"Dr. Bartolo's umbrella and other tales from my surprising operatic life is a funny, touching, irreverent memoir about Chris Cameron's thirty year career as an opera and concert singer on stages across the country. Cameron might have been a nondescript face in a crowd, but when he sang, he was somebody. Dr. Bartolo's umbrella and other tales from my surprising operatic life invites readers along on Cameron's journey from ordinary suburban teenager to professional musician performing principal roles on the operatic stage. His often hilarious stories about performing offer insight into their historical context, plus such arcane facts as why an opera singer's voice can be heard above a whole orchestra while other people can barely be heard across the dining room table. Without trivializing the art form, the genial, approachable tone of the book makes it accessible to people of diverse ages and interests"--.