As many who read this column know, I am a retired opera singer. One of my favorite composers is Giuseppe Verdi — not least because he wrote amazing music for the baritone voice. Verdi loved Shakespeare, and one of the best baritone roles he created was that of Macbeth. In Act Two of the opera, there is a scene set at a lavish banquet Macbeth and his lady are giving for the assembled nobles. Missing, of course, is Banquo — whom Macbeth has ordered killed, along with his son. After remarking on Banquo’s “unexplained” absence from the party, Macbeth goes to […]
As many who read this column know, I am a retired opera singer. One of my favorite composers is Giuseppe Verdi — not least because he wrote amazing music for the baritone voice.
Verdi loved Shakespeare, and one of the best baritone roles he created was that of Macbeth.
In Act Two of the opera, there is a scene set at a lavish banquet Macbeth and his lady are giving for the assembled nobles. Missing, of course, is Banquo — whom Macbeth has ordered killed, along with his son. After remarking on Banquo’s “unexplained” absence from the party, Macbeth goes to take his empty seat. Immediately he begins to hallucinate, seeing the murdered man’s ghost in the room.
After Lady Macbeth makes annoyed apologies to the guests for his bizarre behavior, Macbeth slowly comes back to reality — he sings “la vita riprendo” — life resumes — as he shakes off the nightmare and realizes where he is. In so many ways, I have been looking for signs of life resuming. I see them all around, but in some cases, they may have begun to blur with the strange suspended animation of the past 12 weeks.
Yes, 12 weeks back from when I am writing this, many of us were enjoying ourselves at Amelia Island. Even as the nation and the world slowly shut down and withdrew, there was always evidence that the auto enthusiast’s world was alive and vigorous — despite the restrictions and prohibitions.
For my friends in Italy, there was no possibility of leaving their homes except for the absolute necessities — groceries and medical care. So in the United States, while I enjoyed the solace of a drive alone through the countryside on a weekend morning in an old car — renewing both my spirit and soul — my Italian friends were denied any such respite.
Even now, as some U.S. states and many nations around the world begin to “reopen,” we are all feeling our way into a new world.
A new path
In my role as CEO of Audrain LLC in Newport, RI, that path has me busier than ever. Not for me the challenge of finding a way to fill my days binge-watching streaming series or cleaning closets unopened in a year.
When our museum here in Newport closed on March 21 due to the regulations to fight the spread of the virus, we began working even harder to bring our presence to the public.
We began a series of twice-weekly YouTube videos on our channel in which I toured the gallery and our storage building, sharing stories about our exhibition and collection.
The videos proved popular and encouraged us to make a bold step — an actual real-time, live-streamed walk-through. The occasion was the opening of our exhibition “Shining Bright: Advances in Automotive Lighting” on May 1. Traditionally, we inaugurate a new show with a members’ preview evening.
Obviously with the closure and the state’s stay-at-home order, that would not be possible. But with a measured and careful switch-over of the cars in the gallery, we were ready to “open” our new show. And what better way to share it with not only our members but the world at large than with a tour?
Connecting with more people — not fewer
A challenge and a disadvantage was suddenly a great opportunity. It was not only possible to bring the show to our familiar Audrain Automobile Museum, but now we could literally welcome the world through our doors via computer or smartphone.
The program brought hundreds more people to the event than we could have accommodated on a regular museum preview evening, and the response was positive and gratifying. The ongoing reception to the YouTube videos has also been great, and it has allowed me to bring the audience who has followed my work for years to the museum.
That it also has corresponded to the opening of the fifth season of “Jay Leno’s Garage” on CNBC has been an added bonus. A host of digital appearances on a range of programs has kept me connected with an ever-larger pool of enthusiasts. These projects also showed me the potential of creating entertaining and educational content with high production values.
Many felt the involuntary cloistering forced on the world during the coronavirus outbreak would lead to an inevitable end of in-person human interaction. All of us would for evermore be reduced to a pixelated window on a digital screen.
However, I feel quite sure that once we are again allowed and able to gather in large groups, we will embrace that contact. We will also have a heightened level of digital connection as well. We have now come to a place where we will want the kind of instant online access that has become common in the past 12 weeks — in addition to the “live” experience.
This new mix of online and personal experiences can only benefit the classic-car world. It will help our community grow in heretofore unimaginable ways.
For many years, the true scale and reach of the global collector-car scene could only be glimpsed in pieces. International auction results, well-publicized concours, vintage rally and race events are the glittering tip of a very large iceberg.
Once we can reach — on a regular basis — a national and international audience eager for more and better content, the overall health of the collector-car world can only benefit.
Life returns indeed — changed for sure — but the evolution of our new world will be wondrous. ♦