This weekend, Piedmont Opera opens its production of Joan of Arc: The Trial at Rouen by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Norman Dello Joio. Singing the role of the main antagonist who presides over the corrupt trial leading to Joan’s demise will be University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumnus Josh Conyers, who has taken an unlikely road to opera stardom.
He grew up in housing projects throughout the south Bronx, surrounded by negativity and violence, often in his own home. Conyers says back then his options in life were severely limited.
"My parents struggled with drugs, you know and drug abuse, alcohol abuse," he says. "You know it was hard to hold down as a kid moving from shelter to shelter, from borough to borough. Just kind of having that hang over your head. I could have chose very easily like a lot of my friends chose the streets, or try to do something better."
Somewhere between first and second grade, Conyers made a fateful decision to enter a talent show. He sang a Boyz II Men song, placed second, started a boy band of his own and was later introduced to opera by a friend.
Since then Conyers’ singing career has him thriving as a father, educator and performer. Last year he debuted with the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera.
"This is just a really unique experience to just finally walk in a building and have your artist card," says Conyers. "You know, it’s America’s opera house, you know, this huge beast, this huge machine that attracts audiences from across the world. To set foot in there and to be like, ‘I’m an artist that’s privileged enough to be in this place and to work.’ It was special."
Conyers currently teaches voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. The Grammy-nominated singer released his debut album, A Miracle in Legacy, based on his life story, this summer.