The Saga Of Opera Tenor Vahan Mirakian
Rick London
When I was told by my friend, an immigration attorney, I was going to Mexico to meet a famous European opera star, I expected something very different. The beauty of the small town outside of Tijuana was no surprise, but the sad look on the opera singer's face was. I hadn't a clue as to why someone living in such a paradise, could feel so down. I would later find out.
Vahan had reason not to be smiling. He had been through a living hell. And it was not getting better. His case seemed more complicated all the time, and he had the best representation available. Still, things did not look good. Even paradise, to Vahan, looked like a lifetime sentence. He would be away from the United States and the love of his life, Marika A.
Vahan had, a year ago, been arrested at LAX at age 70, handcuffed, dragged through the airport, made to sign papers he did not understand, detained, and then deported, and not allowed to return on a technical violation.
First let me allow, Vahan is no 9/11 box-cutter carrying terrorist. He is a delightful super-talented opera singer, known to be one of the top five tenors in the world, was a resident many years at the Russian Bolshoi, and scheduled to play at Carnegie Hall before his career was rudely interrupted.
Though he did not understand my English (even a lot of Americans don't as I was raised in Mississippi, and I did not understand his Armenian, we understood each other and developed a great affection. Whatever words we did not understand were quickly interpreted by our mutual friends.
Later that year, I returned to Los Angeles to visit our mutual attorney friend, and we drove again to Mexico to visit Vahan. He was sadder than ever, and his complicated case was not looking good. His fiance Marika, a television producer and talk show host at Armenian TV in Glendale, had to commute every weekend she could to be with Vahan. The strain was beginning to wear on the relationship.
This time it was my 53rd birthday, and we went to a small restaurant called La Fonda's, really more or less a dive with an American pop band and very good Mexican food. At the break, I mentioned to the manager that one of the world's top opera stars was at our table and asked if he could sing accompanied by the band. "Of course," said the manager. I had not even asked Vahan yet but he gladly agreed. He had not sung at any venue in over a year and music was and is his life. The minute Vahan opened his mouth to sing, there was a huge smile on his face. The energy could be felt all over the room. It was magic.
As it turned out, most the band decided to sit this one out, but their one brave saxophone player was keen on doing a duo. When they started O Solo Mia, you could hear a pin drop in this packed establishment. It was surreal, like something out of a Salvador Dali painting. Nobody could believe their ears and kept yelling for an encore when it was over.
He dedicated the song to his loving friend, Rick London (me), and I was floored. There I sat in this little Mexican cafe, with friends from around the world, and a world famous opera singer had dedicated one of my favorite songs to me for my birthday, and with a voice like no other.
Today, nearly another year later, I received an email from our mutual attorney friend that his case cleared. He is a free citizen again in the U.S. and living in Los Angeles. He plans a nationwide and possibly a world tour at age 71. His voice is as clear as ever and I can hear the well-known masters every time he opens his mouth.
Vahan directs his own nonprofit foundation that helps disadvantaged Armenian youth find their voice in music. It does wonders for those who would never have a chance otherwise. I salute this man for hanging in there and putting up a fight for his justice. I salute the American system for allowing him another chance to make it in this great country.
America rarely lets me down, and it proved today, that it truly lives up to what is on the base of the Statue Of Liberty and in our Constitution. May Vahan live and sing to be 120.
Any angel of the arts should consider donating tax deductible dollars to the Vahan Mirakian Foundation to help Armenian refugee children find their voice through opera at http://www.vahanmirakian.com/Opera-Great/) 501C3 Tax Deductible Donation, and http://www.vahanmirakian.com/opera-tenor/) Give today
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