Happy Monday, Honey Bees! 🐝🍯

If someone had told me years ago that one day I would be standing on the same stage with opera singers, performing in a Halloween production, I probably would have laughed!

Actually, I probably would have laughed very loudly! 😂😂😂

You see, I've spent my career as an international Blues, Jazz, and Gospel vocalist. Those are my musical roots, my foundation, and the genres through which I've developed my own artistic identity.

🇮🇹 An Unexpected Possibility

But something interesting happened during my 25 years living in Italy.

On more than one occasion, Italians would tell me that I could have had a career in opera.

Opera? ME?

I would laugh it off!

Some even compared the power and possibilities of my voice to the great Luciano Pavarotti. (I know...what????)

Now, let me be clear. I have tremendous respect for opera singers and the discipline their art requires. And their vocal techniques are very, very different from the vocal techniques used by singers in Jazz, Blues, Gospel, Hip-Hop, Pop, Country, and Folk music.

I have never considered myself an opera singer, nor have I ever set out to become one.

But I remember watching a documentary about opera singers (because I love the whole theatrical part of opera) in which there was a discussion about Pavarotti's voice and how it didn't necessarily fit everyone's idea of a conventional operatic sound.

That fascinated me, especially because of the comments people had made about my own voice.

Still, I continued doing what I do.

Blues. Jazz. Gospel.

And I continued being Habaka.

🎭 And Then Came 2026!

Well, here we are in 2026!

And this international Blues, Jazz, and Gospel vocalist has been invited to perform alongside opera singers in a Halloween program with the International Opera Institute!

BAAAAAAM! 💥😂

I'll be performing three songs representing very different musical styles, including my own Heritage Blue interpretation of "I Put a Spell on You."

✨ The Gifts That Were Waiting

And there's another little surprise in this story.

The theatrical training I received during junior high and high school is finding its way back into my professional life!

Who would have thought?

All those years ago, while studying theater, I had no idea that those experiences might one day become part of my career as an international performing artist.

But here they are!

And that's something I've come to appreciate more and more about life.

Sometimes the things we learn when we're young seem to disappear into the background. We move on, pursue other interests, develop new skills, and build our lives.

But those experiences don't necessarily leave us.

Sometimes they're simply waiting for the right moment to reappear.

And when that moment comes, we discover that we were preparing for something we couldn't yet see.

🎶 Just Being Habaka

Now, I don't know whether I'll ever sing an opera role. That's not my intention, and I don't need to become an opera singer to appreciate this opportunity.

What excites me is that I can step into that environment, stand alongside artists from another musical discipline, and contribute something authentic through the voice I've spent a lifetime developing.

Not pretending to be someone else.

Not changing my musical identity to fit the occasion.

Just being Habaka.

And there's a special kind of satisfaction in that.