Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeanette Vecchione-Donatti.
Hi Jeanette, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was a sought-after basketball player in high school receiving letters from Division 1 schools around the country. However, things changed in my junior year of high school when I had to join an elective and the only ones left were Wood Shop or Chorus.
I chose chorus because I knew I could sing; I just didn’t think it was a big deal! One day I was “making fun” of opera when the chorus teacher heard me and asked me to call my parents. Thinking I was in trouble, she explained that I was an opera singer and needed to audition for The Juilliard School.
After about 5 months of training, I auditioned for The Juilliard School and received a full scholarship to attend. I received both my Bachelor’s and Masters’s degrees in Music there, transitioned to Europe, and became a professional opera singer. In 2010, I made my international operatic debut as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Magic Flute at the prestigious Vienna State Opera.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road! Challenges I’ve come to embrace as a good thing to build character and make me stronger and a better person. Learning to tune out negativity has been very helpful. Once we started a family, priorities changed, and part of it was not working for a period of time during my pregnancy and a bit after.
My husband was working 90+ hours/week at a hotel in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he was fired from his job and I was 9 months pregnant. This was a big turning point in our lives. I had stopped singing during the end of my pregnancy and didn’t have any jobs lined up until months later so it was stressful. However, this pushed us to the next level. With the savings we had, we bought a small Italian Deli in Norwalk, CT that was founded in 1925 and decided we really liked the coffee aspect of this business.
We rebranded it to Winfield Street Coffee and worked day in and day out, sacrificing a lot to grow our concept of good coffee, good food, and friendly service. I took a pause on my career several times to help make Winfield expand with my husband and we are blessed to say we now have 10 stores between New York, Connecticut, and Florida.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an opera singer and co-owner of Winfield Street Coffee. I specialize in Italian bel canto opera as a soloist singing lead roles in operas around the world. I am also proud to be an entrepreneur knowing full well that life can twist and turn and having several avenues of revenue is very helpful, especially as a performing artist.
I am most proud of not giving up on my family or my career when things started to take a shift in my life and embracing hardship to change it for good. I think what sets me apart from others is my fighting personality and ambition to never give up. I work very hard to be the best I can be on the stage as well as the best I can be to my family and business.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I can draw pretty well and am naturally physically strong. I held New York State rankings in shotput and discus in High School and was scouted for those two sports too!
Contact Info:
- Website: jeanettesoprano.com and winfieldcoffee.com
- Instagram: @officialjeanettesoprano and @winfieldstreetcoffee
- Facebook: @Jeanette Vecchione-Donatti, Soprano
- Youtube: @Jeanette Vecchione-Donatti
Image Credits
Placido Domingo, Joseph Calleja, and Breno Donatti
