SPOTLIGHT ON MERRYJEST STARCHILD The original Cheshire cat opera singer in Second Life.- Lanai Jarrico reporting…

The very first opera goes back over 400 years with the Florentine Camerata.  They were a group of writers, artists and musicians who decided to recreate storytelling of Greek Drama through Music.  It has evolved over time with two different types of Opera. Opera Seria is a formal style that was commonly performed for royalty and Opera Buffa which is more comedic in nature. It evolved even further during the Baroque era and finally during the Romantic period with the Grand Ohaspera  which became all the rage. Another important style came with the Italian bel canto movement meaning “beautiful singing”.  Today you can find Opera on Broadway, Opera Houses and Musicals, and even in the virtual world!

 I had the pleasure of interviewing Merryjest Starchild; the Original Cheshire Cat Opera Singer in Second Life and recent winner of SLE’s Open Mic Auditions hosted by Ninja Antwoord and Wolfie Starfire. He is a unique performer who cannot be defined into one category or put in a box. He is a professional in every sense of the word and has created a legacy in Second Life that is unmatched. Allow me to introduce Merryjest Starchild!

Interview with Merryjest Starchild

Lanai: Merryjest it is an absolute pleasure meeting with you for an exclusive interview. Thank you for your unique performance at this Month’s SLE Open Mic Auditions at The SL Enquirer Media Center. There were so many talented performers but you took the grand prize. Congratulations!

Merryjest: Thank you, Lanai! I have to admit that it came as a complete surprise to me- the songs I write are a little off the beaten path sometimes, and this one was composed over a space of three days to make it to the competition. There was a lot of excellent talent on display that night among all the contestants, and I loved listening to everyone- this was actually only my second time singing at an open mic in Second Life in all the years I’ve been here. 

Lanai: I’m curious to know where you are from, how you discovered Second Life and how you got involved in the music scene here?

Merryjest: Well, I’m originally from Ecuador, though I now live in the United States. I’m one of the early adopters of Second Life- my first account (merryjest.chatnoir, which is still around) is only barely a year younger than Second Life itself. I’ve always been fascinated with the positive (read: non destructive) use of advanced technology for connection and creativity (something that makes Second Life a very different environment, still, from the toxic world that social media has become), so I was eager to explore the world and its possibilities. Soon enough, I was attending art gallery openings, lectures,  round tables, and I even ended up having a small singing part in the first movie to be filmed partially in Second Life (Berardo Carboni’s VolaVola, https://cafebabel.com/en/article/second-life-and-cinema-awaiting-hollywood-5ae006fcf723b35a145e15da/). So, I’ve been here since the start. 

I started frequenting the live music scene as it got off the ground- it was a very small community, at the start, with singers figuring out things as they went along and helping each other out. I got to attend Mel Cheeky’s concerts- she was one of the first original female singer-songwriters in Second Life. I befriended her, as well as Jaynine Scarborough, and then I fell into attending Jaycatt Nico and Frogg Marlowe’s joint shows. Kate Miranda had started showcasing classical performers at what would eventually become the Music Island initiative (Alessandro Marangoni, an award-winning classical pianist in real life, was one of her regular performers back in the day - https://youtu.be/McymAyJf7Mc?si=KXuXdndUvshxB-i0) and I was absolutely captivated by the possibilities of being able to perform in a virtual space.

 

At the time, I was still a young tenor with an immature voice, a ‘baby tenor’ as we say in the industry, and I felt the itch to peform while watching my friends. Eventually, I started singing in Second Life, but it took a few years to build my confidence up before attempting it.  I eventually started singing at Music Island, before spreading out into other venues- until my real life career started picking up and I had to take a step back from singing virtually.

Lanai: There are many performers across the grid in various genres. Opera is rare in comparison to the concerts most attend.  Can you tell our readers what inspired you to perform Classical music and Opera?

Merryjest: I’m going to answer this queston in a somewhat roundabout manner- but stay with me, there is some method to my madness. When people hear I am an opera singer, they always have a lot of questions. And there’s also all the misconceptions that come with the territory. 

The first misconception people have is that opera is the art of the elites or that it is inherently elitist, because it is often performed in grand venues with lavish costumes, and attended by people in furs and jewels. To address that, and to answer your question, I have a story to tell.

