Two Friends, Two Continents, Very Different Pandemics
Steven LaBrie is a freelance baritone in New York. Jarrett Ott has a full-time job singing in Germany. As the coronavirus spread, that made all the difference.
The singers Jarrett Ott (left, in Stuttgart, Germany) and Steven LaBrie (right, in New York City) are friends whose careers were hit very differently by the pandemic.Credit.Roderick Aichinger for The New York Times; Michael George for The New York Times
Jan. 13, 2021
As two singers rising through the close-knit world of Philadelphia’s most acclaimed conservatories, Steven LaBrie and Jarrett Ott knew each other in passing. But on one raucous night in 2009, when Mr. Ott joined the celebration of Mr. LaBrie’s 21st birthday an evening of tequila, dancing and after-hours pizza their friendship was sealed.