Zeljko Lucic talks with Bing and Dennis in Classic Talk Part 4

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D: you have said you have 3 days between performances, What do you do to forget the opera couples of days, do you have hobbies or things what you do that can just relax?

Z: Well, actually I'm not trying to forget opera at all, when I'm not singing then I'm thinking about how I sang last time, what was wrong, what I could do better next time, etc. So, but I'm not obssesed in opera like, thinking 24 hours a day what I have to do, how I am doing,-- watchin' TV, walking, --

D: Is that American TV?

Z: Yes, American TV.

B: What is your favourite show?

Z: There is couples of them, "Everybody loves Raymond", "King and Queen", "Friends","Seinfeld"（「となりのサインフェルド」）, I don't know what is the word in English, soap?

B: Day time soap opera,whatever.

Z: Yeah, that's kind and the movie channels, good movies are there as well, but just saving my throat is the main thing,

D: Any kind of sports fan?

Z: Oh, yes （なぜか笑いだす。）

B: Soccer?

Z: Let's say YES!

D: What does that mean?

Z: Well, I'm enjoying NBA for examples very much, Soccer is your opinion, Sure, Soccer is my favourite, Number One, but I have really no idea what's going on a field of baseball and American Football, I just watching it's ok, trying to get yards, who's running there, oh, well OK. Never mind. Doing sports is little bit as much as I can but important thing is to walk. Walking, walking, I'm not running because I'm pretty much heavy, big for runner.

D: New York is great city for walking.

Z: Yes, it is.

B: Do you like New York?

Z: Yes, very much. My second home town, let's say besides my home town back in Serbia.

B: That's right. Very special city.

Z: I mean the whole world is here. Every culture, every cuisine, everything from the whole planet is gathered here in New York,

B: If you have any words for younger generation, singers, what do you tell them?

Z: One and only, patience. Patience, really deep deep studying. Deep means, being of what you singing, don't rush, please don't want to sing Verdi's big dramatic roles after one year of studying, just have patience, everything will come along with itself.

B: Do you think the agent, a management, anything to do with it?, sometimes I think they push them to be to hard?

Z: sometimes, yeah, they pushing. especially they see that they can - I'll be very brutal right now- earn some money or more money, then they push. well I can say I am very lucky with my agents I have, to begin with IMG in Europe and John Anderson (President of Barrett Vantage Artists, NY) here in Barrett Management,(thumbs-up)

D: you don't have much time but I'm dying to ask you one thing. Every singers have embarrasing moment on stage, funny, I love to hear some of the moment, funny or embarrasment whatever?

Z: Well, let's say funny and embarrasing same time.

D: OK.

Z: Really I don't understand, the situation I forgot the text.

B: What happened?

Z: No prompting very well, Prompters are gone in Europe, here we're lucky to have them. In Europe, another thing, oh what to do? break up completely, music runs, it's coming, you have to sing something, anything!

D: make up something!

Z: you don't know to laugh or cry you know what to do? I mean you made a big mistake, you forgot your texts, you confuse your partner, you confuse everybody, conductor, but somehow to get out the situation and continue, but this is the situation what happening of course,
I mean my biggest kind of that, I forgot the text, not to know what to do, I repeat the text, repeat and repeat untill moment I recognise, ok, good, very funny.

D: and probably you're amazed to have few people in audience even notice things like that if you able to keep the melody going and make up some kind of--

Z: You're right, you're right, I don't know, maybe they don't know-.

B: I think you have to do in same way sometimes you-.

Z: You have to improvise,

B: That's right.

D: Unfortunately we are out of time, it's great pleasure,

B: Such a wonderful-

Z: Pleasures are mine.

D: Zeljko Lucic with us today here on Classic Talk with Bing and Dennis,

B&D: Thank you so much.

Z: You're welcome.

*****End of the talk*****