Justin Hopkins, 36, of Mt. Airy, is a bass-baritone opera singer who has received critical raves everywhere he has sung but who always returns home to stay with his parents in Mt. Airy in between tours. A graduate of St. Joseph's Prep and Loyola University in New Orleans, Hopkins has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium; as a soloist with the United Europe Chamber Orchestra in Milan, Italy; and in London with the BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of Keith Lockhart, just to mention a few.

In 2009 the Mt. Airy resident was requested to sing as the featured soloist for His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his visit to San Francisco. (Google his name, and you will read about Justin's many other performances in the world's most illustrious concert halls.) You can see his performances on YouTube, including a version of “Old Man River” that can literally take your breath away.

Hopkins is currently stuck in Antwerp, Belgium. He arrived in Belgium in late August last year to begin a one-year contract with Opera Vlaanderen. He completed five of seven productions for the season there and was in Brussels in rehearsals for a production of Tchaikovsky’s “Pikovaya Dama” when the Covid lockdown went into effect throughout Belgium in early March. We interviewed him last week:

What is the coronavirus situation like there?

“Being here throughout the Coronavirus crisis has been a surreal experience, to say the least. People speak of out-of-body experiences. I am having an out-of-country experience. Europe suffered its first major outbreaks weeks before the U.S. did. I watched as Belgium and surrounding European countries took bold action to combat the virus: closed borders; shutting down non-essential business; mouth masks required by law; staggered and limited access to supermarkets; strict adherence to quarantine and social bubble rules; etc.

“The U.S. needed only to look across the ocean and take what was already being done well to fight the spread of the virus, and correct the many mistakes that were made. To my horror, I watched as President Trump continuously downplayed the severity of the coming disaster. Moreover, I watched as half of my fellow citizens rejected science and politicized basic safety measures such as the wearing of mouth masks and social distancing.

“In March, the U.S. State Department gave notice to all U.S. citizens abroad to return to the U.S. immediately or risk the possibility of indefinite stranding. I hedged my bets that I would be better off and safer in Belgium for the short term. If I came down with the virus and needed hospitalization here in Belgium within their universal healthcare system, I wouldn’t face the possible financial ruin that I would in the U.S., even with American health insurance.

“When I tell Belgians that millions of out-of-work people in the States have only received one $1200 stimulus payment thus far, they look at me dumbfounded and ask how anyone can survive on such little aid. I tell them I don’t know. I'm well aware of the potential backlash and response one can receive from a segment of the U.S. population for being at all critical of U.S. with regard to the types of safeguards and social safety nets (or lack thereof) in place to deal with a situation such as this. One such response is, 'If you like it so much there, why don’t you stay?' Perhaps I will.”

Have you been able to perform in public since the pandemic started?

“I have performed in public twice since the initial shutdown occurred in March. Both performances were small scale. The first was a brief concert for Opera Vlaanderen’s major sponsors in early June. In an opera house that seats around 1100, there was only an allowed audience of 40. The second performance was a house concert later that month. An electric piano was set up on the outside patio of the organizer’s home, and the audience of 15-20 sat socially distanced in throughout the yard.”

How has the pandemic affected your life and career?

“I have taken the financial hit that most self-employed artists have been faced with around the world. I stand to lose around $20,000 in income just this year. We have only seen the very tip of the iceberg in terms of the devastation in the theater and music industry. While most organizations are doing their best to keep up morale by continuing to make plans for coming seasons, most of us know deep down that they won’t survive. How can they? Arts organizations in the U.S., even the largest and most wealthy, are almost completely dependent upon corporate and individual tax-deductible donations. Ticket sales for orchestras and opera companies only make up a small fraction of their budgets.”

For more information, visit justinhopkinsopera.com

Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com