A few years later, while studying at the New York School for Performing Arts, she was chosen by Leonard Bernstein to be a soloist in his "Young People's Concerts". Julia then began her Broadway career: she was part of the original casting of "Fiddler on the Roof" with Zero Mostel and she interpreted Maria in West Side Story.
However, she understood that her real calling was to sing, leading her to a cover contract at the New York Metropolitan Opera. While substituting for the leading role of Alban Berg's, renowned for its technical difficulty, she was cheered and acclaimed by the public, launching her opera career.
Word of this new star crossed the Atlantic where Maurice Béjart was desperately searching for his Salomé to be staged in Geneva. Julia Migenes embodied the ideal combination for this role: a world-class opera singer and a graceful dancer.
While on stage in Geneva as Salomé, the Italian film director Francesco Rosi was casting for his up and coming film: Carmen. The lead role required not only an opera singer and dancer but also an actress sensual enough to personify the burning passion of Bizet's character. The result was Julia Migenes immortalized in a motion picture that has since become a reference in the filmed opera genre. The soundtrack not only brought her a Grammy Award but even more worldwide notoriety that allowed her to access the greatest theaters in the world.
To this day, Julia Migenes has recorded more than 20 albums. Among the most recent : "Vienna" conducted by Lalo Schifrin, a Gold record six months after its release ; in 1996, "Man of la Mancha" (L'homme de la Mancha), conducted and arranged by Paul Gemignani, with Placido Domingo, Samuel Ramey, Mandy Patinkin ; in 1999, "Robert Stolz" and "The music of Franz Lehar" for BBC and in 2000, Donizetti's "Catarina Cornaro".
In 1998, Julia Migenes wrote "Diva on the Verge", a one-woman-show mingling monologue and opera often mocking its rigid world, revealing her daring wit and sense of humor. In 1999, she performed this show in French in Paris and throughout France and French-speaking countries. She is preparing a Spanish version of this show for a tour in Spain and Latin America. She continues to present the English version in a tour throughout the US.
In May 2001 Julia Migenes created "Passions Latines", a choreographed recital in which she interprets a repertoire of Latin music, both classical and traditional, from Granados, Villa Lobos, to flamenco, tango and the great contemporary salsa songs. She presented this show at the Paris Olympia in March 2002 followed by several international summer festivals. In July 2002, she created for the Festival d'Avignon "La Argentina", a tribute to tango accompanied by the Argentinean quintet Tiempo Sur. An international tour is still taking place and included a stop at the prestigious Paris Théâtre du Châtelet.
Julia Migenes has put together a program dedicated to sacred songs which premiered at the Fès Festival of Sacred Music (Morocco) in June 2003.
She was also part of the cast along Barbara Hendricks of a new opera "Angels in America" by Peter Eötvös which was created at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in November 2004.
In 2005 Julia Migenes recorded her new jazz album "Alter Ego" (release early 2006). Also the first rehearsals for "Pierrot Lunaire" (by A. Schönberg) took place before Hans Peter Cloos staged the work in New York early 2006. For "Alter Ego" she worked again with Philippe Calvario. The recital was based on great jazz titles and American pop muisc and was first presented on stage in 2006.
In 2006 Julia Migenes' first biography was published by the Editions du Rocher in France: "Mémoires d'un oiseau rebelle". In November 2006 she premiered her show "Alter Ego" staged by Philippe Calvario at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and toured throughout Europe until the end of 2007.
In 2007, the "Opéras en Plein Air" asked Julia Migenes to handle the stage direction of "Le Barbier de Séville" by Gioachino Rossini. The opera was performed in prestigious venues like the gardens of the Sénat, the castle of Champ de Bataille in Evreux and the castle of Vaux le Vicomte.
In November 2007, she's on tour with a classical recital accompanied by Janine Reiss (vocal coach of Maria Callas for years but also of Julia Migenes on, the set of "Carmen"), she also creates in 2008 "L'Heure Espagnole" in Clermont-Ferrand and starts working on a show about Schubert. In July 2008, Julia Migenes performs with Placido Domingo and the Cairo Orchestra during the Jordan Festival in Amman.
