Tenors Anyone? Opera Singers That Love The Game Of Tennis

Love All: Grigolo (left) and Flórez go head-to-head on the court during some time off from the MET.

Tenors Juan Diego Flórez and Vittorio Grigolo took a break from their current performing schedule at the Metropolitan Opera to hit the courts for a friendly game of tennis. Mr. Flórez, a Rossini specialist who starred in the MET's first performances of the composer's La Donna del Lago, posted the image of the two men on his Facebook page. This isn't the first time that the worlds of tennis and opera have come together. Two instances are here and here. And tenor Lawrence Brownlee has proclaimed his enthusiasm for tennis; soprano Amelia Farrugia keeps stamina up for the stage by playing tennis in downtime; baritone Michael Chioldi has been known to pick up the racket to stay in shape;  soprano Julianna Di Giacomo grew up playing tennis; tenor Enrico Caruso didn't fair so well lasting through one set; soprano Kiri Te Kanawa keeps busy with a myriad of sports that includes tennis; bass-baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes built his physique on the game of tennis; soprano Mary Garden had advice for her friend and tennis player Bill Tilden; and tenor Ivan Kozlovsky kept his health up with the sport. It's not the only sport that cross-pollinates opera with athletics, click here for more. See more photos of opera singers with tennis champions after the jump.

Tennis champions Rafael Nadal (left) and David Ferrer on the stage of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain.

Romophone Founder Louise Barder Meets Roger Federer

Tennis brawn meets musical brains.

Yesterday, Louise Barder - Senior Publicist and Editorial Director at 21C Media Group - had a chance to meet Swiss tennis champion Roger Federer. She even managed to slip the topic of opera into their brief conversation. Who knows, he might enjoy the art form as much as fellow tennis professional Novak Djokovic:

"Louise Barder was born in England and grew up all over the world (including the Soviet Union, Australia, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Poland), living wherever her diplomat father's postings took her. Back in England, having graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in Psychology, she worked as an editor on a variety of musical publications, including the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music and the Grove Dictionary of Opera, The Musical Times, Radio Times (the BBC's house magazine), The Strad magazine, and the music books at Oxford University Press (in both its Oxford and New York offices). Louise founded Romophone, the Gramophone Award-winning vocal reissues label that set a new benchmark for other labels and subsidiary labels specializing in historical vocal recordings. As well as being an executive producer for Romophone's CDs, Louise quickly established worldwide distribution and a high-profile international reputation for the label, which boasted a feature profile in The New York Times, broadcast features on the BBC, and superlative coverage in the press and broadcast media throughout the world. Louise continued to run the company and oversee its production, sales and promotion until it ceased trading in 2004. Before joining 21C Media Group, Louise worked with Albert Imperato and Glenn Petry in the marketing and press department of Universal Classics." [Source]

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