| Daniel Rodriguez, Tenor - Thursday, October 4, 2012 7:30 p.m. |
Celebrate the romantic songs of Mario Lanza and more.
America’s Beloved Tenor Daniel Rodriguez was the New York City cop who helped bring the country an uplifting spirit of promise and hope with his stirring rendition of “God Bless America” after the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Daniel has appeared on television’s The Late Show with David Letterman, Larry King Live, Live with Regis and Kelly and Oprah, among many other high profile events and debuted with the Chelsea Opera Company in New York City as “Canio” in Pagliacci. One year later, Opera Online honored him with the title "Best Performance by a Leading Male" for his portrayal of “Canio” with Granite State Opera.
Accompanied by piano and bass, Daniel will be joined by his talented wife, soprano Marla Kavanaugh, who won praise from San Francisco critics as “the voice of a sorrowing angel” for her poignant portrayal in The Prince and the Pauper. Their musical program will tell a beautiful story of how they met and include songs from the US and Marla’s native country New Zealand. To those who have come to know him as the “singing policeman,” the New York City cop who helped bring the country an uplifting spirit of promise and hope with his stirring rendition of “God Bless America” after the September 11th terrorist attacks, it is no surprise that Daniel Rodriguez is known as America’s Beloved Tenor. At 16, he presented his first recital at Carnegie Hall; at 17, he was billed as the “17-year-old Baritone.” Then, at age 19, he put music aside to raise his family, going to work to make ends meet. He worked at the post office, and then as a police officer in the New York City Police Department. It was in uniform that local New York audiences began to discover his voice and his passion for the music he sang. Before the events of 9-11, he was already quite well known around New York City as he had sung in "Broadway on Broadway," in local opera and musical theater productions. As an “official singer” for the NYPD Ceremonial Unit, he sang at many functions, and later, at memorials in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. After 9/11, then New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, helped set up an audition with Placido Domingo. Daniel studied with Maestro Domingo and the staff at the Young Artist Program in Washington D.C. for a year and half. Daniel's operatic debut took place in June of 2006, where he sang the role of Canio in Pagliacci with the Chelsea Opera Company in New York City. In 2007 Daniel was named for "Best performance by a Leading Male" for the 2006-2007 season by Opera Online for his portrayal of Canio with Granite State Opera. He performed at the Republica National Convention and President Bush’s “Celebration of Freedom” Inauguration concert, and televised on The Late Show with David Letterman, Larry King Live, Live with Regis and Kelly, and Oprah among many other high profile events. This Memorial Day, Daniel will be part of the televised concert from Washington, D.C. An established recording artist with five solo records to his credit, Daniel’ s first Latin record is scheduled for release June 2011. With tours scheduled for 2011 and 2012 in Holland, South Africa, New Zealand and the US, Daniel will be back in the New York area for the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Wherever he goes, Daniel is asked about that fateful morning and how it changed his life. He was driving over the Verrazano Bridge to begin his shift with the NYPD when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. He was on the ground near the buildings when they collapsed, nearly losing his own life. Nine years later he went back to ground zero to heal himself. From this journey Daniel has begun Find 9/12.com, the quest to rediscover the unity we experienced in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. “For a brief period our differences dissolved. We came together. We treated each other with compassion and generosity. We were all connected. We were one. And then, suddenly… it was gone!” ''Music and spirituality were independent of each other in my life, but after 9/11 it became clear that it was the source of healing and that became the focus of my life.' “If you are true to your passions and work hard for the things that are important in life, like caring, kindness, friendship, faith and family then where ever you wind up you will be a success and, to those you love and those who love you, you will be famous.” - Daniel Rodriguez He sang in New York City after 9/11. He has performed at the Crystal Cathedral. Now join the Bakersfield Community Concert Association for an unforgettable evening of exceptional music by Daniel Rodriguez , America's Beloved Tenor, "The Singing Policeman" in concert at Rabobank Theater. Daniel performs with piano accompaniment of Jesse Lynch many favorites including Broadway, Mario Lanza hits, patriotic selections, spiritual, operatic selections and more. He will be joined by his wife, soprano Marla Kavanaugh, and her twin sister, soprano Marissa Dikkenberg. He and the twin sopranos will be singing favorites such as "Just in Love," "Granada," "Stout Hearted Men," and "God Bless America." Kavanaugh is well known throughout the world, having performed extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Dikkenberg has performed with her twin sister at the 9/11 Commemoration in New York, the Lord of the Rings Pre-Oscar Party in Los Angeles, the America's Cup in Auckland and the Queenstown Winter Festival. She has also extensively toured Australia in the "Pirates of Penzance," appeared as lead actress and vocalist in the Short & Sweet Festival, and starred in the one-woman play, "The Understudy." Preview his performance at youtube.com. Former New York City police officer, Daniel Rodriguez has experienced a meteoric rise to fame. He was one of his department's designated anthem singers on September 11, 2001, when fate intervened -- he rendered a capella performances of "God Bless America" and the National Anthem that proved far greater than a patriotic gesture. Ringing, heartfelt and beautiful, his performance stirred the hearts of the entire nation. Since then, he has performed at venues ranging from 2002 Winter Olympics, to Disneyland, to The White House. A pillar of courage and faith, Daniel Rodriguez is truly an inspiration, who freely shares his deep appreciation for life, God and country. Preview his CDs : In the Presence , From My Heart, The Spirit of America. and I Believe ; View the Facebook page of Daniel Rodriguez. Check out his Google group newsletter.
A moment in history took him from a New York City Police Department patrol car to the opera stage when he sang at a memorial service for colleagues killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11. "Until then I was an opera singer moonlighting as a policeman," he said. He has sung at a Republican national convention in Madison Square, at an earlier inauguration and at several other political occasions in Washington. He has sung at the White House twice - the first time as a serving police officer in his role as ceremonial singer for the NYPD. He has spoken to former presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. And he has never forgotten the awe he felt inside the White House. "You say to yourself, 'I'm standing where all the great leaders of the US have stood and worked. I'm standing where Lincoln stood. Jefferson stood here. Roosevelt . . .' It's living history. So few are privileged to go there. It is amazing to stand there and feel the history. It is elating." Security measures were always tight, but after 9/11 they became extreme. By the time he sang at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, each government agency had its own system of access codes, badges and stamps. The former policeman also had to endure an extensive FBI background check. Rodriguez traveled to New Zealand with his opera singer wife soprano Marla Kavanaugh (daughter of Palmerston North singer Kathi Craig) for the birth of their daughter Alexandra. Read the article about the former New York City policeman on wikipedia.com He will tour the United States where he has 117 concerts scheduled up to May 2010. Don't miss his February 11, 2010 concert at the Rabobank Theater presented by the Bakersfield Community Concert Association.
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