I grew up in a very musical family, with my father being the opera nut and my mother being the orchestral nut. I got exposure to classical music, but not only that- my mother was an avid Francophone and would eagerly share her love of Edith Piaf, Barbara, Yves Montand, Dalida, Juliette Greco and others with me. My dad would introduce me to Alberto Cortez, Facundo Cabral, Joan Manuel Serrat… add a dash of glitter from ABBA, the neon effervescence that was the soundscape of the late eighties, and the sabor latino of our autochthonous musical heritage, and there you have the ingredients for the ceviche of my various musical influences, marinated to the point of producing… whatever I am now.

But, I wasn’t a fan of opera. The genre simply didn’t hold any interest for me at the time, and I was far more interested in untangling Johann Sebastian Bach’s spiderweb counterpoint and experimenting with trying to incorporate it into popular music formats (wild counterpoint is already present in Jazz and Rock n’ Roll, so why not other genres too?). Opera, I felt, was old hat, outdated and silly. Yes, the voices were beautiful, but what else was there to it?

I didn’t know it, but the answer to my question waited for me in Rome.

I forget exactly why my dad had to go to Italy, but he thought it was an excellent opportunity for me to tag along and have my first European experience. One of our early stops was the Eternal City, and the first thing my dad wanted to do was to take me to the opera- there were no operas being performed in Ecuador at the time, and there hadn’t been since long before I my birth since the death of Maestro Carlos Gonzales Arejita and the dissolution of his repertory opera company. Unfortunately (or not, as we’ll see), we learned that the Teatro dell’Opera was undergoing some renovations at the time and was, essentially, sitting the rest of the opera season out. My dad was pretty disappointed about the whole thing but, just as we were rounding the corner from the hotel, we saw a poster that advertised a local production of Puccini’s opera, “La Boheme,” which was to take place at a local church a few nights from then. Needless to say, he insisted on us going.

We were staying at the Hotel Mondial, and I remember the church in question was ridiculously close- less than a five minute walk. It was San Paolo dentro le Mura. I remembered the wrought-iron gate into the courtyard of the church, and that the pathway had been lit with luminaries. It took place at the inner sanctuary, which was a more intimate space. 

The first thing I noticed was that the orchestra -a very small chamber-sized ensemble- had a huge age gap. About two thirds of them were musicians of very advanced age, and others who were still clearly students, perhaps amateurs or students at the Santa Cecilia academy or another similar musical academy, but there were hardly any middle-aged musicians in the orchestra. When the conductor took command of the orchestra, we could see he was very young- at least early twenties, so we pegged him as a student. The singers themselves were also a mix: the Rodolfo was clearly just starting to get into the age where his voice was transitioning from ‘baby tenor’ and into ‘big boy tenor’ (early thirties, tenor voices tend to  mature slower than all other voices) whereas his Mimi was clearly close to retirement, but her voice was still warm and vibrant, if no longer fresh. 

The singers themselves performed all the scenery and set changes in between all the singing, it was very much a community effort. Despite everything, or because of it, there was something extremely engaging about it on and off the stage. The people in the pews were regular people, not the elites you imagine going to the opera decked in furs and diamonds, attending in order to be seen rather than to listen. And most of them were enraptured. And so was I- before the opera was over I had become completely invested in the drama and the music. There was something incredibly genuine and honest while also being larger-than-life. 

I remember my father turning to me as we walked out. He turned to me and said “That’s the real spirit of opera, right there.”

And that’s when, I think, I knew I wanted to dedicate myself to learning this art. Before that point, I knew I wanted to be a singer, but that night I knew that what I was going to be, was an opera singer. But what I wanted to bring with me more than anything was the freshness of spirit of that performance night, more than twenty years ago now. 

Lanai: What a beautiful story. You told it so eloquently.  So, who are your favorite Classical/Opera singers and or composers?

Merryjest:  For operatic composers, I guess I’d have to go with Gaetano Donizetti. As the reigning king of Bel Canto, he composed very meaty and beautiful roles for the tenor voice… but I don’t limit myself solely to operatic composers- and not only the classical genre, either! The range of music that I love is very, very extensive.

