Getting to that point, though, required a battery of people - his parents and his wife, soprano Ailyn Perez, plus voice teacher Bill Schuman, who is on the Academy of Vocal Arts faculty and is known as not only a major voice builder but also a voice reclaimer. Besides teaching such AVA grads as Latonia Moore, Schuman has done mid-career tuneups for singers including Aprile Millo and the late Jerry Hadley. Costello wouldn't have dreamed of scheduling a tonsillectomy without his intensive input. But this one, says Schuman, was "a nightmare."
"We had talked about him getting the tonsils out next summer and taking the summer off," said Schuman. "But when he went to Glyndebourne L'elisir d'amore], he said, 'Bill, I need you over here!' That's not usual for him. He canceled the second and third performances. He never cancels."
The opening had been successful. But Glyndebourne is in the country - allergy alley - and Costello's throat was in distress. He had often sung despite infections in recent years, but not like this.
"I took two rounds of antibiotics and it didn't help," he said. "There was no problem with my voice. I could sing. It was just an all-day process. I'd get up in the morning and start vocalizing to get my throat to relax . . . but I was very uncomfortable. I opened the Met season in a matter of weeks. I needed to have it done."
The surgery was done July 15 in New York City; the first day of Met rehearsals was Aug. 22. Singing the role of Percy in Anna Bolena, Costello needed at least six high Cs - a seemingly distant possibility when, after three weeks of post-surgery vocal rest, he began re-climbing the scales under Schuman's guidance.
And now? "His voice is growing. It's deepening," remarked retired soprano Renata Scotto after hearing a rehearsal.