In 2009, Julia Migenes will release a new cd "Hollywood Divas" dedicated to the greatest actresses of cinema. An occasion to revive once more the golden age of cinema and to recall legendary actresses such as Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich or Carmen Miranda...
The Man I Love
Julia Migenes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why I do what I do?
Why I must travel to a distant land,
Far from the home I love.
Once, I was happily content to be
As I was, where I was,
Close to the people who are close to me,
Here in the home I love.
Who would change the course of my dreams?
Helpless now, I stand with him,
Watching older dreams grow dim.
Oh, what a melancholy choice this is,
Wanting home, wanting him.
Closing my heart to every hope but his,
Leaving the home I love.
There, where my heart has settled long ago,
I must go. I must go.
Who could imagine I'd be wandering so
Far from the home I love.
Yet, there with my love, I'm home
The song "Far From the Home I Love" by Julia Migenes is a beautiful and melancholic song that touches on the theme of sacrifice and following one's heart. The lyrics talk about the struggle of leaving one's home and loved ones behind to pursue their dreams and follow their heart, even if it means going to a distant place. The song expresses the conflicting emotions that one can experience when facing such a difficult decision, the pain of leaving behind the comfort of home and the risk of losing everything one holds dear.
The lyrics are particularly powerful in the way they describe the conflicting emotions of the singer. On the one hand, they long to be close to the people they love, but on the other hand, they are drawn to a distant land where their heart feels most at home. The lyrics use vivid language to describe the pain of having to choose between these two options and the uncertainty that comes with taking a risk.
One of the most interesting things about this song is that it is from the musical "Fiddler on the Roof," which was originally produced in 1964. The musical is set in the early 1900s in a Jewish village in Russia and follows the lives of Tevye, a poor milkman, and his family. "Far From the Home I Love" appears in the second act of the musical and is sung by Tevye's daughter, Hodel, who has fallen in love with a revolutionary and decides to leave her family and home to be with him.
Line by Line Meaning
How can I hope to make you understand
I am struggling to find the words to explain to you why I am doing what I am doing.
Why I do what I do?
Why it is that I am compelled to act in the way that I am acting.
Why I must travel to a distant land,
The reasons why I feel the need to leave my home and journey to a faraway place.
Far from the home I love.
An expression of sorrow at being away from the place that I hold most dear.
Once, I was happily content to be
In the past, I found joy in the simple pleasures of life.
As I was, where I was,
Living my life as it was, without any need for change.
Close to the people who are close to me,
Surrounded by the loved ones who have always been there for me.
Here in the home I love.
Enjoying the comfort and familiarity of the place where I grew up.
Who could see that a man would come
No one could have predicted that a man would enter my life and change everything.
Who would change the course of my dreams?
He has caused me to rethink the direction that I want my life to take.
Helpless now, I stand with him,
I feel like I am unable to resist his influence, and am standing by his side.
Watching older dreams grow dim.
As a result of my relationship with him, my previous goals and aspirations no longer hold the same significance for me.
Oh, what a melancholy choice this is,
The decision to leave my home and follow my heart is a difficult and bittersweet one.
Wanting home, wanting him.
Feeling torn between my desire to return to my home and my love for the man who has captured my heart.
Closing my heart to every hope but his,
Focusing solely on the man I love, even as it means giving up other aspects of my life that I once cherished.
Leaving the home I love.
The decision to leave my home is not an easy one, and I am sorrowful to do so.
There, where my heart has settled long ago,
My heart has been captured by the man I love, and I feel happiest when I am with him.
I must go. I must go.
Despite my sorrow at leaving my home, I know that I must follow my heart and travel to be with the man I love.
Who could imagine I'd be wandering so
It is difficult to believe that I am now living a life that is so different from the one I once knew.
Far from the home I love.
Even though I am happy with the man I love, I still miss the place that I grew up and think about it often.
Yet, there with my love, I'm home
Despite being far from my birthplace, I still feel like I am at home as long as I am with the man I adore.
Lyrics © BOCK IP LLC, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEWIS BOCK JERROLD, SHELDON HARNICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind