Pavarotti

I gave my performance at Chowan last night and I think it may have been some of the best singing I have EVER done. I love the pressure, the adulation, the intensity and the pure fear before the "moments" that occur in live performance like this.

As a tenor, I was overwhelmed by the loss of Luciano Pavarotti yesterday and I shared my personal Pavarotti story with the audience last night. At the intermission, I talked with Charles and Kathy and thought about how I always thought that I would have the chance to sing and perform for him again. I just "expected" to be able to interact with him once I became a professional. Naive, arrogant, hopeful... my emotions and memories are all largely irrelevant now that he is gone. I will not have that chance in this world. Perhaps I missed it, perhaps I simply made the right decisions and prioritized.

Regardless, A GREAT artist and light has gone out of the world. Pavarotti transcended opera and classical singing. He defined what an operatic tenor is to the real world. As a bambino, I idolized him, his exquisite technique and performance style. His charisma seemed to transcend the confines of the space and time of traditional performance and he created appeal to the mass world. This is something that NO other opera singer has ever done, and may never do again.

As we closed our first half with the Bellini songs, I removed my white handkerchief and held it for the remainder of my recital as a tribute to the great singer. I pray that Pavarotti was a believer and that he is now a recipient of God's abundant grace. I hope for the chance to meet and sing with him someday "in cielo".

I am thankful that God blessed me with the performance experience last night and I vow to never again take for granted ANY opportunity. This sounds like a cliché but I think I am beginning to understand more of what is important in life and the trade offs that I am forced to make. Many people that I know live from vacation to vacation, or from birth, to weddings, to funerals. I don't live my life that way. I live from performance to performance, from rehearsal to rehearsal, from worship service to worship service. My way is not better, but I think it is different.

Each opportunity is precious as we interact with the people around us and build relationships allowing us to demonstrate God's love. My music simply provides a context for me to build relationships with my world. I pray that God will bless me and my house and that our talents and skills will be used to glorify him.

Lord, Thank you for Pavarotti. Grazie a Dio.