I was at a conference years ago when some of my radio friends tried to convince me to sing karaoke. I've done a lot of things in front of a lot of people...taken pies to the face, introduced dingos and bearcats to zoo audiences before concerts, gone onstage with an alpaca...but there was NO WAY I was singing karaoke.
Fast forward 15 years to a karaoke bar in New York City. One of the classics rock songs of all time...one that makes ALL of us sing when it comes on the radio, Sirius XM, and Pandora. Imagine, then, being able to hit all of those great high notes in Bohemian Rhapsody.
Not happening, right?
Not unless you hit them for a living.
Mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and tenor Paul Groves enjoy letting off steam between rehearsals...in this case, for The Merry Widow. While others get a massage, do yoga, or take a run, those two, along with tenor Barry Banks, like to head to the nearest karaoke bar and blow off steam by blowing the socks off of bar patrons with a high-flying rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody...Queen's iconic rock anthem.
You can read more in the New York Times here. Boy, I hope someone gets some good video one of these days. In the meantime, here's the original.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