MSU graduate makes living as gondolier by Evelyn Boswell Chris Johnsten, '96 Hist, isn't Italian, but he plays one in Las Vegas. Four days a week, the Great Falls native dons black pants, a striped shirt, straw hat, red scarf and red sash. Then he climbs into a gondola, acquires an Italian accent and spins tales about his mama and papa and how he landed a job in the middle of a desert. In between, of course, he serenades his riders with songs like "Santa Lucia," "O Sole Mio" and the best of Dean Martin. "It's like a miniature show. I'm a character from Venice," Johnsten said after another day on the canals of The Venetian hotel. Johnsten became a gondolier in October 2001 and makes about 20 trips a day. He figures he entertains 100 people a day, as many as 600 a week. "I have called my voice teacher on several occasions to thank him for teaching me how to sing correctly," says Johnsten, referring to David Cody, now assistant professor of music at the University of Montana. "If you don't sing correctly, you will lose your voice. There's an incredible amount of singing, but there's really a lot of talking, too. I talk all day long, and I have to sing on top of that." "I'm quite proud of him," said Cody who remembers when Johnsten never wanted to sing solos. Johnsten heard about the job from friends who lived in Las Vegas. Although he majored in history and was assistant manager at a Bozeman motel, he had a musical background. He minored in music at MSU and sang with Bozeman's Intermountain Opera. He now sings bass with the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society and plans to start classes this spring at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His goal is to become a music teacher or choir director. "He loves choral singing as much as anybody I know in the field," Cody said. "He really seems to need it in his life to be happy." Johnsten expects to remain a gondolier for another year. Besides the pay, he said, Las Vegas allows year-round barbeques and weekend trips to Los Angeles and Phoenix. He's seen celebrities like Michael Jackson and appeared in numerous background scenes for TV shows and movies. He frequently attends concerts and sees out-of-town friends who call when they're in Las Vegas. "It's a lot of fun to be here," Johnsten said.