Student and opera star plans to perform in New York City

A spotlight shot down from the ceiling to the back of the IU Musical Arts Center and the entire audience turned. Figaro, the self-confident and self-loving Barber of Seville, strutted down the aisle distributing fliers and proclaiming his fortune in a booming baritone voice. He literally sang his own praises as he told of his wealth and assured the crowd that he was the most loved citizen of the town.\nThis egotistical façade contrasted sharply with the true character of Jason Plourde, a fourth-year graduate student, who just moments before had been questioning his own sanity. \n"I would stand out in the lobby every night asking myself why I'm doing this," Plourde said. "Figaro was the highest (vocal) role I have done in a while, and I was panicking that I would miss that 'A' in the aria. But then I get out there and I just forget the nerves. It is the adrenaline rush that makes it so intoxicating. It is better than any drug I could ever imagine taking." \nMusic and drama have always been a huge part of his life. He has been singing since he was in a kindergarten choir. He acted with his community theater program at home in Maine and originally wanted to go to college to become a pianist. \n"I had progressed so fast that I had never learned my scales, which is kind of required for applying for a piano degree," Plourde said one afternoon between his multiple performances and auditions. "My piano teacher at the time said that I had a great voice. So I took a few lessons and went to the University of Southern Maine."\nHis plan was to audition for the vocal program, learn his scales and then transition into the piano program. \n"I got there and started really singing," he said. "I took some serious lessons and I forgot about piano."\nAt this point in his career, Plourde was still uninterested in opera. He wanted to sing in musical theater or a jazz choir. \nHis sight-singing instructor at the University of Southern Maine was the course master of the Portland Opera Repertory Theater, a summer festival in Maine, and she urged him to audition. \nPlourde needed to work on his degree and earn some money, and he didn't want to go home for the summer, so he agreed. \nTheir first production was La Traviata.\n"It was literally love at first sound," he said. "Between them and the opera that my school did every four years, I really came to love it and really throw myself into it."\nHe came to IU for his graduate study because of the music school's reputation, the number of performances the school puts on each year, which is more than most professional companies, and for Tim Noble, his voice instructor. \n"He's a pleasure to work with and he has worked very, very hard over the last couple of years and he has made an enormous amount of progress," Noble said.\nBesides performing in the IU operas, Plourde keeps busy by practicing, attending classes and teaching his own vocal students. He explained that teaching is a singer's retirement plan. \n"I'm not going to be able to sing forever," he said. "It is nice too, because when you get to a certain age you want to be able to pass the torch to the next generation." \nPlourde's ultimate goal is to sing for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.\n"A lot of singers try to say that they don't care about the Met," he said. "I can't say that. Even though there is a lot of hype behind it, it really is the place that if you make it there, you've really made it."\nOn Feb. 26, Plourde had an audition for the young artist's program at the Metropolitan Opera. If he is accepted, he will go on to be an apprentice at the house, and take the next step in his career. \nHe explained his love for opera: "Opera is a lot like a movie, except it's alive. Anything can happen. There is something more tangible about it, something more real"