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Opera singer Christopher Macchio unleashed a booming version of the national anthem at the close of the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Wearing a midnight blue velvet jacket, dark pants and a tie-less white shirt, Macchio belted “The Star-Spangled Banner,” clasping the microphone in his left hand as many assembled in the Capitol Rotunda stood with either hands over hearts or as Trump, in a salute stance.
Macchio handled the tricker parts of the storied song with ease, his voice booming over the instrumentation and his eyes scrunched during the song’s final notes.
Following his performance, Macchio immediately turned to Trump, shook his hand with a smile and raised a fist as he exited the area of the presidential lectern.
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Who is national anthem singer Christopher Macchio?
The Italian-American classic crossover singer (unrelated to actor Ralph Macchio), performs as both a soloist and a member of the New York tenors.
His history with Trump extends back almost a decade, when he filled in at the last minute at a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago. The friendship between the two was solidified when Macchio sang at the 2020 memorial for Trump’s brother, Robert.
Macchio, 46, also performed at the 2020 Republican National Convention, offering his versions of “Nessun Dorma,” “Ave Maria” and “God Bless America,” and returned for another round at the 2024 convention. He was invited by Trump to sing at his return rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, three months after an assassination attempt at the site.
The Long Island native told Fox 5 New York that when he received the call and was told he was Trump’s “first and only choice” to sing the national anthem, “I shouted yes and pounded the marble countertop in my kitchen 20 times saying yes … I just try to deliver music in a way that has an emotional impact on people.”
Macchio has released two albums, “Dolci Momenti” and “O Holy Night” and in 2024 made his acting debut as an Italian singer in the biopic “Cabrini.”
