MIAMI (WSVN) – From packed stadiums to center stage, some former athletes have traded highlight reels for high notes.
They were once athletes who performed on the field, and now off the field, they’re on a different stage.
Former New York Yankee legend Bernie Williams is a four-time World Series champ and a five-time All-Star who’s played the guitar since he was a kid.
Since retiring from the Yankees 20 years ago, he’s continued his love for music.
“Performing, you know, the lights, the pressure, and just one time to make it right, I think that kind of translates from baseball, no doubt,” he said.
Williams, a Latin Grammy nominee, is an accomplished musician who’s performed at Carnegie Hall and worked with several big-name artists, including Bruce Springsteen.
He recently led the “Opera & All-Stars” performance at the Adrienne Arsht Center.
“Playing with musicians of this caliber, I mean, this is just an amazing experience, so it really makes me more motivated to play as much as I can and be as proficient as I can in the instruments, so I can relate all these ideas to them, and they’re just kind of hitting them out of the park,” said Williams.
Among the performers on stage, former Hurricanes and Dolphins player Bryant McKinney, the one-time Super Bowl champ, has been singing since he was in his high school choir and enjoys performing for a different type of audience.
“I hope they get a great experience and are very entertained and also can see that from the football aspect that guys are more than just football players,” he said.
Among the pro players group performing with opera singers was former Miami Northwestern high star and NFL veteran Ulrich Johnson.
“There’s something that it makes you feel, you can tell what the story is because of the excellence in it and the way it’s played, and that’s a lot with opera, too, like there may not be people who may come, you may not know the words, you know, you might not speak the language, but you will be able to feel the music,” he said.
This performance, billed as the “Voices of Wellness,” benefited veterans and first responders and was also geared toward exposing this type of music to a new audience.
“We have a reputation in the world of opera that we are a little stiff, that we’re not cool enough, so we needed to pep it up a little bit,” said Maria Todaro with the Florida Grand Opera.
This is the first time the Florida Grand Opera has brought together opera, jazz and the NFL Pro Players Choir.
The Opera will begin its 85th season in South Florida in November and have a long-term plan to continue to bring former professional athletes on stage to perform.
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