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Ronan Tynan: The Irish Tenor on Living and Playing in Boston |
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Mar 27, 2011 at 12:00 AM |
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Sun. March 27 There’s a new kid on the block in North End. A big, balding Irish fellow. A chap you might have seen on a Sunday morning at St. Leonard of Port Maurice’s all-Italian Mass. It’s Ronan Tynan, the 50-year-old singer who came to fame both as a solo performer and with Irish Tenors. "I don’t speak Italian very well at all," says Tynan, on the phone from Kilkenny, Ireland, "but I understand it because I sing it." T ynan - who plays the Wilbur Theatre Sunday March 27 at 3 - has lived in America nearly 12 years. (He was back in Ireland briefly this week, attending the funeral for his best friend, who died of leukemia at 47.) Tynan fell in love with the US while on tour with the Irish Tenors in 1998, a group he stayed with through 2004. "I absolutely adored the place," he says. "I loved the nature of people and I thought, ‘This is the place for me.’ I knew if I was willing to work and put my heart into it, the country would give me more than I can imagine." "I’ve gained understanding of lots of cultures, because that’s basically what the States is made up of," he adds. "Different ethnicities, cultures, and beliefs. I think it made me much more open to understanding other people." Tynan became a prominent and symbolic voice after the 9/11 attack, singing "God Bless America" at numerous memorial ceremonies and, later, for the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. That relationship with the Yankees ended last year.What happened made national headlines. He was accused of making an anti-Semitic remark, what he intended as a jest, in New York last year. "I am not anti-Semitic and I have never been in my life," he told NBC after the incident. "It was stupid of me to be so callous and I would never want to hurt anybody’s feelings." He apologized to the woman he offended, Dr. Gabrielle Gold-von Simson. She accepted his apology. It’s a topic that Tynan did not want to discuss during this interview. "You know why?" he says. "It’s been done so many times, and my life has moved on." In March, Tynan made the North End his home. Tynan said he’d been thinking of moving to either Chicago or Boston for two years. His brother urged him to go Boston. "So," Tynan says, "I live as close to the coast as I can.’ On July 4, the new Bostonian sang "God Bless America" at Fenway Park, his first time doing so. "I was very privileged to sing in Boston and on the Fourth of July," he says. "I sang and looked at the flag, and it wasn’t about pinstripes and it wasn’t about red socks. It was about the American people. I am thankful to the Red Sox for giving me the opportunity. Here’s to many more, hopefully." Of his experience in Boston, he says, "In my wildest dream I could not have imagined the generosity of spirit." While he sometimes plays with an orchestra or band, on this tour he will be joined by pianist Bill Lewis. "It’s nicer for the public because they really get the intimacy of the drawing room feeling," Tynan says. "It’s an eclectic mix," Tynan said of his concert song choices. "Of course I’ll do a healthy set of Irish songs, but I also want to show the versatility I have with my voice." Tynan sings Verdi’s Requiem, Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Rossini’s cqStabat Mater. But he also sings songs by U2, Bruce Springsteen cqand Leonard Cohen. He loves Thin Lizzy’s "Whiskey in the Jar." And he loves religious hymns. His latest album – a compilation is called "All Kinds of Everything," and that’s his philosophy. "The singer, whatever he does, should never box himself into a corner," says Tynan. "If you’re a singer you ought to be able to sing anything. And you don’t have to stay with your style." Tynan led quite a life before becoming a professional singer at the late age of 33. He was born with lower limb abnormalities. A motorbike enthusiast, he got into a bad accident at 20, which resulted in the amputation of both legs and the use of prosthetics. After college, he worked in the prosthetics field. He also became a track star, throwing the discus and javelin and competing in the Paralympics, winning multiple medals from 1981 to 1984. He went to medical school at Trinity in Dublin, became a doctor and worked in orthopedics, specializing in sports medicine and injuries from 1993 to 1998. But he’d always loved music. His father, an amateur singer, turned him on to Mario Lanza when he was young. "My father was a farmer and we used sing together," he says, "mainly to the cows." While working as a doctor, Tynan says, "My dad said to me, ‘Why don’t you do something with the voice?’ I had a couple of singing lessons and once it started going I really loved it. You look forward in anticipation of having lessons, learning more stuff about the voice." The transition from amateur to professional happened after Tynan won Ireland’s "Go For It" talent contest, similar to "American Idol," in 1994. "That turned the corner," he says. "My boss in orthopedics said, ‘Listen you can always practice medicine. You’ve got to give this a go.’" "I have no regrets," he says. Tickets: $65-$35. (This is an expanded version of a story that ran in the Boston Herald last year.) 246 Tremont St., 617-248-9700 www.wilburtheatre.com |
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