Singing on the opening night of the Metropolitan Opera season is a testimony to a singer’s ability. Not only is it a testament to the singer's ability to sing but also the singer's ability to create some buzz--some anticipation.

There are accomplished singers who sing for decades and never open a Met season. Stephen Costello has done it twice and he’s barely scratched his thirties.

Stephen will be singing on the opening night of San Diego Opera 2013 season as Tonio in Donizetti’s Daughter of the Regiment.

Tonio might not be the funniest character in the opera but he has his moments and he has heart. He also manages to become the de facto leader of a regiment in an army of a country that is not his own. Impressive.

In case you haven’t heard, he has an aria with nine “high C’s” in it.

This is Stephen Costello’s first time singing the role and he exuded nothing but confidence when we talked about singing bel canto operas and specifically Donizetti.

Stephen has performed about half a dozen roles in Donizetti operas, two of which were on those opening nights at The Met.

Daughter of the Regiment opens Saturday, the 26th of January at 7:00 pm at the Civic Theater. The performances will be sung in French with English super-titles.