Everyone needs a fantasy

Andy Warhol once said : Everyone needs a fantasy. Yes we do. We need a  fantasy, we need a dream. I had a dream once, or twice.  When I was young, I wanted to  be an archeologist, later a flight attendant. Today I have another dream, becoming a travel writer. I am not doing too badly in that department but far from making a living out of it.

My granddaughter Lisa has a dream too. She has had several dreams before: becoming a firefighter, an astrophysicist, a scientist, a schoolteachter, a nurse...

Since a few months, she has a new dream : becoming an opera singer.

She has been in music school for two years now following singing lessons from the start. Since september last year, the school has coached her with extra private lessons because she did so well in class. A few weeks ago, the school told my daughter Nikki that the opera of Flanders (a combination of the opera houses in Antwerp en Gent) were holding auditions for the opera's  children’s choir. The children’s choir has an impressive reputation and is a prestigious organisation, admitting only the very best. The children sing in addition to both opera’s productions in which they also act, also during the performances of the Belgian National Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and they record the music for  movies.

Most of these children later turn out to become stars on stage, be it opera, acting or musical. Some of our biggest musical stars started in the children’s choir.

Lisa did her audition on a Sunday in which she also performed a legendary imitation  of a monkey 😉. These kid have to be good actors as well 😀. On Tuesday, we received word that she was admitted. We are so proud of her. It is the first step towards the realization of her dream. It it however a big commitment. She is now subject to what we call the ‘status of exception’ at school. Meaning that she is excused from attending school when she needs to rehearse or perform. Luckily because she is academically gifted, it will not cause a problem with school work for now.

We were told that she is an exceptional talent, that she sings unbelievable accurate, pure and reaches high notes especially for someone who just turned nine, two weeks ago. She is passionate about chasing her dream. They have never seen anyone at that age so motivated and motivating everybody else in just being their best. She has put the bar high for herself. She has the obsinacy to even make it.

Go Lisa and chase your dream. We support you in anything you do. But also enjoy these moments. Because this is something nobody can ever take away from you. We can’t wait to see and hear her sing at the opera.

At that moment, she will be an opera singer to me.