Lucia Palmieri

How does a single woman become “the most powerful and talented woman” in the world? ____________________________________________________________ ____ Just ask Lucia Palmieri, who followed her passion down a yellow brick road to the most prestigious opera company in the world – The New York Grand Opera Company. ____________________________________________________________ ____ The company’s founder and director Vincent La Selva asked Palmieri to sing a solo part for the historic 34th year of the NYGO’s Free Opera in Central Park Summer Concert Series. On July 18th at 7 p.m. Palmieri will perform in La Traviata at the Namburg Bandshell in Central Park, and on August 1 at 7 p.m., she will also perform in Tosca. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “I was shocked when he told me he was considering me for such a huge part, I couldn't believe that he would give me two of four soprano parts in the Summer Series,” said Palmieri who revealed La Selva simply handed her a rehearsal schedule to notify her of his selection. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “The idea of being conducted by one the world's best conductors on the same stage that so many famous Opera Stars performed on just lit me up,” said Palmieri, “and made me feel like the most powerful and talented woman in the world.” ____________________________________________________________ ____ Returning to the stage for Palmieri was a struggle, since her father’s sudden death in 2003 (ironically while she was performing elsewhere) lowered the curtains on her dreams of becoming a singer. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “I sang his funeral mass ...that was, in my mind, the last time I would ever sing,” said Palmieri. “I had decided that if I were to ever again feel the joy that singing gives to me, it would be disrespectful to my father.” Palmieri took a job as a short order cook. But her talent shone through in whatever she touched. ____________________________________________________________ ____ She soon opened her own restaurant, My Place, in Westport, CT, before moving on to become an executive chef at The Savoy Bar and Grill in Bridgeport, CT. Several of Palmieri’s recipes were published and awarded, but something was missing. “One night while working, the band that was playing asked me to sing along with them,” said Palmieri. “In my chef-coat I sang ‘Bobby McGee’. That was all it took. I gave notice and started to live my life with extreme passion & extreme joy.” ____________________________________________________________ ____Born to sing again ____________________________________________________________ ____ Living with passion and joy after the death of her father had not come easily for Palmieri who was plagued by unanswered questions and memories of her dad. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “The last conversation I had with my father, he was making fun of me by comparing me to my extremely successful brother,” said Palmieri. “I jokingly asked him if there was ever anything I had done in my life that ever made him proud. He very quickly answered ‘no’.” ____________________________________________________________ ____ “After his death there were times when I woke up in the morning and actually asked God why He bothered waking me up,” said Palmieri. “I just felt like I wasted my entire life. I decided that my life was a disappointment and I wouldn't ever be happy again.” ____________________________________________________________ ____ Palmieiri said she lived with that premise for almost two years, until a talk with a family member and a motivational class helped her realize what her dad had meant. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “ . . . I realized . . . that my father was just telling me, in his own way that he loved me... and I made his words mean something totally different,” said Palmieri. “My father was very sarcastic, and that was his way of showing affection and pushing me to be bigger and better then I was being at that moment.” ____________________________________________________________ ____ Now free from the chains of the past, Palmieri lunged head first into making her dad proud and changing her life. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “The next two years were an exciting journey of knowing anything I wanted for myself was available to me; I just needed to learn what it was that I wanted,” said Palmieri. ____________________________________________________________ ____ She auditioned for American Idol in California, sang in the USA World Showcase in Las Vegas, and returned to Connecticut and auditioned at Juilliard one day after her birthday on September.7. She was accepted and invited by La Selva, who judged her audition, to join the chorus; then garnered solos in a NYGO Carnegie Hall concert a few months later. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “From the first time I met Maestro La Selva he has had this unbelievable faith in me and my talent and he has spent so much time working with me,” said Palmieri. “His life is a true inspiration to me. He motivates me to be the best that I can be because he believes in me.” ____________________________________________________________ ____ Palmieri knows that no one could believe in her, unless she believed in herself. She shares that message with other single women through EVE’s Society for Single Women. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “Surround yourself with the things and the people that inspire you the most; do the things that make you happy today and stop thinking that you'll be happy someday,” said Palmieri. ____________________________________________________________ ____ “Reinvent yourself every morning, keep your promises ...especially the ones you make to yourself,” said Palmieri. “It's never too late to follow your dreams or to decide what your dreams really are.” ____________________________________________________________ ____ (Written by Eve's Society) ____________________________________________________________ ____ MySpace Layouts