. He also staged and musically prepared a production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the Retretti Performance Hall with an international cast of young and rising stars from Russia and Finland. He was a founder and Music Director of the Grace Choral Society of Brooklyn, New York, which he directed for 19 years. His music and arrangements for voice, chorus, piano and other instruments have been performed in many prestigious venues. Maestro Rom maintains a private voice studio in Dallas, Texas.
The main goal of Alexander Rom in his work with choruses is to achieve a highly personal, unique sound and musical identity. This is attained through unified vocal technique and creative attention to the drama, where each chorister fully applies his or her personal imagination and yet respects the wishes of the composer.
“As far as opera chorus is concerned, I treat every chorister as a soloist. Thus the opera chorus, regardless of its size, is a group of soloists, who sing in full operatic voice and blend together as a perfect singing unit,” says Alexander Rom.
“I care about my choristers not only during rehearsals or performances, but also before and after. Knowing them better personally helps all of us to establish closer professional relationships and as a result people want to do things for each other not because they have to, but also because they want to.”
“Our great responsibility before the audience is to deliver maximum quality, while keeping in mind that thousands of people will come to listen to the opera giving us their most priceless not refundable commodity: the time of their lives.”
Alexander Rom to the chorus: “You are the messengers of beauty, who remind people about God-given beauty within.”