When talking about favorite opera singers, though, there is one tenor above all others for me: The late and great Alfredo Kraus, whom I’d like to say was as perfect a tenor as there ever was both in his technique and the elegance of his musical expression. Maria Callas, of course, is also up there in my pantheon as the greatest diva of the twentieth century. I also like to listen to the sorrowful voice of early 20th century mezzo Claudia Muzio, who had an absolutely haunting voice- her recording of L’altra notte in fondo al mare from the opera Mefistofele (by Boito) has a sorrowful quality I’ve never heard in anyone, even in Callas. Even when she’s triumphant, there’s something extremely vulnerable at the core of her voice.

Lanai: You sound like a professional.  Do you actively perform in Real Life?

Merryjest: I used to perform regularly, yes, I’m a professional opera singer trained by a former star of the Met and the international opera stage, herself the student of Renée Fleming, Renata Tebaldi and Anna Moffo’s voice teacher. I’ve headlined in the United States and Latin America, and opera really is a driving passion for me. 

However, during the worst of the pandemic, we got to see the ugly side of the opera industry in the United States- we saw the big companies cannibalizing their orchestras and musicians in order to keep upper management afloat instead of the people who provided the art that gave those companies a reason for existing.  A lot of stories came to light during the pandemic- people felt freer to talk about the abuses that were perpetrated, even encouraged, in the business: abusive behavior from conductors, body shaming, prejudice and racism, and other things that showed the industry as it existed in the U.S. was really quite toxic, and quite hostile to the artists upon whom it depended. Many colleagues went completely bankrupt during the pandemic- for many, all it takes are two contract cancellations to put them in serious financial hardship, and here we had singers with five, ten cancellations and tens of thousands of dollars in arrears while many of the big name houses cushioned their general managers at the expense of their orchestras, singers and choirs- the Met sought a 30% pay cut across the board from stagehands to orchestra to singers, but not for its upper management nor for the general manager.

Given that atmosphere, that’s when I decided to walk away. Or, rather, to put it in a different light, I decided not to pursue the career with the same obsession as I had up to that point. One piece of advice that always stuck with me was something that Met soprano Nicole Cabell said to a group of us during a masterclass: “Have other interests,” she said very earnestly, “One day you won’t be able to sing, and you’ll have nothing to fill the void because you spent your life doing only one thing.”

Fortunately, I can still sing and I keep my technique in shape with regular concerts. But Nicole’s sentiment was something that rang true with how I had been living my life up to that point- I’ve never boiled my identity down to one or two elements, I have many interests. Setting the pursuit of the career aside in favor of more reliable employment, while also being free to put on my online concerts felt like a natural progression of things for me. 

Lanai: I love your unique theatrical style and energy in Second Life. I felt like I was experiencing a Musical. Your approach to performing comes with an introduction that takes the audience into the story and song choice. You are definitely a character to be remembered. What inspires the stories and songs you choose?

Merryjest: The difficult part about performing opera outside of the opera is that you are, essentially, taking an excerpt of a story and presenting it in front of the public without the propping of the emotional scaffolding of what has come before. To give you an example in another genre- that of musical theater- it’s an entirely different experience hearing “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables performed as a selection in concert than it is to experience the journey through the characters. The melody of the song (which is taken from an opera- it’s the humming chorus from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly) is incredibly sad and longing, and the tenor has to often deliver it in a frail and delicate falsetto to show his emotional vulnerability… but the visceral reaction runs the danger of being lost in a concert setting. After all, if you haven’t seen the musical or read the book, you may not know that Marius Pontmercy is fighting at the barricades, and that ValJean – who has lost so much – has come to see him as a son and is praying to his god for his safe return.

So what I aim to do with my concerts is sit down with the audience and give them the information they might lack. I set up what they’re about to hear by exploring the story, the themes and characters, and even point out things to listen for that the composer put intentionally into the music to underscore an emotion or a character’s reaction, or even a concept. It’s not a substitute for experiencing a theatrical performance, but I’ve been told that it helps my audience a lot. 

So, I try to organize selections for each concert around a specific theme- I love planning themed concerts. I have a set called Difficult Loves which is all about star-crossed lovers and complicated relationships in opera. Another one – A Stranger Here Myself – takes the music of one of my favorite composers, Kurt Weill, and shows how versatile a composer he was, able to write both musical theater and classical opera, and often while composing with the modern musical language of American jazz and blues. I’ve taught my audience about Mozart, about the German art song movement, the Bel Canto period, and got them so comfortable with the subject that we watched a full opera over two nights. People who had never seen an opera before told me they were in tears, and I’m told over and over again that I’m the reason many people in the audience started to listen to classical music on top of their already existing music selections.

