Using Opera to be a ‘Person for Others’

By Robert Davis

Photo courtesy of Jerome Sibyl.

Music has always been a part of Jerome Sibulo’s life.

Growing up in the Philippines, he enjoyed it when his parents played oldies like the Carpenters and The Beatles at breakfast. He also sang as an accompanist while his grandmother played the piano whenever she visited. While it was clear to him early on that he would become a musician, Sibulo, 39, is now using those skills to be, as he says, a “person for others.”

Maybe it’s his Jesuit upbringing. Certainly, his friends and mentors are a part of it, too. But regardless of the source of Sibulo’s inspiration, he told Denver VOICE in an interview that his work as a baritone opera singer often spurs him to find ways to create a sense of togetherness for his audience. He also wants to inspire them to connect with people that they would otherwise overlook.

“I like shedding light onto different aspects of life and helping my audience love life a little bit more, even the negative parts of it,” Sibulo said. “There’s beauty to be found everywhere and in everyone, you meet.”

Sibulo’s journey to becoming a professional opera singer began when his mom enrolled him in singing classes when he was a child. He mostly sang karaoke at the time, he says, in part because of the musical genre’s popularity in the Philippines.

He joined three choruses while he studied for an undergraduate degree in psychology at Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, a suburb of Manila. There, he also met a teacher, Antonio Hila, who encouraged him and promised to give Sibulo free voice lessons if he agreed to audition for schools in the United States.

Sibulo upheld his end of the bargain. He enrolled at Indiana University, one of the top schools for vocal performance in the country, as a 23-year-old freshmanin 2006, and he has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the university as well.

But Sibulo says he had two experiences in Indiana that shaped the way he views his work today. First, Sibulo joined Heartland Sings, a nonprofit vocal performance organization in Fort Wayne that he says taught him how to use his art to help underserved communities.

He also met his husband, Jacob Wooden, who convinced Sibulo to move to Denver in 2019. This second experience, Sibulo says, helped set him on a path toward using his art to build community wherever the two go.

“If there are three things I could do for the rest of my life, it would be to perform, be an arts administrator, and provide opportunities for other artists,” Sibulo said. “But that job didn’t exist when I moved to Denver, so I had to create one for myself.”

Now, Sibulo works as the associate director of Arts &Ministry at Trinity United Methodist Church, which hosts free lunches for the homeless community on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 1820 Broadway St. in Denver.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Sibulo

He also teaches voice lessons, both in his private studio and at Neighbor Music Stanley near Central Park. At other times, Sibulo performs with troupes like Opera on Tap, which brings opera shows to breweries and bars, and with groups such as Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, and a duet he and Wooden started called Soro and The Prince.

But it’s not just the act of performing that Sibulo enjoys. Part of his drive to be a “person for others” also requires him to make his audience a little uncomfortable during his performances. He describes this as a means of helping them grow both individually and collectively.

For instance, he recently performed in a production called Unbound, a kink opera composed by Denver artist Nathan Hall. The show is about searching for a sexual fantasy — one that the seeker wants and one that may forever change them. The performance required Sibulo to be tied up in his underwear while singing, which he says was difficult for him to fathom at first.

After the show, Sibulo said several audience members thanked him and the other cast members for giving them more than mere entertainment during the performance.

“When you hit something deep, that is uncomfortable,” Sibulo said. “It can be uncomfortable to have someone show you what is important to them, rather than simply telling you.” Sibulo says he also wants his art to be a “bridge of connection” for people. Part of this involves performing music that is deeply personal for Sibulo.

During the early days of the pandemic in 2020, Soro and The Prince performed live concerts on YouTube for 12 consecutive weeks. They performed covers of songs from Sibulo’s childhood like “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and “Your Song” by Elton John. By the end of the series, Sibulo says the duo had people reach out and say they lookedforward to the performances and that they helped them deal with the loneliness of the pandemic lockdowns.

On June 18, Sibulo and the Opera on Tap troupe performed a show at the Enigma Bazaar that was entirely dedicated to exploring gay identities. One of the songs performed by the troupe was “Reflections” from the Disney movie Mulan.

This song is meaningful to Sibulo not only because Mulan was one of the first portrayals of Asian American culture in a Disney film, but because the song was originally sung by Filipina artist Lea Salonga. The song’s message to ensure one’s reflection is representative of who they are is also one that resonates with Sibulo because of his struggles with his identity as a gay man.

“I identify with this song a lot because it talks about hiding yourself or disappointing your family if you become yourself,” Sibulo said. “The performance was live-streamed, and I’m sure my parents watched. They were probably a little uncomfortable, too.”

As a teacher, Sibulo says he also challenges his students to find a deeper connection to their work. Sometimes that involves going beyond the lyrics to find a new interpretation of a song. It also involves mixing opera with other mediums like performance and visual art to bring the art form to new audiences.

“Opera is a very communicative art form,” Sibulo said. “And it’s taught me that no person, or art form, is completely bad. There are always things to appreciate or lessons to learn from everyone.”

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the July 2022 issue as part of our profiles on Denver artists of color.