Zachary Luchetti calls himself  "the king of the D-list opera singers in the region."

He isn’t denigrating the quality of his voice but simply acknowledging that he seems to have found his niche with smaller and lesser-known opera companies.

"I’m well aware of my place in the business and don’t have delusions of grandeur," Mr. Luchetti, 28, of Mount Washington, said. "However, there are people in the business who appreciate my talent."

Most recently, he sang in a three-performance run of "Night of the Living Dead, The Opera" during Halloween weekend at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center in Midland. He also sang in "Iolanthe," staged by the Pittsburgh Savoyards for two weekends in October at the Carnegie Music Hall in Carnegie.

To date, he has performed an estimated 60 roles — "some big, some small," he said — with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh Summerfest, Berks Opera Company, Undercroft Opera, New Castle Music Club Chorus and the Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute in San Francisco.

Mr. Luchetti’s interest in music began at age 7 when his parents signed him up for piano lessons with a local teacher. "They wanted to get me out of the house, but the plan blew up in their face," he said. "I loved practicing so much, they had to tolerate constant music in the house."

One day, when he was about 13, he was reading a Pittsburgh cultural calendar and he saw an entry for "Tosca," a Puccini opera. Curious, he went out and bought the CD and sheet music, then tried to learn more about his newly discovered musical interest. From there, he started to sing the melodies as best he could in a language he didn’t understand.

At 15, he took vocal lessons with Diana Walters, who he said is "one of the best voice teachers in the state." She happened to live in his hometown of Grove City. Although she now lives in Sarasota, Fla., he still takes an occasional lesson with her via Skype.

He enrolled at Saint Vincent College, where his musical interests caught the attention of Gary Quinlivan, dean of the college’s business school, whose daughter was the head of the Gilbert and Sullivan troupe at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Dean Quinlivan suggested that I organize a similar group on campus, and we began with a concert of G and S selections in my sophomore year," he said. "In subsequent years, we staged full productions of ‘The Pirates of Penzance,’ ‘The Mikado’ and ‘Iolanthe.’ Next fall, the Gilbert and Sullivan Players will celebrate their 10th season at Saint Vincent."

After graduating from college with a degree in arts administration, Mr. Luchetti set his sights on an international career on the opera stage and enrolled at Duquesne University, where he received a master’s degree in vocal performance.

"After getting my master’s, I stayed in Pittsburgh and did everything I could to become a successful singer," he said.

He needed a job, and a friend helped him get work as a bank teller, which he disliked. A year later, his arts administration degree helped him get an administrative position with Accent Music Performing Arts School in Pleasant Hills. Currently, he is the admissions and financial aid administrator at the Barber School of Pittsburgh. Even with the full-time job, he finds time to sing

"I enjoy working locally with small companies and with people I’m familiar with personally and artistically," he said. "I’ve found that people singing in Pittsburgh have a real love of the art and have an [emotional] investment in the community. Now my goal is not about making it big but making good art."

To lampoon what he called pretentious biographies written by some young singers trying to break into the field, he wrote a satirical, tongue-in-cheek bio of his own. Tammy Black, executive director of the Berks Opera Company in Reading, encouraged him to submit it to a website called Barihunks, which produces an annual calendar of attractive singers as a fundraising tool to help young, emerging opera singers.

"When Barihunks posted my bio on their website, online visitation exploded and almost went viral," he said.

After performing his art form of choice, he said opera is what he does — and he does his best at it.

"I’m aware that there are singers out there who are better than me and can do things I can’t," he said. "But there are things I can do that others can’t. I take my art and music seriously, but don’t take myself seriously. I want it to be real."

■ ■ ■

ZACHARY LUCHETTI

Age: 28

Hometown: Grove City; lives on Mt. Washington

Education: Bachelor’s in art administration, Saint Vincent College; master’s of music in voice performance, Duquesne University

Family: Mother, Christine; father, Gary; sister, Lindsay Luchetti

Hobbies: Drinking French wine off the clearance rack; Whitney Houston karaoke; zebra print; Jillian Michaels workout on YouTube.com; art history

Dave Zuchowski, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com

First Published: November 20, 2015, 5:00 a.m.