An avid participant in the Dallas art community, freshman Megan Ortman is in the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, a member of Hockadance and has a unique gift for singing in the operatic style. Read more about her talent below.

How did you get into opera?

In sixth grade, my music teacher would show us movie versions of operas, and I got really into them. Since then I’ve been dragging my mom to The Dallas Opera, and in seventh and eighth grades I took voice lessons from the same sixth grade music teacher.

What’s your favorite opera piece?

I would have to say “O mio babbino caro” (“Oh My Beloved Father”). The story of it is “Dad, I want to marry this guy, we’re getting the ring, and if you don’t let me I’m going to throw myself into the river.” It escalates very quickly, but it’s a beautiful song.

What’s makes opera singing different?

It’s all in the vowels. Pop songs today are sung laterally, meaning that when you make an “a” or an “e” sound your lips are horizontal. When you sing something operatic, it’s vertical and linear. Just the shape of your mouth changes. The second difference is that in pop songs, vowels are made by moving your lips, but opera singers make vowel sounds with their tongue.

Do you want to pursue opera as a career?

Maybe not as a career, but I know I want to continue performing.