Some voices don’t just fill a room—they electrify it with energy, ethereal and enchanting, that never fails to leaves you breathless in its wake. Marcelo Guzzo’s voice is one of them. Polished to perfection. Effortlessly elegant and eloquent in execution. And altogether magnetic, mesmerizing and ultimately mind blowing.
I first felt its pull at the elite Wings, Wheels & Water party at Three Wing Aviation’s hanger at Sikorsky Airport, hosted by the Steelpointe Yacht Show, an event Venü sponsors each spring in Stratford, Connecticut. This year Marcelo Guzzo, an opera star by profession and passion, was the featured guest entertainer. Leading man looks notwithstanding, he has a voice that virtually touches the soul, embracing hearts with the emotion and vulnerability of a man truly in love with his art. There is something almost mystical in witnessing a voice like this—a rare alchemy of technique, passion, and sheer human presence. It reminds you that music isn’t only entertainment; it is connection, transcendence, and, sometimes, pure magic.
Marcelo Guzzo as Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Photo courtesy of Opera Hong Kong.
Marcelo was born to sing. His journey from a young boy in Uruguay to an internationally renowned opera singer is a testament to the power of following one’s heart – and art. Guzzo’s love for opera began unexpectedly in his youth, when he first encountered the art form. The path to opera was not one laid out before him—it was one he discovered instinctively, as if by fate.
“I didn’t come from a particularly musical family,” he recalls. “In my country, we had just one opera season. We had a tradition of opera from the 1800s, but by my time, such productions were rare. Opera wasn’t something you grew up with in school.”
Growing up in Uruguay where sports, especially soccer, took precedence over cultural pursuits, opera was not an everyday presence. Performances were rare, schools didn’t nurture it, and careers in classical singing felt almost mythical. Yet, as far back as he can remember, Marcelo felt music tugging at him. Even when he tried to avoid the spotlight, teachers and choirs pulled him in—his voice made hiding impossible.
Marcelo Guzzo as Macbeth in Macbeth by Giuseppe Verdi.
Photo courtesy of Opera North.
As young boy, Marcelo couldn’t hide the gift. He laughs when remembering his attempts to dodge choir auditions at school. “I tried hard not to get picked, but the moment I opened my mouth and sang, there was no way out.”
“When I was nine or ten, I felt something stirring inside me; something within me wanted to sing. At that age, of course, you’re mostly just trying to hang out with friends. But the first moment I truly felt it was with my school choir. We were attempting to be a little more pretentious, singing Verdi’s Va, Pensiero from Nabucco. Everyone was singing along, and I suddenly realized: this music, the classical repertoire, it resonates deeply with my heart and my voice. I knew then that this is what I had to do.”
The power of his young voice stopped everyone in their tracks. A family friend recognized the spark and introduced him to a local conservatory and, eventually, to one of Uruguay’s greatest sopranos, who became his first teacher. “They both showed me the possibilities, held up a mirror to what I could achieve, and gave me the guidance that shaped my journey in opera.”
Still, the road was not easy. As the first son in his family, Marcelo carried the weight of expectations. “It’s hard to say you’ll give up a secure path to become an artist. To be the head of a family and try to do it as an opera singer in a first-world country—it’s a tremendous challenge. For a long time, I tried not to become a singer. But the truth was undeniable. It felt exactly what I had to do. I didn’t ask why opera, or why not another kind of music. It was instinctive, like something lit up in my heart. The voice was bigger than me.”
Marcelo came to see his gift as more than an opportunity. “It’s a responsibility,” he says firmly. “Only a tiny percentage of people in the world ever get the chance to fully develop a talent. If life gives you that, you must honor it. You face your biggest obstacle—yourself—and you have to keep moving forward.”
Marcelo Guzzo as Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Photo courtesy of Opera Hong Kong.
That sense of duty carried him from Uruguay to the United States, with scholarships leading him to Charleston, then to the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Along the way, he learned what every great opera singer knows: that technique is nothing without life lived deeply. “You need to fall in love, to lose, to be a father. Those experiences shape how you sing, because opera is about truth. These kinds of life experiences make the music true.”
Opera demands everything from an artist: voice, heart, and soul. “It takes 10 to 15 years to learn how to sing,” Marcelo explained to me. “You need technique, language, phrasing, music, endless training. But more importantly, you need to live.”
On stage, he describes the moment of transcendence: “If you can merge the words, the music, and the character, and then connect with the audience—that’s when everything makes sense. That’s when it feels like home.”
His voice, of course, is his most valuable tool. “It’s like being an athlete,” he says. “Daily training, careful diet, exercise—it’s all part of it. But the foundation is technique. There is no shortcut.”
Even outside the theater, Marcelo admits he’s always singing. “Somebody once said I make unnecessary noises all day,” he laughs. “I’m blessed with neighbors who are supportive because most of the time I don’t realize that I am singing. The emotions of the music are part of my existence every single day.”
Marcelo Guzzo and Andrea Bocelli in Cavalleria Rusticana at Teatro del Silenzio, conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo.
Photo courtesy of Fabian Hochscheid.
