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.

Kiri Te Kanawa Takes Plácido Domingo Golfing And He Is A Real Sport

In December 1980, BBC Interviewed Kiri Te Kanawa and Plácido Domingo during a holiday concert. The topic of sports came up and Mr. Domingo talks about how he always wanted to be a football player (that's soccer to Americans....). He also mentions that he would love to learn golf as it is supposed to be good for the breathing. An accomplished golfer traveling to courses all over the world, Dame Kanawa takes the tenor out to her territory for a few rounds. Watch the video after the jump.

Sumi Jo Among Famous Korean Singers At 2014 Asian Games

South Korean soprano Sumi Jo performs
 a solo during the opening ceremony
 of the 2014 Asian Games at the Asiad
 Main Stadium in Incheon, South Korea.

"Pop sensation Psy was the star attraction as a dazzling opening ceremony, showcasing the glorious past and modern-day South Korea in a grand spectacle, launched the 17th Asian Games on Friday. The world's second-biggest multi-sports spectacle after the Olympic Games, that will see over 13000 competitors from 45 countries and regions vying for glory, was kick-started with singing, dancing, besides the expected fanfare and fireworks. The Games were declared open by South Korean President Park Geun-Hye with the words 'I declare open the 17th Asian Games," before celebrated actress Lee Young-ae lit up the flame resembling a fountain of cascading water. As Lee lighted the cauldron, dazzling fireworks lit up the evening sky. The second part of the opening ceremony consisted of two themed songs - 'New Asia, a Song of Hope' and 'Incheon'. 'New Asia, a song of hope' began with poet Ko Un reading 'Song for the Asiad', composed by Kim Young-dong, which was followed by Soprano Sumi Jo brilliantly singing the solo song which was followed by a 10-vocalist choir joining her with a large screen showing Incheon citizens reading the latter part of the poem. The song changed into Arirang, a very popular Korean folksong often sung as an unofficial national anthem. Then 'Incheon, a place for one Asia' expressed the Games hosting city as a bridge to unite Asia as one family and open the future of the continent." [Source]

"The Flying Dutchman" (aka Robin Van Persie) Scores Big At Cup

"Robin Van Persie has set the bar high. He had to get pretty far off the ground to do it. Anyone who wants to score the most amazing goal of the 2014 World Cup is going to have to best the Dutch striker's high-flying tally against Spain. With the Netherlands trailing the reigning World Cup champions, 1-0, in the 44th minute of a rematch of the 2010 final, Van Persie scored a jaw-dropping goal with his head. Running onto a long pass from teammate Daley Blind, RVP launched himself into the air for a breathtaking, game-tying goal." [Source] The Netherlands went on to defeat Spain. Listen to the overture from Richard Wagner's opera Der fliegende Holländer (The flying Dutchman): 
Watch the spectacular move as RVP flies through the air and look at more pictures of the soccer star, after the jump.

Ana María Sánchez And Plácido Domingo To Perform At World Cup

Ana María Sánchez quer cantar música brasileira!

"Placido Domingo will sing before a World Cup final for the sixth time, announcing Wednesday he will perform at Rio de Janeiro's HSBC Arena on July 11. The concert featuring the 73-year-old classic musical star will take place two days before the final at Maracana Stadium. The show also is scheduled to include pianist Lang Lang, soprano Ana Maria Martinez, conductor Eugene Kohn and the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira. Domingo has attended every World Cup final since 1970 with the exception of 1978 in Argentina. He sang the 1982 theme song in Spain, 'El Mundial.' He said the program next month will include classical music and Brazilian songs. 'I always think music and sport are the two great things many people can understand without any need to really speak the language,' Domingo said in a telephone interview from London, where he is to conduct Puccini's Tosca next week at The Royal Opera. 'I have friends from all around the world, and they are really fanatics of soccer and music. It's great to see many of the people I know.' [Source]

Plácido Domingo's Sports History As A Soccer Player Served Him Well

Plácido Domingo playing soccer in 1980.

"As the World Cup nears, soccer fanatics will inevitably jink the conversation toward the beautiful game. That includes Placido Domingo, who explains why at 73 he can still get down on one knee to declare his love to the soprano. 'I was a goalkeeper and I know how to throw myself onto the floor,' said the Spanish opera singer. Even if his sporting past has served him well in his career, the tenor-turned-baritone never expected to be where he is today, still singing on stages all over the world. Because of that unexpected longevity, he finds himself doing double duty as leading man and general director for the LA Opera, where he wrapped up its 28th season this past weekend as the love-struck monk Athanael in Massenet's Thais, the 139th role of his career. Around 18 years ago, Domingo took over the direction of the Washington National Opera, and then more than a decade ago became director of the young Los Angeles company. 'I really thought I would be singing for a very short time,' he told Reuters in an interview last week at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, where he first performed in 1967. 'That's the reason I started thinking of being a director of a theater. The voice is there, so I keep singing.'" [Source] A picture of the tenor playing soccer in 2011, can be found after the jump.

Tennis Player Ernests Gulbis Doesn't Like To Miss The Opera

Gulbis (above) displays a passion for opera that
we haven't seen since Novak Djokovic professed
his admiration for Natalie Dessay.

