Separately, he is one for the busiest Rodolfos in the opera business, singing the lead role in Puccini’s “La Boheme” in concert halls across the globe.
And she is a reigning Queen of the Night, having performed that specialty character from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” more then 300 times, including a record-breaking 64 appearances with New York City’s Metropolitan Opera.
But together they are just Zach and Katie, a couple of professional operas singers who fell in love, got married, had a couple kids and moved to Connecticut, and somehow make two busy singing careers, spent mostly on the road, work for their family.
One way that happens for tenor Zach Borichevsky and soprano Kathryn Lewek is by taking jobs where they can appear in the same production, and bring the whole clan on the road with them. That occurs next week in Denver when each has a part in Opera Colorado’s production of Puccini’s “La Boheme.”
Borichevsky brings back his well-considered Rodolfo, the lover of Mimi (played by Raquel González) who dies tragically in the end. Lewek takes on the role of Musetta, a friend of theirs who has the job at the end of telling Rodolfo that Mimi has perished. He is shocked by the news.
It’s all acting, of course, but the couple said it is a challenge to watch the other suffer on stage because of their personal connection.
“When he falls apart, I fall apart,” said Lewek. “Because it is so emotional when you see the person that you love the most in such an emotional state. There’s a lot of genuine feeling behind it.”
The pair met back in 2013 when they were competing in a singing competition in Verona, Italy. She won a prize and he did not, as he pointed out during a recent interview.
“The prize was a Rolex watch,” he said, “And she lorded that watch over me for years.”
They bonded as colleagues, but that was all at the time. Borichevsky was dating someone else.
“The beginning of our friendship was just kind of trying to keep each other’s nerves down,” said Lewek.
But in 2015, they found themselves cast as Lucia and Edgardo, the lovers in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” They were both single by then and their relationship clicked. They married soon after.
Since then, they have developed busy and successful careers. Borichevsky sang Romeo in a production of “Romeo and Juliet” at Teatro Municipal de Santiago in Chile, and Alfredo in “La Traviata” at England’s Glyndebourne Festival. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Edmonds in “Manon Lescaut.”
Lewek has sung numerous parts in addition to her Met work, notably creating the soprano role in the world premiere of “Music for New Bodies,” a work by composer Matthew Aucoin and director Peter Sellars.
“From the time that we fell in love in “Lucia,” we did not sing together again for six years,” said Borichevsky.
As the children came along, they learned how to manage their household and keep the singing going. It requires a lot of time management, and family help when both are out of town
“We are privileged, in every sense of the word, especially in terms of our extended and immediate families, because both my parents and Katie’s parents have facilitated our ability to stay together as a family,” said Borichevsky, “way more than any other traveling opera family that I know about.”
Now that the duo have established careers, they are better able to facilitate joint appearances, like the current “La Boheme.”
“He’s singing one of many Rodolfos he’s done, but it’s my first Musetta, which I will sing in two years at The Met,” said Lewek. “So it’s an absolutely fabulous opportunity to try this role out.”
This year, they will appear in three productions together and two concert performances. It makes things easier — and more fun.
Opera Colorado has set them up in a five-bedroom house about 30 minutes from the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, where “La Boheme” will be performed.
“We’re accommodating Katie’s parents and our two kids and ourselves. My mom was here for a little while at the beginning, too,” said Borichevsky. “It takes a village, as they say.”
The commute to rehearsals gives them time to talk about the production and their roles. As always, they try to balance their professional jobs and their personal feelings. It can get complicated.
“We give each other notes, and sometimes that gets a little prickly,” said Lewek. “We don’t fight as husband and wife in these situations; we fight as artists who have different artistic ideas.”
But having a couple in the casting mix can make things easier for everyone, Lewek said. The comfort level between the pair extends naturally to others in the production.
On Feb. 9, they hosted a Super Bowl party at their temporary house, and many others from the show’s cast and crew showed up for the game.
“There’s this sense of family,” said Lewek. “It just kind of immediately put everybody at ease. There was a little less nervous energy from the get-go.”
IF YOU GO
“La Boheme” runs Feb. 22-March 2 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Info and tickets: 303-468-2030 or operacolorado.org.