Over the years, Marcelo has sung alongside greats like Plácido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli. I asked him if he had a favorite role or experience that influenced his career. He shared that one of his most memorable moments came performing Wagner’s Tannhäuser under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. “Wagner gives you infinite bridges—there is no shortcut, only immersion. That experience was unforgettable.”
Another highlight was singing at a festival in the ancient Greek amphitheater in Taormina in Sicily. “The acoustics are remarkable. You walk onto that stage and realize the gods must have blessed that place. It’s magical.” These moments aren’t just career highlights—they’re proof of opera’s timeless magic.
Though opera is centuries old, Marcelo insists it is more relevant than ever.
“Performing arts help us reconnect with ourselves in a world that constantly pulls us in every direction. I believe that in a world where we constantly multitask and drift away from the present moment, the performing arts offer a rare opportunity to reconnect with ourselves. Music resonates beyond time or age. Opera, in particular, requires us to engage fully—matching each beat, feeling every emotion, and being present for what unfolds before us. It allows us to pause, to release anxieties, and to experience a true union of mind and heart.”
“The richness of the repertoire is incredible, but the real challenge lies in conveying its message to new audiences through a seamless blend of visual and artistic expression. When done well, opera has a unique power to touch the heart—a power that grows increasingly important for young generations. In opera, they can find a space of solace, reflection, and deep emotional resonance that is hard to find anywhere else.”
To that end, Marcelo has dedicated himself to nurturing young talent, founding apprentice programs and supporting students from South America and beyond. “The bridge between being a student and a professional is enormous. Authenticity is the only thing that can carry you across.”
“I may have been one of the pioneers in the United States in developing apprentice programs. My first approach was with the College of Charleston, a place I love and where I have so many wonderful friends. That’s essentially how the opera program developed. Today, that program is incredibly successful—not only within the college and during challenging economic times, but also because it has created connections with talented artists from South America who have gone on to have fantastic careers. It’s truly phenomenal to see such achievements come from my hometown and home base.”
Marcelo Guzzo as Escamillo in Carmen by Georges Bizet, produced by Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
Photo courtesy of Karen Almond.
“There are countless opportunities out there. When we talk about the performing arts—opera, Broadway, and other popular forms of vocal expression—there are many layers and career paths. Some positions on international opera stages are reserved for a few, but beyond those spots there are many ways to use your gifts and express yourself.”
He cautions that artists need to be mindful and find the right balance, discovering how many options exist, and whether those options require developing a true performance career.
“Once you are first and foremost a performer, you can always become a teacher later; but believe me, you will want to perform. When you stand on stage and dedicate your life to communicating and finding ways to convey the process inside you, nothing compares to that experience.”
Not only at home on the operatic stage, Marcelo has performed in musical theater as well. He said that he was fortunate to develop the role of Emile de Becque in South Pacific, originally played by acclaimed Italian opera singer Ezio Pinzo —and to perform it more than 300 times across the United States.
“Seeing the role come alive in front of me, feeling that connection and truthfulness in the process, was a blessing. When the music and the character live in your heart, the audience’s reaction is immediate and profound: it’s as if they say, ‘Here it comes—please touch my heart.’ That responsibility is huge, but so is the possibility to carry a message—to bring the concentration of value embedded in music into people’s minds and hearts. I have not experienced anything else that so deeply transforms us. The power of music and art changes who we are; it lives in our DNA.”
In addition to his myriad stage performances, Marcelo co-founded Greenwich Opera with his wife, composer and songwriter Anelle. Their vision is to bring opera and performing arts into the community in fresh, innovative ways.
“We value community engagement and education, recognizing the power of opera to bridge cultural divides and create meaningful connections, with a particular focus on enriching the lives of children and young people through music.”
The couple’s love story with music includes an operatic love-at-first sight story for the two of them that is remarkedly reminiscent of that famous love song in South Pacific, “Some Enchanted Evening,” where Emile sang, after spying a beautiful stranger across a crowded room, “once you have found her, never let her go.” Marcelo and Anelle met 20 years ago in a Whole Foods near Lincoln Center. Marcelo saw her in a white skirt with pink feathers and instantly knew she was “the one.”
“Everything I am, everything I could achieve, belongs to Anelle,” he says. “Making this journey without love in your heart would be very difficult.”
I asked, hopefully I admit, if there might be a documentary in his future, thinking that it might help others fall in love with his vision for promoting the performing arts today. He hadn’t considered it, he told me, honestly adding that he thinks not. I asked him not to rule it out.
“What I treasure most is the one-on-one experience—sharing, in the most organic and authentic way, the importance of the fundamentals: how to develop yourself into the best version of yourself. Because you’re not just studying voice, not just studying music, not just studying repertoire—you’re studying how to become the fullest version of yourself in every form. You cannot be one without the other. There are no shortcuts. And this truth extends beyond music, beyond the arts—it transcends into life itself. You have to create a love story that represents the best way of who you are.”
Asked what advice he would give to aspiring vocalists, Marcelo turns reflective. He mentions Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. “You must feel you cannot live without it,” he says. “If art is so embedded in you that nothing else makes sense, then you have found your path. It will make you a better artist, a better person, a better human being.”
And with a smile, he adds: “Once you find that truth, everything else falls into place.” ☐
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