If opera companies drafted singers like the NFL

(The following is the transcript from an ESPN TV special: "Opera Draft Day Preview". Hosted by Mike "Greenie" Greenberg, with draft experts Anthony Tommassini of the New York Times and Anne Midgette of the Washington Post, the telecast brings you bold predictions about which collegiate voice students are likely to be drafted by American opera companies.)

GREENIE:
Hello, everyone! Welcome to our very first Opera Draft Day Preview! Thanks to our special guests Tony and Anne. I tell you, this is my favorite time of year: we've got the Stanley Cup playoffs in hockey, the NBA playoffs, baseball in full swing and, of course, the suspense and excitement of seeing which outstanding collegiate opera singers will be drafted into the pros to launch their careers.
Tony Tommassini, let me start with you: who do you see as the Number One pick overall?

TOMMASSINI:
Greenie, as you know, the San Diego Opera won the lottery for the top pick in this year's draft, and my sources are telling me they're going with the talented young Nathan Jones as their number one.

GREENIE:
Jones, the senior bass-baritone out of Kentucky. That's somewhat of a surprise, as many had predicted the flashy tenor Samuel Reilly of Indiana.

TOMMASSINI:
Jones may not be as electric a performer as Reilly, but San Diego is looking for a reliable singer to sing the buffo roles; that was a weak area for them last season and they're looking to Nathan to plug that hole, if you will.

MIDGETTE:
I agree with Tony. Reilly has a fabulous voice and is a strong actor as well, but his stock has fallen a bit lately due to rumors that his ego causes off-stage problems. He also tends to drag behind the beat in ensembles. Still, someone will snap him up just on sheer potential - most likely Sarasota Opera with the sixth overall pick. I mean, good tenors don't come around that often, and Sam Reilly is a future franchise tenor.

GREENIE:
Which soprano is drawing the most interest?

MIDGETTE:
Most of us expected Sophie Daniels, the lyric coloratura from New England Conservatory to declare early for the draft, and now that she has, I see her going as early as Number two or three.

GREENIE:
Daniels is only a freshman! Isn't that cause for concern? So many young singers go to the pros too early and end up with nodules or ruptured vocal cords.

TOMMASSINI:
There have certainly been examples of that, but sopranos like Sophie tend to mature pretty quickly and her phenomenal performance in the New England production of Norma made scouts like me sit up and take notice.

MIDGETTE:
And she's versatile. She can take the stage in Mozart, in Strauss, in bel canto... Chicago Lyric had her come up for a workout. They even tried her out in Wagner, and she blew them away.

GREENIE:
Tony, Seattle Opera just traded a rehearsal pianist to Des Moines to move up in the draft to the fourth spot. What's the strategy there?

TOMMISSINI:
They're in a bit of a bind. They've committed to Rossini's Cenerentola for next season, but the mezzo under contract has just gone on the disabled list and is looking at surgery. So look for Seattle to choose the junior mezzo Clarice Jenkins from Florida State.

MIDGETTE:
Jenkins is a future star. Very intelligent, understands music theory and performance practices, and has broken the school speed records in scales and trills.

GREENIE:
Isn't it a bit risky to cast a rookie vocalist in a big-time pressure-packed role like Cenerentola?

TOMMASSINI:
Times have changed, Greenie. These days, young singers go to opera camp, they work out in the off-season with specialists, and they're more equipped to handle pressure than young singers in the '60's and '70's.

MIDGETTE:
Besides, Florida State runs a pro-style opera program, so the transition shouldn't be too difficult.

GREENIE:
We're almost out of time, but can anyone explain to me how the Wild West Opera of Buffalo Tracks Montana keeps making such horrible draft picks? Their last seven draft picks are no longer in music, with most of them ending up in the food service industry.

TOMMASSINI:
Bad scouting and a bad General Manager makes for disasters at draft time. I mean, musical diversity is admirable as a goal, but selecting a reggae artist in last year's draft to play Wotan shows that they simply don't know what they're doing in Montana.

GREENIE:
My thanks to our guests. Don't forget to join us this Friday night on ESPN as opera companies across the country go on the clock!