Victor’s 2009
Seeing as we have all just entered a new year, 2010, I thought I would write a small section on how my past year has been and what I am looking forward to venturing into in this year. The whole of last year was very hectic, but in good a good way. I started 2009 by performing on the P&O Arcadia on a world cruise which I had never done before. I had been to the Mediterranean and Caribbean before but to visit places like Cairo and Sydney was unbelievable. I have to say the the highlight of the cruise was sailing down the Suez Canal with nothing but desert surrounding you, very spectacular.
When I returned I decided to stay in the U.K as I always enjoy being home. I sang at many different functions and events including Opera weekends at all the Warners Hotel’s, and also large corporate functions around the U.K. I also had the pleasure, as I do each year, of singing at many beautiful weddings around the country which is always a great experience for me.
In May my Med cruises began and I started on the great P&O Ventura for 2009, this would be the first of twelve over the course of the year. I always come home and have a short break inbetween cruises so I can still perform in the U.K. As the months went by I also performed at many of the Major Golf clubs such as the ‘Mere and Country Golf Club’ and ‘The Belfry’, which are always enjoyable evenings.
In August I was asked to perform at the ‘Delph Party in th Park’, 2000 people were there for the day’s entertainment with picknicks and champagne which made it a day to remember. I also had the chance to sing Jerusalem, Rule Brittania and the National Anthem with the Delph Brass Band at the end of the night, topped off by a firework display while we performed it, the atmosphere was electric.
In November I flew out to Tenerife to join the Ventura for it’s first cruise to the Caribbean, as you can imagine I always love to go back to the blistering sunshine and my beloved Antigua. After two weeks I came back and two days later I was due to perform at ‘Ciao Italia’. This takes place at the ‘Mere and Country Golf Club’ every year and is a major charity event. It is always great fun as the audience is mainly from Italy, and believe me they certainly know how to enjoy themselves.
The week after was to be one of the proudest moments of my singing career as I performed for the first time with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at Buxton Opera House. The night was unbelievable as I got to work with many great musicians and singers. When the Orchestra struck with O Sole Mio and I walked out onto the stage, I have to say that for three minutes I felt like the great Caruso. On the 28th of November, the week after Buxton, I was due to do more of a local show which I was really looking forward to. This was set to take place at the Gracie Fields Theatre In Rochdale. The show was called ‘The Lovliest Night of the Year’ because there would be a special tribute to the great Mario Lanza in the show. The night was a great success and was a sell out, there were people from all the local areas and even from the South who turned out for the show. A great friend of mine, Fred Fielder, who was one of the main dj’s for GMR Radio for many years hosted the show. And I also invited a great friend of mine called Sarah to come and open the show for me who was fantastic. This particular show will be touring some of the theatres around the U.K this year so keep an eye on my blog section for future dates.
To finish off my year on the road I decided to stay fairly close to home as it is alway’s a great chance to spend some time with my mum and dad at christmas time. I performed many nights at a beautiful hotel in Wales called Plas Hafod which really is stunning, especially seeing the views covered with snow. Towards the end of December I got an unexpected chance to fly out to the Caribbean again for a short four day cruise, this was a small break I couldn’t refuse so off I went. The week I returned was the start of the actual Christmas week which was going to be an exremely busy one for me. I travelled to places such as Portsmouth, Hererford, Wales and Blackpool, but it was good fun and all the shows were great.
This year I hope I will be performing even more so I can write about it all once again this time in 2011, and hopefully I will see you at some of my forthcoming shows so you can say, “oh yeah, I was at that one”, all the best everyone.
