Tenor Jonathan Abernethy was unexpectedly called to take over the role of Nadir, mid-way through the show.

The humble understudy is an often neglected, but nonetheless invaluable role. We know they exist, but we rarely have the opportunity to see or hear them in action – and if we do, it’s usually announced a few hours before the opening scene of the show. It’s little wonder then that a performance at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday night made headlines when an understudy was called onto stage halfway through a performance of Bizet’s The Pearlfishers.

Young New Zealand tenor and understudy Jonathan Abernethy was mid-way through a plate of lasagne at a nearby restaurant when he received the call. “To get a call after curtain up saying to come in was highly unusual but so exciting,” Abernethy shares. “Still, the thoughts are running through your head that it’s too late, the show has already started, it could be a false alarm, etc. When I got into the theatre, there were still many unanswered questions and some uncertainty as to if anything was going to happen at all.”

Unexpectedly, Nikhil Navkal, playing the role of Nadir, was struggling to sing due to an untimely bout of illness. Lyndon Terracini, the artistic director of Opera Australia, noticed that their lead was in trouble, and decided to call Abernethy in on stand-by. In retrospect, Abernethy’s day had a surprisingly prescient start. “I had an audition for Opera Australia mid-morning that same day,” he reveals. “Warming up in the same room I had that morning before my audition, I can’t describe how different the feeling was: the stresses and thoughts going through my head.”

Abernethy takes a bow during the performance’s curtain call.

As the end of the interval drew closer, backstage erupted in a frantic flurry of activity, as Abernethy describes. “It was such a whirlwind, a really chaotic experience with things going a million miles an hour through your head: Where is my score? Where is the assistant director? What is the plan? What am I wearing?” Due to Abernethy’s tall rower’s physique – and size 13 feet – costumers had to improvise, and eventually the tenor entered the stage dressed in half a costume from La Bohème with pieces from The Barber of Seville.

However, as the moment of truth approached, the young tenor experienced what he describes as “a bizarre calm,” just before stepping out on the Joan Sutherland Theatre’s stage for the first time. “The excitement of the moment had arrived! I think it’s a moment every cover hopes for. But then stage management puts you in front of a monitor to watch the conductor before singing the first offstage entry. Then before you know it they’re guiding you to the first entry point: breathe and go!” Far from buckling under the pressure, the experience was a dream come true for Abernethy. “What a rush! The most incredible feeling going out there, knowing everyone is behind you. The atmosphere for me was just electric!”

It has now been announced that Abernethy will go on to cover the entire role at Saturday’s performance of The Pearlfishers, making his official Opera Australia principal role debut. Abernethy will also be appearing in a production of The Heart at Sea at the Glebe Justice Centre on March 19, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House on March 26.

For tickets to Opera Australia’s production of The Pearlfishers – which runs until March 12 – please visit the website.