I'm in awe of opera singers. Being tone deaf and born with a lousy voice, unable to act or follow simple directions, I'm amazed by what they do on stage. And then they do it over and over again, night after night, city after city, with a new cast, new audience and new orchestra. I'm also surprised how they can be contradictions of sorts and I remember a singer we had a few seasons back -- quite excellent and world renowned -- who confided in me they hated opera, and then proceeded to give me his best Homer Simpson snoring-on-the-couch impression. It was quite good. While I don't exactly share his sentiments, it was suprising to hear this. Enter tenor Marcus Haddock . Marcus makes his Company debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca next season. Marcus isn't your stereotypical opera singer although he loves to sing. He also loves to ride his motorcycle. And he listens to Whitesnake (yes, that's them above -- back in the day when rock was big and hair was even bigger). I li...
A look at how classical music can lighten up to attract new audiences and an argument that amateur opera might be good for the art form.
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