Interview: Jack Swanson of VOCALISE at VOCALISE

Opera audiences know Jack Swanson for his performances on many of the world's leading stages, from the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera to engagements across Europe. But it wasn't a role onstage that recently caught his attention—it was what singers were finding offstage in pharmacies abroad.

After years of performing in countries like Italy, Germany, and France, Swanson noticed that professional voice users overseas had access to an entire range of vocal health products that were largely unfamiliar to American performers. What started as a habit of bringing products home in his suitcase eventually led to a bigger question: why weren't these options available in the United States?

That question became the foundation for Vocalise, a new vocal health company inspired by products and practices Swanson encountered during his years working in Europe. Designed for singers and other professionals who rely on their voices every day, Vocalise represents his effort to bring some of those resources to the American market.

We spoke with Swanson about the experiences that led him to launch the company, what he's learned about vocal health while performing internationally, and why he believes the conversation around caring for the professional voice is beginning to change.

You've spent years singing in Europe and the U.S. Was there a moment when you thought, "Why do they have access to this over there, and we don't?"

Honestly, yes many times. I’d be on a production and walk into a pharmacy when I was feeling a tickle in the throat  in Germany or Italy and find an entire section dedicated to vocal health: sprays, lozenges, throat rinses formulated specifically for professional voice users. Products with real clinical backing that you simply cannot find at a Walgreens. I’d stock up before flying home. At some point it stopped feeling like a fun travel discovery and started feeling like a gap that needed to be filled. American performers deserve that same level of care, and they shouldn’t have to pack their luggage full of it on the way home. 

Most singers have a story about getting through a performance when their voice wasn't at 100 percent. Did your own experiences onstage play a role in creating Vocalise?

Absolutely. Every singer has those nights  you’re dealing with inflammation, fatigue, travel, climate changes, jet lag and you go on anyway because that’s the job and in our case that’s how you get paid. I’ve sung through colds, flown across time zones and stepped straight into rehearsals, done back-to-back runs of demanding Bel Canto repertoire where the voice just needed more support than rest alone could give. Those experiences pushed me to research what actually works at a physiological level, not just what feels soothing in the moment. This particular formula in Vocalise is one I discovered in one of those stressful situations while singing in Italy. 

You've performed everywhere from Milan to Vienna to New York. What differences have you noticed in how singers overseas think about vocal health compared to performers here?

I should say — I haven’t sung in Milan yet, though my La Scala debut is coming in 2027, which I’m genuinely thrilled about. But having worked in several countries across Europe and across the U.S., the difference in mindset is real. European singers tend to treat vocal health as part of their professional identity and stress about it less as they have more options and more accessibility to effective treatment. There is less stigma around admitting the voice needs care. In the U.S. there’s still a tendency to push through and figure it out after the fact. Part of what we’re trying to do with Vocalise is shift that culture here.

A lot of people hear "professional voice user" and think opera singer, but that's really just one piece of the picture. Who do you think could benefit most from products like this?

The market is so much wider than most people realize. Teachers, attorneys, podcasters, pastors, coaches, sales professionals — anyone whose livelihood depends on their voice. Opera singers are a tiny slice. What we’ve found is that once people outside the classical world understand what these ingredients actually do at the tissue level, it clicks immediately. Nobody wants to lose their voice on a big day or a day that is necessary to do the job well. The need is universal; it’s just been underserved on our side of the pond. 

You say Vocalise is just the beginning. Are there other vocal health practices or products you've encountered in Europe that you think American performers haven't caught up to yet?

Several. We are in the process of formulating and creating many more popular products that myself and singer friends of mine have used in Europe. We are  actively looking at what people want to become more accessible as part of the next phase of Vocalise. There’s a lot of road ahead.

Thank you Jack for your time! 

For more information on Vocalise, please click here.