Foreword

My first memories of Lotfi? His voice and his smile.

We were both very young and had enrolled in an Opera Workshop class at UCLA. No, dear reader, opera wasn’t my “thing.” An offshoot of the class happened to be a very sparse musical comedy department, which WAS my thing. Our first day in class had us all singing something we felt would show what we could do. I belted out “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” from Annie Get Your Gun, using my very best Ethel Merman impersonation.

When it was Lotfi’s turn he sang something from some opera for the group, and I was mightily impressed. His voice was beautiful, yes, and what also got me was the “way” he presented himself. He didn’t go the route of most of the other opera students (ultra serious) … no, Lotfi smiled and looked and sounded as if he were having a ball. He made me almost wish I was a soprano so we could team up in some soaring operatic duet!

Alas, that wasn’t to be. But, hooray, we DID wind up performing together because Lotfi was able to cross over into the territory I loved. Let me put it this way, he was a great Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls.

Our paths separated after a couple of years and Lotfi went on to have a fabulous career as one of the most successful opera directors of all time.

We kept in touch off and on through the years and have always been able to “pick up where we left off” when we were briefly reunited. When he retired from being the general director of San Francisco Opera, I had the great pleasure of being in the program with several others honouring his achievements. He even agreed to perform with me one of our long-ago duets from Guys and Dolls, “Sue Me.” He brought down the house.

I was thrilled when Lotfi asked me to write the foreword for this wonderful book. Not only is it an entertaining history of his remarkable career, I was a bit surprised to find myself laughing out loud at many of the anecdotes he tells. His sense of humor, which got him through many a snafu over the years, is very much intact! Not knowing much about the opera world (about as much as I know about rap music!) I was fascinated by the tales of the backstage AND onstage shenanigans. He doesn’t hold back his opinions of some of the most famous singers he worked with. Not the least bit gossipy, he’s downright honest and not afraid to express his views (although some are pretty funny).

Lotfi’s book is an intriguing look into the entire world of opera, which provides the reader with a real “page-turner” (even for neophytes). In other words, you don’t have to know a darn thing about opera to eat up what he has written. I’m proud to know him and to call him my friend.

Carol Burnett

P.S. He can still sing and, oh boy, that smile!