Frank Porretta III

It's easy to get confused about Frank Porretta, or about the Frank Porrettas, more precisely. The one we're talking about on this page is Frank Porretta III, who started out in small regional opera productions in the US provinces and made his way, after a 2001 Baltimore debut as Calaf, to venues as large as the Munich State Opera (one performance as Alvaro, 2005) or the Metropolitan (three performances as Calaf, 2009). He also ventured into Broadway musicals. His career wasn't particularly long; last notices are from 2017.

So far, so good (and easy). Now what about the promised confusion?
- Frank Porretta's father (1930–2015) was called Frank Porretta, as well, and he was a tenor both active in opera and on Broadway, as well.
- The elder Frank Porretta went by the name Frank Porretta Jr. He made his debut in 1956 at the NY City Opera, where he was to remain a mainstay for about 15 years. Early retirement is another characteristic that he shared with his son; in his early fourties, he left the stage and became choir director at a church in Darien, Connecticut.
- Both Frank Porretta III and Frank Porretta Jr. had themselves always billed, indistinguishably, as "Frank Porretta".
No public information is available, by the way, on the original Frank Porretta (Sr. or I); he must have lived a life far from any stage lights.

Picture source: Operalogg, Swedish opera blog