Who is Christopher Macchio? Meet the opera tenor singing the national anthem at the inauguration

WASHINGTON (AP) — Opera tenor Christopher Macchio will sing the national anthem at the President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration before a much smaller crowd than he was expecting, a letdown with a silver lining.

The ceremony Monday has been moved indoors because temperatures are set to plummet and make it the coldest Inauguration Day in 40 years. The Capitol Rotunda holds only 600 people, while more than 250,000 guests were ticketed to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds.

“I was looking forward to seeing 100,000 people spread across the National Mall,” Macchio, 46, said Saturday in an Associated Press interview. “Unfortunately I won’t be getting that visual while I perform, but it’s still going to be such a tremendous honor.”

In fact, he said, “from a musical and vocal perspective, it’s actually a good thing” and that the performance will remain largely the same. Extreme weather conditions are unhealthy and uncomfortable for vocalists.

Macchio first entered Trump's orbit about nine years ago when he was asked to fill in last minute for a New Year’s Eve celebration. He was such a hit that night that Rod Stewart, who was at the gala, asked Macchio to perform at his 70th birthday party. Macchio also sang at the White House memorial service in 2020 for Trump's brother Robert, and that's where their friendship took hold.

Macchio performed at the Republican National Convention in July, at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in October a few months after an assassination attempt at that site, and during his Madison Square Garden rally close to the election. It was after the Butler rally that Trump said to Macchio: “I’ll be seeing you at the inauguration.”

“He didn’t really specify what that meant,” Macchio told the AP. But a few weeks later, Macchio got the call from a Trump staffer saying that the tenor was the “first and only choice” to perform the national anthem.

Lady Gaga sang the anthem at Joe Biden’s inauguration. Beyoncé performed at Barack Obama’s second swearing-in. “America’s Got Talent” star Jackie Evancho sang it at Trump’s first inauguration.

Macchio knows that some people have negative opinions on his long association with and support of Trump. But he hopes that even those who disagree with Trump politically can appreciate the music.

“For those folks who might not have voted for President Trump, I hope that they’ll give me that kind of opportunity to just listen and just really connect with the music,” he said. “I’ll be doing the national anthem and it is meant to do honor to our great country.”

Macchio hopes to be an advocate for classical music education and is in discussion with the administration how he might help in a more official capacity.

But for now, he’s focused on Monday and planned to meet this weekend with his fellow performers Carrie Underwood and Lee Greenwood and rehearse in the Capitol Rotunda.

“I’m a traditionalist,” he said. “I will be delivering essentially a straightforward rendition. And the only license that I take is when it comes to the high notes. I do tend to indulge a little bit and stretch those high notes.”

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This story has been corrected to reflect that Macchio sang at Rod Stewart’s 70th birthday party, not Trump’s.