and now a message to my father

Dearest Daddy,

This afternoon I had the pleasure of being with one of your contemporaries.
It was during an event of the Savannah VOICE Festival, now in Season 7, and this year's theme is "Heaven And Earth".
I don't know that you knew of him, as he was a star in the operatic world, but I believe you and he would have gotten along famously.
He's a real person, too, you see, growing up on a farm as you did.
Humble beginnings and all that jazz.
Your farm was in Georgia, in the Bible belt, and his farm was in Illinois, in the corn belt.
Both of you love to sing, but, as he says to one and all, he had the advantage of being near an arts school which nurtured his vocal talents.
He also emphasizes that he was blessed to have Boris Goldovsky in his life. Why so? Well, when Sherrill graduated from college, his intent had been to teach. Instead, he became part of the Goldovsky Opera Theater, touring the United States and bringing opera to the people, in the people's own language - English. Boris encouraged Sherrill to pursue a singing career... and, even better, in his native tongue, allowing the young man from Downers Grove to truly become an accomplished actor as well.
It's hard to catch nuances of emotion if you don't understand the language and the reason for particular word choices, right?
Not that opera is all that he sings with that Verdi Baritone of his - not at all!
That's the message from the "Milnes At The Morris" event this afternoon.
The man sings tunes from a wide variety of sources, including gospel, pop, and folk. His rendition of "Shall We Gather At The River", for example, is magnificent! Then, there's a silly children's song, "I Bought Me A Cat", to which he lent his voice - hahaha!
Neither of those found their way to the screen today, though.
None of his Christmas songs were on the docket today, either. Do you recall whether we watched "The Bell Telephone Hour" show on Sunday, December 18, 1966? It would have aired before "The Wonderful World of Disney", so I feel sure that we did, but I was only 8 years old then. Even so, I seem to recall hearing the 31-year-old baritone as he sang "In Dulci Jubilo" and "O Come O Come Emanuel". Maybe you do, too?
Anyhow, this afternoon event was almost like an interview session between his present self and his 1985 self, when he was fifty-five years old and regarded around the world as the All-American Singing Superstar.
Indeed, he showed several of the same film clips referenced in an interview in 2015 after his 80th birthday. Those particular scenes were from his career as well as several appearances on television.
The first today, as on that earlier event, featured his role as Iago, the dastardly soldier in "Otello". Watching him perform that solo, "Credo In Un Dio Crudel", certainly emphasized his years of experience in that role!
One longish segment included him singing a 1926 pop song, "(Does Your Mother Know You're Out) Cecelia", with Tony Randall. Speaking of that guy, did you know he actually could sing? I have to wonder if his long-time friendship with Sherrill Milnes led to him doing so, or if he did already. All I know is the two of them were performing quite a nice duet of that song on the 1983 television show about a "Surprise Party" and birthday clowns!
(I had expected a segue promo for the brand-new operetta premiering tomorrow night. Nope, not a single word about it! Today was all about him, not this festival. Wow.)
There was even a moment of teaching - as opposed to a teachable moment - during their shared screen time. It was near the end of the episode. They had finished the tune, then Sherrill was telling Tony how to hit that deep note. Pretty nifty Master Class lesson ... and two decades prior to the opening of The VOICE Experience here back in 2001!
(smile)
I enjoyed those segments, and the one of him riding a horse in Central Park - the Cowboy Baritone! But my favorite time was him giving the backstory to his appearance with Carol Burnett in 1985 for "The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts". The honoree that year was the noted soprano, Beverly Sills. Accordingly, Sherrill and Carol performed a duet of special material highlighting her career. Sherrill hd been gamely struggling with memorizing the elaborate piece. Thankfully, he said, Carol insisted on the words being written on cue cards, and she had the clout to make that happen. Good for her... and for him!
(smile)

So, two hours later, he's wrapping things up and
taking a final round of questions.
I asked, flashing my phone from my front row seat,
"Can I take your photo?"
You would have gotten tickled at his reply!
Gazing down at me, mustering his height together
with that of the stage, his voice humorously
boomed back at me!
"I don't know! Can you?"

Hahahaha! Hahaha!
I should have known better than to use "can" instead of "may", shouldn't I?
I'll certainly keep it in mind for the next time I ask him - or anyone - for such a favor.
Then again, that was the lesson, was it not?
I'm so glad I was there, and that he brought you to mind.
I miss you, Daddy.

your one-and-only,
ever-loving
daughter