And that’s why I do what I do, and the method behind my madness.

Lanai: What are your favorites to perform?

Merryjest: I have to admit I have a soft spot for Bizet. Je Crois Entendre Encore from his opera The Pearlfishers is one of my go-tos. Spirto Gentil from Donizetti’s La Favorita, A Mes Amis from his Fille du Regiment… there are really too many. On the musical theater front, I adore performing Losing My Mind from Stephen Sondheim’s musical, Follies- anything by Sondheim, really.  

Lanai:  You are known as the original Cheshire Cat in Second Life, how do you define your style?

Merryjest: While I am technically a Bel Canto tenor, a ‘legit opera singer,’ I’m not exactly an easy fit in the ‘classical singer’ mold. All of my life I’ve had a tendency to occupy spaces larger than one particular box or another, and the way in which I conduct my music is pretty much the same.

I’ve already explained what I do to introduce my audience to the selections at hand, but I also aim to embody the spirit of that Roman performance from my youth. Oftentimes opera is seen as an art reserved exclusively for the elites, with many barriers to entry. My aim is to prove to people that those barriers are poppycock- they are illusions upheld by people who prefer to be gatekeepers instead of opening the doors. I like being a disruption who busts the doors wide open. If you are told that you are going to see an opera singer singing in Second Life, the first thing you are going to think of is someone in a tux or a gown standing in front of the piano or an orchestra, hands held together like they’re cradling a little sick bird, and a definite barrier between them and their audiences.

The last thing you’ll expect is a Cheshire cat in extremely colorful outfits sitting on over-the-top stages and spinning yarns and stories, chatting with you and getting you involved in what’s going on before going off to sing the nine high Cs in A Mes Amis. 

I like doing that. It shatters people’s preconceptions- it kicks the image of beminked and bejeweled matrons with their disapproving glares out of people’s memories, and the newly-vacated space in their minds can finally be occupied, not by what people thought opera was, but by what opera actually is.

And, like I said, I may be an opera singer, but I also have many interests that I am not ashamed to bring out. For my SL21B set, I opened with a choreographed number that was a medley of Amanda Lear’s Follow Me, Klaus Nomi’s Nomi Song, Dalida’s Laissez-Moi Danser and Kylie Minogue’s Your Disco Needs You, complete with a landing spaceship and a look to match. For it, I also created a giant stage that was comprised of giant wardrobes through which I’d teleport around and out of, while dancing and singing to Dress Has Always Been My Strongest Suit from Elton John’s Aida. Each time I’d come out, I’d be wearing a different outfit.  This was also the same concert where I sang Che Gelida Manina from Puccini’s La Boheme  and the famous Nessun Dorma from his Turandot… before doing a little ribbing on my penchant for wearing leggings by doing a double feature of Leslie Hall’s parody songs, Shazam! (You’re Glamorous)  and Tight Pants (Body Rolls).

I’ve performed concerts featuring the music of Leonard Cohen, Edith Piaf, David Bowie… I even did a 90 minute concert of ABBA’s music for Fantasy Island for which I built eight different stages. 

I like things to be larger-than-life, and when you’re on your second life, wisdom dictates it should be doubly so.

Lanai: You perform every Saturday night at the Varro Theatre as part of an ongoing internship there. In addition to Fantasy Faire, Fandom-Con and the Second Life Renaissance Festival.  Where else do you perform? 

Merryjest: Oh, I’ll perform anywhere that’s open to me. I perform at the Savoy Ballroom once every month, which is a place I hold dear to my heart along with Fran Serenade’s story (the WIRED article is what led me to that place.) Against all probability, I’ve been hired to sing several concerts at The Ark, which is an adult furry club- and their reactions are always pretty amazing. This year I’ve also sung at the SL Living Expo and at the Belliseria Fairgrounds for Relay for Life- I make a point to try to perform at most RLF events in Second Life.  The Varro is definitely my home-away-from-home in Second Life- the owner approached me after my first Fandom Con set and offered me the residence. It’s a wonderful speakeasy where I have the creative freedom to exercise my creativity. I love the mission of Music Island and what Kate Miranda does with it- I’ve sung there in the past, and I intend to return there this year once my daytime schedule on Saturdays gets a little more predictable.

