Performing on the opera stage has been a life long quest for Daniel, who began to study arias in his youth. In the summer of 2000, he had an audition at the Metropolitan Opera, however his lack of formal operatic training failed to produce what he had hoped from that audition. He was asked, "What makes you think a cop can sing opera," and then sent home after only being allowed to sing a few notes.
However he was determined to continue in his dream as he began working with a small opera company in New York City. He was preparing to star in his first lead tenor role in an operatic production in the fall of 2001, however due to the terrorist attacks of 9-11, that debut never took place.
The period of study with the great opera legend, Placido Domingo, during 18 months of intensive opera training at the Vilar Domingo Young Artists program in Washington DC. during 2002 and 2003, gave Daniel the chance of a lifetime to advance his operatic dreams.
During a 2002 "CBS Early Show" interview with Thalia Assuras, Maestro Domingo stated, "It's just like when you have a -- you have a diamond and you just take it from the mines. And after the jeweler has to do all the polishing and making the stone really bright and so on, he has a phenomenal material. You know, the voice is there........ All this is going to help you. You will thrill the people even more, because it's going to be not only this wonderful voice, but the total interpretation and, you know - and the preparation."
June of 2006 in New York City, Daniel performed in his long awaited opera debut, in the role of Canio in Pagliacci with the Chelsea Opera Company. Anthony Tommasini, New York Times reviewer was in the audience. He wrote: "Mr. Rodriguez has a real voice: beefy, husky, with baritonal colorings...On Wednesday evening he fulfilled a dream by making his staged operatic debut. Working with a small, fledgling company, the Chelsea Opera, he must have felt safe. Still, he took on a vocally daunting role: Canio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. It was impossible not to respond to his portrayal. When he sang the touchstone aria, 'Vesti la giubba,' venting Canio's grief and humiliation, you sensed that here was someone pouring out years of pent-up artistic longing."
March 3, 2007, Daniel Rodriguez and Maryann Mootos performed in concert at Roberts Wesleyan College. The following songs were some of those included in that performance. It was an evening that brought a wonderful response from the audience, who was moved by Maryann's beautifully classical soprano voice and Daniel's expressive operatic tenor. An evening to remember!
Vesti la giubba...................................Ruggero Leoncavallo
from I Pagliacci Daniel Rodriguez, tenor
Recondita armonia................................Puccini
from Tosca Daniel Rodriguez,tenor
Ch'ella mi creda.................................Puccini
from La Fanciulla de West Daniel Rodriguez, tenor
O soave fanciulla................................Puccini
from La Boheme Maryann Mootos, soprano
Daniel Rodriguez, tenor
Torna a Surriento................................Ernesto de Curtis
Daniel Rodriguez, tenor
Nessun dorma.....................................Puccini
from Turandot Daniel Rodriguez, tenor
In May of 2007, Daniel once again took on the role of Canio, at the Granite State’s production of Pagliacci.
The headlines read: The tenor known to millions of Americans as “The Singing Cop” will make his New England operatic debut with New Hampshire’s own Granite State Opera in May, and he’s not just famous, Executive Director John MacLeod said, in a press release, “He’s really, REALLY good!
In an interview with Victoria Shouldis of the Concord Monitor, Daniel talked about his study and the role of Canio in Pagliacci, "I've always appreciated opera, and I grew up doing theater, so I know how to go beyond the song and play a role. I've spent a lot of time learning and understanding this character- his phases of life, his playful and sometimes comical sense, the sense of betrayal that explodes into jealousy and makes him so distraught. Opera is not just singing -- it's performing. You need to bring the audience to a place where they respond to the music and to you. Otherwise, you're not doing your job."
After the final performance, in Concord's Capitol Center for the Arts, Paul Joseph Walkowski, an internationally published author, writer and publisher for Operaonline.us, wrote in his review:
Daniel Rodriguez’ performance was electrifying, pure magic, pure energy, pure emotion and blazing in glory. It has to be his signature role. As Canio (Pagliacci) he stood in a class by himself: a star of easily recognizable magnitude and a force to be reckoned with on the opera stage. There was not a single note he delivered where the audience wasn’t held in his firm control. He inherited the character and by sheer force of delivery blew away any complacency that may have existed. I suspect we’ll be hearing a lot from and about this extraordinary talent in the future.
We look forward to seeing Daniel in many more operatic productions in the future. Stay tuned!
(the full articles/media reports referred to above can be found at our "Media Archives" site and "TV/Radio Interview" site. See direct links on our LINKS page)
