Cantor’s love of opera takes him to the biggest stage
In his high school yearbook, Josh Benevento wrote that in 2025 he would be singing at the Metropolitan Opera. You can say he made it. Benevento, who turns 40 in June, just finished up his 11th season at the Met.
“I can honestly say that singing at the Met has fulfilled my dreams, and I thank God every day for that because it’s a blessing to me,” Benevento said. “It’s a gift to me to be able to sing and be involved with music for a living.”
Benevento, a cantor at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Montclair, said only one other person he attended college with is involved in music anymore.
“That’s typical for music schools,” he said. “The success rate is less than a percent. I’m just thankful every day.”
On the surface, opera might seem an unlikely pairing for Benevento, who grew up loving music but was more of a hard rock and alternative music fan. He spent his teenage years rocking out on guitar in a band that performed Nirvana covers. However, everything changed when Benevento went on a school chorus trip to New York City in 1996 to see his first opera. It starred none other than the legendary Luciano Pavarotti.
“I still remember it,” said Benevento, who, like Pavarotti, is a tenor. “It was absolutely one of the most memorable experiences because I looked out at that and went, ‘wow, this is amazing. I want to do that. I know nothing about that, but I want to do that.’”
Looking back, Benevento is convinced his love for opera was no accident.
“Believe it or not, there are so many similar elements of opera and metal music in the way of the dramatism in the music,” he said. “It’s full of passion. It’s full of energy. And you get that same kind of thing on stage in an opera.”
Benevento also appreciates the physicality of opera and what performers can do with their bodies. He points out that it’s an art form that does not use microphones.
“We were sitting up in the heavens,” he said of that fateful day in 1996 when Benevento was a freshman in high school. “We were watching people sing on stage and going, ‘wow, there are 3,700 people in this room, and there’s no microphone, and you can hear them like they’re right next to you.’ That’s pretty amazing that their human voice can do that.”
When Benevento is not performing on stage at the world’s premier opera house, his magnificent voice is on display at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish during the weekend liturgies. He also sings at funerals.
Benevento is a good person to know. When the pastor at his parish asked if he would assemble a special Christmas concert last year, the gregarious singer called on a few of his colleagues at the Met, and together they put on a world-class performance that left the faithful stunned in their pews. The concert also included a harpist and renowned pianist from New Jersey who had just performed a recital at Carnegie Hall days earlier.
“Father Benny [Prado] said, ‘hey Josh, what do you think about a Christmas concert?’” Benevento said. December being the slow season at the Met, it worked out well.
Benevento, who grew up the son of two protestant pastors in Ramsey, spent years singing in evangelical settings before finding his way to St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Montclair. He converted to Catholicism four years ago.
“I remember being in the choir singing at the Easter Vigil up until the point of baptism and confirmation,” he said. “I got out of my choir robe and went right up and was baptized, confirmed, received first Eucharist, got my robe on, and jumped right back in the choir.”
Benevento recalled how during the year leading up to that moment, something was stirring inside him whenever the faithful went up to receive Communion. He said this was especially true during Transfiguration Sunday.
“The words, ‘this is my beloved Son, listen to him,’ really resonated with me in connection with the Eucharist,” he said. “In the choir, during Communion, I would sit, and everybody would go up to receive Communion. During that time, instead of maybe playing on my phone or getting lost in my thoughts, I would focus on what was happening during Communion and actually focus on what the Eucharist was – which I had no idea what it was. Growing up in the Protestant Church, I know what Communion is, but to me, it was always just a symbol. The living presence of Jesus in the Eucharist was a foreign concept to me.”
After enrolling in the RCIA program and receiving his First Sacraments, Benevento got even more involved with his local parish. He’s been on two mission trips to the Dominican Republic to help out at an orphanage. He continues to help create print materials for the parish and manage the parish’s social media accounts. When the pandemic first struck, Benevento livestreamed Mass on his mobile phone until a video system was installed.
“It’s been an amazing faith journey for me, especially going from just converting to Catholicism and then having the pandemic happen pretty much a year later,” Benevento said.
Father Prado said the parish is fortunate to have Benevento as part of the staff. He said that Benevento was instrumental in helping the parish stay connected with parishioners during the pandemic, and described him as a talented musician, a faithful disciple of Christ, a hard worker, and a good and faithful friend.
“I have seen him grow in his journey of faith and as a wonderful and talented cantor,” the pastor said. “I believe he has learned a lot in his journey of faith and about the Church liturgy – especially Catholic liturgy. I am grateful for his love, zeal, and dedication for our parish and music.”
Featured image: Josh Benevento, a cantor at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Montclair, performs at the famed Metropolitan Opera in New York City. (Photo courtesy of Josh Benevento and Hernan Valle)