Lanai: You are an all around talent by making your own stages, choreographing your own numbers and coding your own special effects. Of all the performances you’ve created. Which are the most memorable and why?

Merryjest: I’m going to go with my SL20B performance. Here I was, fresh from my long break from Second Life, and I decided against all sanity to throw my application in when they opened up for perfomers. I figured I’d be in one of the side stages- which were pretty cool. That year’s birthday design was pretty special.  I ended up scheduled on the Mandala stage, the main stage, which was pretty crazy. It was also a little unnerving.

I said to myself, “My god, this might turn out to be a complete disaster.”

That sounds absolutely ridiculous when you consider that I’ve sung onstage for two decades. Why the bout of second-guessing? You see, the thing is that I’ve sung roles in opera houses and similar venues. The audience you get in an opera house is  already there to hear an opera and know what to expect. The itinerant audience at a massive event like SL20B most likely had never heard an opera singer in Second Life before, had no idea one such creature even existed in our beloved and laggy little world. 

I was about to commit an ambush.

Things started off on an inauspicious foot- when I crossed onto the sim to take the stage I rubber-banded so hard I ended up catapulting myself face-first into an attendee’s crotch. I had decided that the theme of my concert for SL20B was going to be The Misfits- because Second Life, let’s be honest, is a refuge for the misfits- all of the creators that make all the strange and wonderful things. I had created a Wonderland-themed stage to drive the Cheshire cat theme home, and I dedicated two songs to Osprey Therian and Robin Sojourner- two dear friends who were incredibly influential to the history of Second Life and who, having passed away, now formed part of its historical tapestry. By the time Nessun Dorma came around, the audience was really into it. 

I ended that concert by singing a parody I wrote using Eric Idle’s Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life that I titled Always Log On The Second Side Of Life (https://youtu.be/nt3C0KIqj-I?si=Z6j2Z5zadcjzklR0) – a tribute that celebrated Second Life’s idiosyncrasies as well as the things that make it endearing.  The parody made people laugh and it’s one of my most-requested songs outside of opera.  It inspired me to work on a concert of parodies called Songs From The Second Side- so far I’ve got Can You Feel The Lag Tonight?, The Inventory Song, My Favorite Blings and No Clothes Second Life added to the list.

That SL20B experience really confirmed to me that there was definitely a place for all of the unusual stuff I wanted to unleash upon this unsuspecting world. 

 

Lanai: You have done an amazing job since the moment you set foot in Second life and carried your footprints across the grid. You are one of the most unique people I have had the pleasure of interviewing.  How can Venues book you for a performance? I think everyone in Second Life needs to experience your talent.

Merryjest: They can contact Darius Anthony and Melly Faith Anthony at the Simstar Talent Group (secondlife:///app/group/f33def34-ca0b-1a96-3292-34f140b73d37/about)  (https://simstarsl.com/)

The months of March and April have a light number of engagements planned because I am preparing for the big show for Fantasy Faire this year!

Lanai: I’ll have to save the date! What group can SL residents join to follow your performances?

Merryjest:  My in-world group is secondlife:///app/group/e98afc8a-a2e1-e855-313a-164298f2c54f/about – they can also join my subscribe-o-matic in-world during my concerts. The link to my Discord server is given out by my performer board in-world during my concerts, as well.

Lanai: It was such a pleasure interviewing you. Before we end this interview, is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Merryjest: Thank you, Lanai, it’s been a pleasure! I’d like to encourage your readers to come to the Fantasy Faire on April 18th at 11 am- I will be debuting my show Wonders: Crashing The Queen’s Party, which will consist entirely of music that is composed, written and performed by me, as well as a storyline featuring voice actors, choreography, and different set changes. Be part of the audience and donate to join in the fight against The Unweaver (cancer.)  I lost my mother, two of her sisters, and another aunt to cancer over the last few years, so it is a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

Additional information

Website: merryjest.live

Other: On Bluesky as merrystarchild.bsky.social

Sample Live Performances: 

* https://youtu.be/QoMn5wVGGi4?si=K0Dussq_PzTnf77

* https://youtu.be/KCmYsCzyRqc?si=_L2Zop6vEHTmKnE7

* https://youtu.be/RkxysB9Q1yc?si=iUgxGKVL29YTrC6N

Booking Information: 

⦿MERRYJEST  ST✮RCHILD⦿