Listen up, kids. Adrienne Danrich and Eric McKeever have something to say: You can be anythingyou want to be. All you have to do is Find Your Voice.

        And believe in it.

        Find Your Voice is the title of a traveling show they'll take to Cincinnati school kids in grades 5 through 12. Under the auspices of Cincinnati Opera — calm down, there's no metal brassiere, no horned helmet, no fat lady dying on a double fortissimo high C — this show is a musical mix of everything from opera to rap to pop to Broadway.

Motivational singers Adrienne Danrich and Eric McKeever. (Joseph Fuqua II photo) | ZOOM |

        A dreamy mix, it's full of songs with a simple message: Follow that dream. Figure out what you want and go after it. You can do it.

        Case in point, Mr. McKeever says: “We did it, and that's one of the reasons we approach it through opera. In the show, we talk about the challenges of being an opera singer and how your color, height, weight all make a difference. But not so big a difference that you can't chase the dream.”

        Heaven knows, both have chased and caught it:

        • Ms. Danrich, 30 years old, single and living in Oxford, is a University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) grad with a master's degree in vocal performance and an artists' diploma. She's been a professional singer for six years, mostly with the Cincinnati Opera but with side trips to Lyric Opera San Antonio, Opera Carolina, Kentucky Opera and several symphony orchestras, including Cincinnati's.

        • Mr. McKeever, also 30, single and living in Columbus, is a Capital University and Ohio State grad with degrees in vocal performance and 10 years experience, mostly with Cincinnati Opera and side trips to Dayton Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, OperaColumbus and a raft of orchestras, again including Cincinnati's own.

        Neither grew up listening to opera — he was a Prince fan who got hookedat age 20; she was an Aretha nut who got hooked in a performing arts high school in St. Louis — but both decided at some point that opera was their dream. They've been following it ever since and never mind the obstacles.

        That's what they'll share with Cincinnati kids Wednesday through Sept. 21 in the 60-minute music, talk and Q&A program. They'll do the same with Dayton kids for six weeks, then for several months in Chicago.

        So then, two singers, similar background, living in close quarters for a year. Might be a good idea to separate them and ask each the same 10 questions in a game of “she said/he said.”.
        She Said
        If the kids learn nothing else from this, I hope they . . .

Learn they can get rid if that sense of "I can't.' That the doors are wide open. That they can pursue any dream they want.

        My dream role is ——————— because . . .

Aida, because she has a quiet strength and integrity that make her closer to most human beings. Not the bossy Amneris type, although I'm bossy. Aida's different. She gets the same results I do but in a quieter way.

        One thing I've learned launching a career . . .

It takes perseverance. I find myself having to pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again more than once. It sounds hokey, but it's the belief that you have to be the best and you work hard for that.

        If I were mentoring one of these kids, I'd tell them . . .

        Is that overall, you have to be your own motivation. You can't depend on your mother, your father, your brother or sister or anyone else to motivate you to achieve your goals. They can give you money and support, but not motivation.

        Something I wish I had learned earlier . . .

Oh, that's tough, because I feel like I learned a lot in high school. We did so much performing. I believe I wish I would have started playing an instrument earlier — earlier than high school. A sense of piano helps so much.

        I'll quit singing when . . .

When I think I've stopped learning. Or better, when I think I'm the best. But there's always someone better. There may be someone worse, but there's always someone better.

        I'll know I'm a success when . . .

I almost feel, in relation to what I've said already, it's difficult to discuss what success is. If you're always striving to be better, you haven't exactly succeeded, just pushing forward, and that's always good.

        The question I hope none of the kids ask . . .

How much do you get paid. But they always do.

        Twenty years from now I'll be . . .

Sitting at home in the Midwest with an apartment in New York, traveling about seven months a year to perform. The other five I'll be doing outreach in my community. I do believe the best way to build an audience is to go to the people.

        One question I wish you would have asked . . .

        Do you like what you do? I would have said I love putting on different faces and presenting different sides of myself that I don't reveal in everyday life. And I love it that my instrument is part of my body. And the best part of my job, what I love most, is people's reaction to what I present — tears or laughter or a sense of dread.
       

He said
        If the kids learn nothing else from this, I hope they . . .

Find out that opera is fun. That it's accessible to all types of people.

        My dream role is ——————— because . . .

It's Rigoletto because he combines incredible music with one of the most complex characters in opera. He's not good or bad, just trying to survive and hang on. His lifestyle costs him everything that makes him happy.

        One thing I've learned launching a career . . .

Is that you have to believe in your talent, no matter what anyone says. Sometimes you feel so depressed about not getting a part. But you have to remember, you are blessed with a talent and if this guy didn't like it, the next one will.

        If I were mentoring one of these kids, I'd tell them . . .

To find everything you like about yourself and capitalize on it. Find what makes you unique and don't worry if others make fun of you.

        Something I wish I had learned earlier . . .

The first thing that comes to mind is that you can be a performer and still be financially responsible. You don't have to be a starving artist. That bohemian lifestyle is glamorous and romantic, but you still have to pay the bills.

        I'll quit singing when . . .

When I feel like I have nothing left to say. I feel I have so much more to learn. It could be years and years. And probably will be, because singing is my way of self expression.

        I'll know I'm a success when . . .

I think I already am. I'm out of school four years and I sing most of the time. As long as I'm singing and getting paid, I feel I've made it. You don't always remember that, but you should, because it's how you keep yourself grounded.

        The question I hope none of the kids ask . . .

Are you two (Adrienne) married? They'll ask how much we make, of course, but I just tell them enough to get by.

        Twenty years from now I'll be ...

Still performing, the head of a small opera company or director of a young artists program. I love the idea of developing young talent.

        One question I wish you would have asked . . .

        What's the hardest thing about auditioning? Most of the time, there's no feedback and you're not even allowed to ask. They tell you the people running the audition are busy, please don't bother them. And that's too bad. How do you know what to improve if the people hiring don't have time to tell you?
        Find Your Voice can be booked for Sept. 12-21 through the Cincinnati Opera for $375 a performance.744-3462.

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