The Met chorus mourns a star

The Met chorus mourns a star

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norman lebrecht

May 31, 2021

The chorus, which has suffered heavy losses during Covid, is now mourning Danrell Williams, one of its most familiar faces.

The Chorus is mourning the loss of our dear colleague and brother Danrell Williams, who by all accounts was one of the happiest, most generous, caring, and funniest members of our family. Danrell’s humor will always encourage us to not take life too seriously, and his legendary generosity reminds us that our work colleagues really do feel like family. We’ll remember his riveting story-telling, and of course his silly nicknames for each of us. We’re so sorry that we’ve lost his immense talent, but most of all his heart, as he was always there to lend a hand to help up off the stage, to give a gift to us or a family member, or a good-natured insult to make us laugh.
Out of all of Danrell’s friends in the opera house, perhaps one of our ‘follow spot’ operators knew him best. During the overture on any given night, with the show curtain closed, one of Danrell’s friends in the lighting department would find him in the crowd and focus a spotlight directly on him. Danrell would bask in that light, face beaming, until just before the curtain would rise, and that’s just how we will remember him: a star on the stage and in life.

 

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