"When I [Sports Illustrated] caught up with Ernests Gulbis at the Italian Open last year, he was in the midst of a career resurgence after plunging to No. 136 and having his mom recommend that he retire. His renaissance has continued in 2014: The 25-year-old Latvian is 23-10 with one title (the Open 13 in Marseille, France) and two semifinal appearances, and last week he reached a career-high No. 17. He is ranked 19th entering the French Open, which begins on Sunday. The outspoken Gulbis — who has put his fans through the wringer with his erratic play and combustible temperament — sat down for another interview in Rome last week, before his third-round loss to David Ferrer. He talked about his newfound consistency on the court and his eclectic tastes off it."

SI.com: What’s a piece of culture that’s impressed you lately?
Gulbis: Lately it’s been more music. I was really pissed off because I got sick in Vienna right before Madrid and I had two great tickets for the opera. One was for Nabucco and Placido Domingo coming to Vienna, and I missed it because I was in a doctor’s appointment. But what I like lately is classical minimalist music. Like Philip Glass, Pierre Boulez, Irmin Schmidt. Schmidt wrote a lot of good music for movies. There’s one really good soundtrack, from Wim Wenders’ film Palermo Shooting. That kind of music culturally touched me. It’s not easy to listen to it.

SI.com: You’re very into music.
Gulbis: My collection of music is pretty big. It’s around 4-5 terabytes. I keep it at home in a hard drive. We put all the CDs that we had in our houses — the country house and the city house — on one hard drive. All the music I downloaded and all the music my father downloaded is in one place. [Source]

It's not the first time we've seen opera and tennis come together. Watch the video after the jump for proof.

Baltimore Ravens Justin Tucker Sings Opera (And Likes Soda)

Be a Pepper, Drink Dr. Pepper: Justin Tucker enjoys making music of all varieties

"Justin Paul Tucker (born November 21, 1989) is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football at the University of Texas. He graduated from Westlake High School, near Austin. Tucker played college football at the University of Texas. In 2011, concluding a 118 game rivalry with Texas A&M University and The University of Texas, Tucker kicked the game winning field goal as time expired. Texas (then ranked #25) won, 27-25. He played in the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl." [Source] Watch the video of footballer Justin Tucker, performing "Deh vieni alla finestra" from Mozart's Don Giovanni as he sings the praises of Dr. Pepper, after the jump. You can also read more about the soda promotion by clicking here. 

Tenor Ta'u Pupu'a Talks About Tackling The World Of Opera

Bryn Terfel Talks About Getting Golf Time in Down Under

Terfel at the 2010 at the Ryder Cup golf tournament.

"The booming bass-baritone - an operatic superstar - seizes every opportunity to play courses around the world. And this week in Melbourne has been no exception with Terfel shuttling between Hamer Hall and Royal Melbourne Golf Club. 'Oh, it's the best, just beautiful,' the barrel-chested Welshman says of Royal Melbourne. 'I'm not a very good golfer. I'm a calm golfer and it doesn't faze me that I can't par every hole but if I have a couple of good shots, that always brings me back to the course.' But how does this powerhouse singer motivate himself?

Madonna Pays Homage to the Operatically Scaled "Cleopatra"

Click the above image to launch a scene from the 1963 film featuring opera-friendly Elizabeth Taylor under-dubbed by "Vogue." Check out a comparison image of Madonna from the Super Bowl XVLI on Sunday, after the jump.

Heineken Brings Football (aka Soccer) to Prague Opera House

Heineken's latest advertisement takes aim at the Football crowd by pitting Clarence Seedorf against Gianluigi Buffon in the Prague Opera House to battle it out among Roman warriors, opera-singing angels and one magic flute player. Watch the clip below and check out more screen caps after the jump.

Tenor Jim Cornelison Scores With Touching National Anthem

As an example of the recent article written by Susanne Mentzer, watch this stirring rendition of the "The Star-Spangled Banner" sung by tenor (and former Lyric Opera of Chicago Young Artist) Jim Cornelison:

More about Mr. Cornelison after the jump.

Plácido Domingo Tapped For FIFA "Council of Wisdom"

The "Wiseman" with Fernando Torres after
Spain's victorious 2010 World Cup win.

"Spanish opera great Placido Domingo is considering a formal invitation from FIFA president Sepp Blatter to help solve the problems of the world's governing body. Blatter was re-elected as president for another four-year term last week and has promised to clean up the corruption scandal at FIFA. Domingo has been offered a role on a 'council of wisdom' alongside former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger and former Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff. However, the 70-year-old opera star is not committing to the role until he recieves more information form Blatter. He told the Associated Press: 'Since 1970 — with the exception of 1978 — I have been at every World Cup final in every host country. 'In my amateur way, I am an expert in football. I am happy to have been asked to be involved with this great sport and have requested more details to see if I can be of help.' The new commitee will have the power to investigate the problems at FIFA and solve the bribery scandal that saw Jack Warner and Mohamed Bin Hammam suspended." [Source]

Is a High Note Like a Hole in One?

Bryn Terfel tees off at an exhibition match for the Ryder Cup in Wales.

Golf seems to be the chosen sport these days of many type-A opera singers. What is it that attracts these stage animals out into the subdued wilderness of the country club scene? I would guess the discipline that they so aptly apply to their craft is quite easily transferable to the links: skill,  precision and accuracy.