Andrea Velis

Andrea Velis (7 June 1932 – 4 October 1994) was an American operatic tenor who had a lengthy association with the Metropolitan Opera that spanned 33 seasons. Considered a highly skilled character actor, he excelled in supporting roles, often to great comedic effect. His voice is preserved on several recordings made for Live from the Metropolitan Opera and the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts.

Born on 7 June 1932 in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Velis earned a music degree from the University of Pittsburgh. A Fulbright Scholarship enabled him to pursue graduate studies in opera at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy. He made his professional opera debut in 1954 as Goro in Puccini's Madama Butterfly with the Pittsburgh Opera.

In 1957 Velis joined the roster of artists at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, making his debut with the company as the Music Master and the Lamplighter in Puccini's Manon Lescaut with Renata Tebaldi in the title role. He sang several other roles in Chicago, including Abate in Giordano's Andrea Chénier, Don Curzio in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, the Royal Herald in Verdi's Don Carlo, and Poisson in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur. In 1961 he portrayed Mime in Wagner's Das Rheingold at the Cincinnati Opera.

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