Ron Raines' career has been unorthodox, he admits. "I've sat on both sides of the fence." By that, he means he's sung opera and starred on a soap opera.
"I guess I was one of the first crossover people," he muses.
A classically trained singer, Raines will play conflicted hero Fredrik Egerman in "A Little Night Music" at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. But fans of the late "Guiding Light" will recognize him as dastardly Alan Spaulding, a role he kept from 1994 until the bitter end last year.
"Here's how that evolved," Raines says, going on to explain that he'd been singing for 20 years, everything from opera ("although I always leaned toward light, light operas, operettas, musicals"), when life on the road got to him.
"I guess I was one of the first crossover people," he muses.
A classically trained singer, Raines will play conflicted hero Fredrik Egerman in "A Little Night Music" at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. But fans of the late "Guiding Light" will recognize him as dastardly Alan Spaulding, a role he kept from 1994 until the bitter end last year.
"Here's how that evolved," Raines says, going on to explain that he'd been singing for 20 years, everything from opera ("although I always leaned toward light, light operas, operettas, musicals"), when life on the road got to him.
"I was a singing actor, not an actor," he says. "I'd done no straight theater, no television. But I was traveling so much. My wife and I had a daughter by then. She was 4 years old, and I'd already missed two of her birthdays. I knew this was a gypsy life when I chose it, but I didn't want to be an absent father."
Then, out of the blue, came "Guiding Light," the venerable CBS soap opera.
"They were looking for a new Alan Spaulding, doing a big search and having trouble finding someone," Raines says. "He'd been an important character, but he hadn't been on for 5 years. I told my agent this would give me my best shot at a normal life. And my picture happened to fall into the right pile for them to consider me."
Doing the soap, which shot in New York, gave Raines a chance to do concerts ("I've performed more than 50 times with orchestras around the world") and recording work. He couldn't break away for long periods to do Broadway shows or tours, "but we made it work."
Raines never thought he'd be at "Guiding Light" till the end.
Then, out of the blue, came "Guiding Light," the venerable CBS soap opera.
"They were looking for a new Alan Spaulding, doing a big search and having trouble finding someone," Raines says. "He'd been an important character, but he hadn't been on for 5 years. I told my agent this would give me my best shot at a normal life. And my picture happened to fall into the right pile for them to consider me."
Doing the soap, which shot in New York, gave Raines a chance to do concerts ("I've performed more than 50 times with orchestras around the world") and recording work. He couldn't break away for long periods to do Broadway shows or tours, "but we made it work."
Raines never thought he'd be at "Guiding Light" till the end.
"It had been on so long," he says of the show's cancellation after 72 years, the first 15 on radio. "In theater, the show always closes. But this was heartbreaking."
Losing his day job opened another chapter for Raines, 60.
"It left me free to do things like this," he says, calling "A Little Night Music" one of his favorite shows. He is relishing watching director Isaac Mizrahi's vision come to life and seeing Amy Irving, who plays his lost love, Désirée Armfeldt, venture into new territory on the musical stage.
Raines performed in Opera Theatre's inaugural production, "Don Pasquale," in 1976, and says he loves St. Louis. That's a good thing, because after "A Little Night Music," he'll be doing "Titanic: The Musical" at the Muny. The last time he was there, in 1986, he played Gaylord Ravenal in "Showboat," with Eddie Bracken as Capt. Andy.
After that, well, he'll keep singing. Musical theater greats Howard Keel and John Raitt "sounded wonderful into their 80s," he says. "Maybe I'll come back to the Muny when I'm 80 and do 'Showboat.' Then I can play Capt. Andy."
Losing his day job opened another chapter for Raines, 60.
"It left me free to do things like this," he says, calling "A Little Night Music" one of his favorite shows. He is relishing watching director Isaac Mizrahi's vision come to life and seeing Amy Irving, who plays his lost love, Désirée Armfeldt, venture into new territory on the musical stage.
Raines performed in Opera Theatre's inaugural production, "Don Pasquale," in 1976, and says he loves St. Louis. That's a good thing, because after "A Little Night Music," he'll be doing "Titanic: The Musical" at the Muny. The last time he was there, in 1986, he played Gaylord Ravenal in "Showboat," with Eddie Bracken as Capt. Andy.
After that, well, he'll keep singing. Musical theater greats Howard Keel and John Raitt "sounded wonderful into their 80s," he says. "Maybe I'll come back to the Muny when I'm 80 and do 'Showboat.' Then I can play Capt. Andy."
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