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Massachusetts ‘Sewer Singer’ Goes Viral for Opera in Workplace Pipes

The wastewater operator’s unusual stage and blue-collar persona turned phone-shot arias into a social-media draw.

Overview

  • Kyle Kilroy, 32, records operatic and Broadway songs in the echoing pipes where he works as a wastewater and drinking water operator outside Boston.
  • He has amassed more than 470,000 TikTok profile likes as his underground performances spread from social media to national and local news coverage.
  • Kilroy times most recordings for when he is alone, saying he is shy, and he uses the strong acoustics of the tunnels to boost his sound.
  • He says he is largely self-taught with a brief college choir stint, and his videos feature pieces like Andrea Bocelli’s Con Te Partirò and Stars from Les Misérables.
  • Despite the attention, he plans to keep his day job, and he hopes to sing the national anthem at a Boston game as a next step.