Jay Hunter Morris: Practice Makes Perfect As Wagner Tenor

Heldentenor Jay Hunter Morris finally getting deserved recognition. (Photo: Stephanie Diani/NYTimes)

"As a boy growing up in Paris, Tex., Mr. Morris — he blurs his age as 'mid-40s' — had music on both sides, his father a Southern Baptist music minister, his mother the organist at First Baptist Church. He had never heard opera until he moved to Dallas and saw La Traviata. 'She is laying on her back and she has no microphone and she’s singing,' he said. 'How do they do that? I decided to take lessons and see if I have a voice for this.' To be self-critical without being self-destructive may be the single most valuable trait of adult life. Mr. Morris says he does not have the tenor quality 'where I can just open up and be glorious,' but he cops to being persistent. 'It’s sort of like shooting free throws over and over to get them right,' he said. 'There are things that my voice teacher has been telling me for the last 15 years, and I’m just now getting them. I want to be really good at this someday. I’m getting there, but I’m not there yet.'" [Source]