Dads in the Limelight – Professional Opera Singer and Father, Adam Hall
Our 645th Dad in the Limelight is professional Opera singer and father, Adam Hall. I want to thank Adam Hall for being a part of this series. It has been great getting connected with him and now sharing Adam Hall with all of you.
1) Tell me about yourself, (as well as how you are in the limelight for my readers knowledge
My name is Adam Hall, and I am a professional opera singer. Or at least I was. I’ve had contracts with the Metropolitan
Opera, New York City Opera, and other houses around the country and the world. These days I am singing a little less and
parenting a little more, and writing about it over at Tenor Dad. I now make my living singing, running the music
program at my church, and teaching voice lessons.
2) Tell me about your family
I’ve been married for almost 13 years, and we have two children, Ruby and Edward, who are 9 and 6. We also have a dog,
Anna, and live with two magical teddy bears who are always causing mischief and mayhem.
3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
This is, to me, sort of a two-part question. For sure the hardest thing I have had to deal with in an “obviously hard to deal
with” way, is the fact that both of my children have epilepsy. The health challenges we have had to face (and are still facing)
are one of the primary reasons that I no longer travel to sing. But on a deeper level, I would have to say that neither my wife
or myself ever envisioned me as a stay-at-home parent and her as the primary breadwinner. That has been a hard
adjustment for both us in many ways.
4) What advice would you give to other fathers?
Have fun. Laugh. Enjoy the ride. I find that even the worst moments can have an element of humor to them. Many of the
stories I’ve shared at Tenor Dad are stories that people will read and say to me, “I don’t mean to laugh, that sounds like a
terrible thing, but the way you tell it, I can’t help it!” And I say, good, that was my intention. You can get through anything if
you are able to keep a sense of humor about it.
5) How have you come to balance parenthood and outside life?
I don’t know if I really have? Maybe I have. Maybe I am getting better at it. When I was singing a lot, I would be gone for
sometimes up to 8 weeks at a time, and certainly 2-3 weeks at a time pretty regularly. That was hard. That did not feel like
balance. And when the health problems came to the forefront, I made a decision to put the brakes on a singing career to stay
home with the kids full time. That didn’t feel like balance either, but it felt necessary. Now I have jobs that are flexible, and I
am able to work at what I love, while also being home when the kids after school, and that feels better. I also have a group of
friends I hang out with every other Monday, which has been a sanity saver. I feel like social lives are the last item on the
agenda sometimes as parents, but it’s so important.
6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?
Every father I have interacted with has taught me something, whether it is “Oh, that didn’t work, that’s a bad idea,” or “Wow,
that shows a lot of love and patience, I need to strive to be that.” I am very grateful to the other stay-at-home dads, who are
still in the minority, for helping me to feel like I am not crazy for doing what I am doing.
7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?
Being a father is something that I’ve always known that I wanted, but the depth of the experience is so far beyond what I
could have imagined. The amount of time, energy, love, exhaustion, joy, exasperation, and satisfaction is just miles beyond
anything else I’ve ever been a part of. Even being on stage at the end of an opera, receiving a standing ovation, that’s not as
intense as so many of the parenting moments I’ve had.
8) What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?
Most of my best stories have been recorded on my blog, and there are a lot of them. But for me, the things that stick out the
most are when my kids do something for the first time. I will never forget my daughter’s first steps, or the day my son learned
to ride a bike. The thrill of watching your child take a step forward into becoming themselves is really just the greatest feeling
you can have.
If you have any questions for Adam Hall, please leave a comment here and I will make sure that he gets them so that he may be able to respond!
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