NEW YORK-Newport native Luke Grooms, whose Broadway and Metropolitan Opera successes continue to grow, has added yet another star to his crown.

Grooms learned this week that he has been cast in the role of Ubaldo Piangi in the renown Andrew Lloyd Weber production of "The Phantom of the Opera."

"Piangi is the lead tenor at the opera house," said Grooms in a telephone interview Thursday evening. "The Phantom doesn't like him and eventually kills him. But before I get killed, I get to ride an elephant!"

Grooms will fly to Austin, TX on March 22 to begin rehearsals for the tour, which opens in Baltimore on April 8. The troupe will also perform in East Lansing, MI, Dayton, OH, Atlanta, GA, and Cleveland, OH.

"This is what we call a trunk musical," said Grooms, "more than a suitcase musical. That simply means we can take more with us on the tour."

Since its opening in 1986, "The Phantom of the Opera" has mesmerized audiences around the world. It is now the longest running musical on Broadway.

Grooms, son of Diana Grooms, Newport, and Harold Grooms, Cosby, graduated from Cocke County High School in 1997 and earned his bachelor's degree from Emory & Henry College and master's degree from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

His opera training includes studies at Glimmerglass Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Opera North.

He has sung at both the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall.

His resume also includes Broadway roles, including singing the dual roles of Dwight and God in the Broadway premier of "Jerry Springer: The Opera" and the role of Senator Biden in "Anita and Clarence."

Grooms returned to Cocke County last August and presented two concerts, one at First Baptist Church and a second at Liberty Church as part of Great Smoky Mountains 75th Anniversary celebration.