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| Rosemary Dunne, Fan Numero Uno, tells us - WHY RICK LEECH? |
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| Rosemary Dunne, Fan Numero Uno, tells us - WHY RICK LEECH? |
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Probably the most frequently asked question of a fan is 'why this particular artist?' I would bet that few fans can articulate succinctly the reasons. I know I can't. What I can do is recall hearing Richard Leech as Rodolfo in July of 1984 at the New York City Opera. Not his first performance; maybe the third or fourth in his debut season at NYCO. I still have the cast sheet from that performance and on it is written: "Wow! We've got a tenor!" No kidding! During his years with NYCO, I heard him as Edgardo, Des Grieux, Alfredo, Pinkerton, the Duke and each performance reinforced my initial 'wow.' I'll leave all the standard buzz words to the professionals. You know the ones: easy top, brilliance, vibrant, ping, radiance, effortless, etc.; I'll just say I like his voice, his style and his ability to portray what the composer wrote. His singing makes me feel good. Then add in his acting. Rick is an acting-singer, a singing-actor - whichever you prefer. He's completely at home on stage, aware and responsive to what is going on around him and can recover from those little unrehearsed 'disasters'. I'll give you an example. During a recent performance in San Diego of Roméo et Juliette, Rick tripped and fell leaving the stage in Act III. The woman sitting next to me wanted to know why "they" had directed him to fall there. "He could hurt himself and there was another act of this beautiful opera to go." I almost let her blame "them" but I couldn't. Like most opera goers, I would go to a performance and then go home. So it wasn't until the Lucia performances at the Met in November 1992 that I met Rick. A friend insisted I go backstage with her. In person and as Mr. Richard Leech, he is articulate, charming and funny - sometimes all at the same time. If you have been fortunate enough to have heard him at a singers' roundtable / discussion / forum, you know what I mean. And my friend was right. Knowing an artist does make performances more interesting and more fun. And why do I go to as many of his performances as I can? That's easy. Every performance is different and because on some nights, everything clicks and then there's magic. That's not something to miss. I know at first Rick didn't know what to make of my showing up at so many of his performances. He has been quoted as saying: "I kept saying to myself, 'She really needs to get a hobby.' And then I realized, I'm it." And you know, he's right. Webster defines hobby 'as a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in for relaxation.' I've always liked opera, tenors, traveling and certainly relaxing. So there it is - all wrapped up in one great "hobby." |
| - Rosemary Dunne | |
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Not your typical groupie, Rosemary Dunne. A native New Yorker, she majored in history and later studied banking. She is a vice president at a major US bank. (For more, look up: NY Times, December 15, 1997) |
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