Opera’s biggest stars on four legs are Lenny and Tristan Pisaroni, a golden retriever and a miniature Dachshund. Talent runs in their family. Their father and grandfather are renowned opera singers Luca Pisaroni and Thomas Hampson.

This summer, Tristan had his stage debut at the Salzburg Festival in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. He played Dog of the Count alongside Luca as the Count himself. While Luca was in Chicago to perform the role of the Count at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, I got a chance to meet Lenny and Tristan.

After a nice long walk, I spoke with Luca and his wife Catherine about why their dogs are important in their lives, the logistics of traveling with them around the world, Tristan’s stage debut, and much more.

See the entire feature here.