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HERCULES SMITH: Music is my morning sun in stormy days
Classical-crossover singer Hercules Smith is the winner of the contest ,,Voice of Europe” from 2012. Journey had lead him from homeland South Africa to England where he lives with wife and daughter for whom he says they are his center and to whom he dedicated his debut album ,,I’m yours”. Music is in his blood and when he was five years old he preferred to stay at home listening to Lanza and Pavarotti than to play outside with friends. Music is, he says, his air and his light, morning sun in the stormy days.
He will come to Montenegro, he says, when organizers call him.
With this extraordinary singer of powerful and warm voice we had talked about music, family, England, South Africa, plans and power of the name he carries.
Even when you were five years old, while your mates were playing outside, you were inside listening to Pavarotti and Mario Lanza. How did it feel then when your career started to take a full spin, when you realized that you had fulfilled your dream of becoming an opera singer?
– I am honored to be called an ,,opera singer”. But I am not that, yet. It is still a dream and dreams one must have. My genre is classical-crossover. I still have many mountains to climb and will get there.
Eros Ramazzotti has a song called ,,Musica E’”. What is music to you?
– Music is my morning sun, in stormy days. It is what keeps me going. It is my air, my light, my ultimate joy.
It says here that you had a tough childhood. You decided, as in the Dylan Thomas’ poem you love so dearly to ,,not go gentle into that good night” and ,,rage, rage against the dying of the light”. After all, you are Hercules who will beat every obstacle. You are a hero who brings people hope. What is your message to the people like you who do not go gentle into the night and rage against the dying of the light?
– The poem came to my life at a moment, when I truly needed encouragement. When I read it, I realized that, no matter have many stumbling stones, came my way, I could make it.
No doubt that having been named after the Greek hero, Heracles/Hercules, who fought his monster and won his battles, gave me the passion, to strive for the best.
You have dedicated your debut album ,,I am yours” as well as one of your tattoos to your wife and daughter. In what way are they your guarding angels?
– My wife and my daughter motivate me. They are my center.
You live in Great Britain. You had been born in South Africa. How much life philosophies differ between Great Britain and South Africa?
– I love my country, with its open spaces and beautiful weather. But unfortunately, there is a lot of crime there. Here, in England, I am free to wander around without fear. I can trust, that my family will be safe. And as they say, home is wherever your heart is. England is now my home.
You have sung in Spain and Italy. When can we expect to hear you in Montenegro?
– I am ready, whenever you are. All you have to do is call me. By the way. I also had the opportunity to perform in Greece, for a year. Love the country!
What are your future projects?
– I am heading to South Africa, where I will be performing on a TV program, called Noot vir Noot. I am actively looking for an agent and manager, who could represent me, here in England. Most of my contacts have been in South Africa. Moving to England has slowed down the momentum. But hopefully, people will get to know me here and enjoy what I do.
Bojana Radonjic
Foto: Private archive
