He is a tenor of much repute, yet his calling was never the Metropolitan Opera. His stage and audience were to be much broader and celestial in scope.
As Daniel Rodriguez, aka the Singing Policeman, stands before audiences today, it is both to entertain and to uplift.
This is what sets Rodriguez apart from his musical contemporaries. After the 9-11 terrorist attacks on America, he was part of the rescue process as a fulltime policeman, and then, as the designated “voice” that was heard around the world — performing America’s patriotic anthems.
He was singing for his country and for the fallen on Oct. 30, 2001. Rodriguez’s rendition of “God Bless America,” which he sang at Yankee Stadium during game 3 of the World Series, was delivered with such power and resonance — that it has stamped his place in American music history.
“I certainly believe that all my life I was preparing for the moment when my gift would do the most good, at a time when it was needed most,” Rodriguez, 55, told the News this week. “I was at Ground Zero when the towers came down — as a New York City police officer — and no matter how much we were doing in the rescue/recovery efforts, I knew that I had something more to give.”
Despite what some believe, Rodriguez was not an “overnight” sensation when he sang before America that October night. He was a formally trained baritone as a youth and might have pursued a musical career but became a police officer to support his marriage and young family.
Still, he kept music close to his heart.
“I was the go-to singer for the NYPD and by the time 9-11 occurred, I was on speed dial with the mayor, the governor and occasionally the White House,” he recalled. “It was certainly a catapult for my career, but it was also bittersweet as I would spend my days at Ground Zero and the police department itself would call me and assign me to things like opera, Letterman, Larry King, Regis, and Kelly, etc. And you would think that that would be a tipping point for someone who’s spent most of his life hoping to be able to use music for a living. But every day after an amazing appearance at some show I would be right back at Ground Zero protecting and serving.”
Eighteen years later, Rodriguez has stepped out of the ruins and turmoil of Ground Zero, and into the spotlight of a unique musical path.
The Brooklyn native will appear at Grace Lutheran Church, 4427 Overland Ave., Culver City today (Sept. 19) to kick off Season No. 2 of the church’s MidDay of Grace music series. The lunchtime concert will start at noon and Rodriguez said he will perform a mix of classical, Broadway songs and operatic arias— “including inspirational songs” from his albums.
“We are thrilled that Daniel is able to share his music and personal story with us as our series opener,” said Mary Lou Basaraba, music director of Grace Church and the organizer of the Grace MidDay Concerts. “He has a more national profile than most of our performers and we’re fortunate that we were able to find a date compatible with his
extremely busy schedule.
The concert is free and for those who want to make donations, can do so to the charity of the performing artist’s choice.
Following the concert, guests can meet Rodriguez (if his schedule permits) in the Fireside Room for conversation and light refreshments, Basaraba said.
Prior to 9-11, Rodriguez did get an opportunity to audition for the Met. Arranged by then New Your Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a passionate opera fan himself, Rodriguez showed up for his audition. However, things did not go as planned.
“I believe that the gentleman who was told to audition me most likely felt that it was a waste of time as most purists believe that opera singers are born and raised in the world of opera,” Rodriguez said.” I think he felt that someone who was a New York City police officer regardless of whether I had a good voice or not had no business auditioning for the Met.”
As fate would have it, opera star Plácido Domingo was aware of Rodriguez’s Met audition. The opera star spoke to Giuliani, who raved about Rodriguez’s talent, and Domingo respectfully agreed to hear Rodriguez.
“That audition, at the Met, would lead to me studying with Placido in Washington for nearly 2 years (as part of Domingo’s Young Artists Program) after 9-11,” Rodriguez said.
The 9-11 tragedy, however, scarred Rodriguez emotionally and changed his musical direction. He said he needed to find a means of overcoming his own grief.
“The first national anthem was actually a prayer for America, which was a multi-faith prayer service for our city,” Rodriguez said, regarding his 2001 Yankee Stadium appearance. “The reason my national anthem was so heartfelt was due to the idea that this was the first time I sang since the tragedy and it was exactly what I needed to begin my own healing process. I had been holding back all of the emotion of living the horrors of the day until the moment I was asked to sing and then I put all of that into my performance.’
Rodriguez said that while later training with Domingo should have opened opportunities as an opera singer, his course took a new direction.
“Studying with Plácido Domingo would have solidified my life as an opera singer, but even Placido recognized that my heart, although vocally suited for the opera, had much more to say,” Rodriguez said. “And I couldn’t do it with opera alone. So, I became the singing policeman and shared my gift as a positive force that came out of a devastating tragedy.”
In the 18 years since 9-11, Rodriguez has followed a new dream. Along this “amazing journey,” Rodriguez has found his way to Culver City and Grace Lutheran Church.
“A patron of the church who used to manage me during the early days of post 9-11, mentioned the work that Grace Lutheran Church was doing,” Rodriguez said. “I myself have a public charity that is involved in homeless outreach, so I was put in contact with Mary Lou and over several phone calls we solidified a date.”
With faith as his guide and song in his heart, Rodriguez has no regrets that his place at the Met was to never be.
“My career has been amazing over the last 18 years and I have been able to travel the world and share my gift and inspire people wherever I go,” he said. “But I believe the thing I cherish most about my musical journey is that it brought me to the love of my life, my wife Marla, who is also an amazing singer. Together we walk along this road of music and we share our passions and desires to do good and to affect lives in a positive way.”