“I was to have been an engineer,” Jamie Allbritten candidly reveals. “My mother was a teacher; my father, a blue-collar worker. There is no reason I should have pursued a lifetime career in opera.”

Now the conductor and artistic director of the Piedmont Opera, as well as the Fletcher Opera Institute for UNCSA, Allbritten says he recalls being curious about music as a child. He participated in youth choir, and found himself buying movie soundtracks.

But the turning point, he says, was when he received a student season subscription to the Kentucky Opera in his home of Louisville. His first show was The Magic Flute, and from there, “I was hooked.”

Allbritten studied choral conducting at Indiana University, where he met his wife, Marilyn Taylor. Their careers led them both to teaching positions at UNCSA. And in 1996, when Piedmont Opera’s Norman Johnson passed away unexpectedly, Allbritten began his work with the Piedmont Opera that would lead him to take the reins as conductor.

“If you’d asked me as a senior in high school what my dream job would be, I’d say to run an opera company,” he recalls. “I’m blessed.”

I sat down with Allbritten for a cup of coffee just weeks before the company’s season began, and listened as he jovially explained the beauty of sound and stage, of song and storytelling. And yet, when it comes to naming the biggest challenge of working in his field, Allbritten is direct: The public’s false assumption that opera is unapproachable.

Q. What are the common misconceptions about opera?

A.  First and foremost, there are no ladies in horns and braids. Let’s get that out of the way now. People commonly see trappings of an opera — the costumes, the set, the grandeur — and assume it’s too hoity-toity for them. But really, if you love any art form, you’ll love opera. It combines fine arts, symphony, and song. No art form can fill your emotional cup like opera can.

We do everything that we can to break down barriers. People worry about the text being in a foreign language, but going to opera is no more difficult than going to a foreign flick. We have supertitles, which are translations running across the top of the screen. Hopefully you won’t be glued to them, though. There are costumes, lighting, actors, and an orchestra to tell you the story, too.

Q. Are there any etiquette rules to follow?

A. In my mind there are no rules. If something excites you, clap! Better yet, yell bravo (for a male singer) and brava (for a female singer). If you don’t know what to do, just hoop and holler. However you are moved to respond is completely correct. This is a mutual-admiration society — performers want to know what you’re thinking, and they’re sure to give an appreciative audience a better show.

Q. What about dress? Are there any guidelines?

A. There are no hard and fast rules here either. A night at the opera is what you make of it. I encourage people to dress up, go out to a nice dinner, and treat themselves, knowing that more than 200 people are working to give you a nice evening. Opera is a total spectator sport ... it’s all about the experience of going.

Q. How can people find out more about opera?

A. Piedmont Opera offers a few major opportunities for opera education. We have Opera 101 and Opera 102 classes that teach behind-the-scenes basics. It gives attendees the back story to the opera, and lets them in on little secrets. We also have an event called La Lunch, which is held at the Piedmont Club prior to the shows. This low-key event is a preview of the opera with me and several principal cast members.

Q. What do you do to encourage youth patrons?

A. We open up our final dress rehearsals to students in grades 8 through 12 in hopes that it will suck them in. My goal is to leave the door open. Opera can speak to anyone. We can point out various avenues for you to walk through the door, but then we wait. When you’re ready, you’ll walk in.

Q. What can we expect from the 2009–2010 season?

A. Truthfully, this season is very exciting for me. I get to conduct lots of rock ’n’ roll. Our first opera is Hansel & Gretel. People think of it as a children’s story, but the music is very Wagnerian. Kids will love the candy-cane house; adults will love the sophisticated music. The second opera is Turandot, which has never played in Winston-Salem. We have a crackerjack cast — I got everyone I wanted. Turandot is a rock concert kind of opera. It was written in 1924 — so it’s not even 100 years old.

The important thing to keep in mind is that music is a language too, and while its alphabet may be as foreign to many as Greek, its vocabulary is universal. You may not know what a B flat is, but it can still speak to you. And nowhere will it speak louder than at an opera.

For more information, visit Piedmont Opera.