‘Like a miracle’: Homeless Woman’s Viral Subway Opera Performance May Get Her Off The Streets
A little midweek positive news. Yes the old saying is true, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. This inspires to never quit, keep believing in yourself and believe in and help someone else when you see their gifts.
From THe Washington Post by Maegan Flynn
Her piercing soprano ricocheted off the subway’s concrete walls, drowning out the robot announcing the next train’s arrival.
The vocalist stood by herself near the end of the platform, holding a slew of hole-punctured bags on one arm and lugging a cart draped with a blanket in the other. She wore a floor-length denim skirt, her hair in girlish blond pigtails. And although it was the middle of a Los Angeles rush hour, around 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 24, the Purple Line station in Koreatown was notably silent. There were no passersby as she sang the opera, no whoops or claps. Read the FULL ARTICLE AND SEE THE VIDEO HERE.
From the video taken by one captivated Los Angeles police officer, it looked as though the homeless woman was alone on her own stage, commanding the attention of an unseen audience as she sent Giacomo Puccini’s Italian aria “O mio babbino caro” careening down the tunnel.
“4 million people call LA home,” the Los Angeles Police Department tweeted two days later, sharing the one-minute video clip the officer captured. “4 million stories. 4 million voices … sometimes you just have to stop and listen to one, to hear something beautiful.”
Overnight, Emily Zamourka became a viral sensation. Hundreds of thousands of people watched her perform in the LAPD’s one-minute video. The local news tracked down Zamourka in Koreatown to reveal who she was: a Russian immigrant who became homeless after a man stole her violin, which was her livelihood, and the musician ended up evicted. Hundreds of people have since donated to online fundraisers to help her get off the streets.
And Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino (D), hearing her Italian operatic solo, invited the 52-year-old to perform at the unveiling of the city’s new Little Italy district on Saturday. Then, his office immediately started working on finding her housing, Buscaino’s spokesman, Branimir Kvartuc, told The Washington Post.
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