A life of purpose, a voice of comfort

Tenor Paul Pitts will share his message of love and inspiration at Sunday's concert.

By GAIL HOLLENBECK
Published July 7, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - With a repertoire that includes songs he has performed in numerous operatic roles, Beethoven's Ninth, Handel's Messiah and the Verdi Requiem, internationally known tenor Paul Pitts' favorite song is a surprise: "Jesus Loves Me."

"I fell in love with the very one who saved me," Pitts said. "When you sing a love song, you sing it to somebody that you're passionately in love with. It's the same with Christian music. You're in love with the very one you're singing about, and that's Christ."

Pitts, who has been called the "Pavarotti of Christian music," said he was 8 years old when he realized Jesus loved him.

"I gave my heart to the Lord, and I've never turned back," he said.

Pitts said he received forgiveness and peace in his heart that he wants to share with others.

"That's the passion of my life," he said. "My message is a message of comfort. The people that I reach out to are sick, or have lost loved ones or are dealing with bitterness in their life-people that hurt. That's what God has laid upon my heart and he has given me that purpose."

Jesus Loves Me is one of the songs Pitts will be singing at Anchor Baptist Church on Sunday. He'll be doing a variety of sacred and inspirational songs, including the title song from his newest album, You Raise Me Up. He'll also sing some spirituals and Southern gospel songs.

Now 55, Pitts has performed nearly 5,300 concerts on seven continents. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs and has performed the national anthem at national sporting events.

A few years ago, he was the featured soloist for the Concert of Peace in Belfast, Ireland, receiving praise from the president of the United States and the queen of England.

His distinguished career has earned him an honorary doctorate in humanities from Coral Ridge Baptist University.

Pitts' operatic roles include Otello in Otello; Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera; Don Jose in Carmen; Rodolfo in La Boheme; Manrico in Il Trovatore; Lt. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly; Florestan in Fidelio; Canio in Pagliacci; Cavardossi in Tosca; Calaf in Turandot, and Macduff in Macbeth.

About six years ago, Pitts recorded his biggest hit, the Brooklyn Tabernacle arrangement of I Bowed My Knees and Cried Holy. He has recorded four CDs.

Currently, Pitts performs about four operas a year and 150 concerts in churches such as the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., and Moody Memorial Church in Chicago.

Pitts said his earliest memory of singing is at the age of 4 in Dayton, Ohio.

"My sister, Ruth, would pick me up and put me on top of the upright piano in our living room," he said. "She would play, and I would sing. She taught me how to sing Christian music at that young age."

Pitts recalls the pastor of his church standing him on a metal chair next to the pulpit to sing when he was very young. He continued singing in churches and began singing professionally when he was 17. He recorded his first album in Nashville when he was 21.

"I continued on the road for about nine years and did almost a thousand concerts," Pitts said. By that time he had married. "Then my son was born, and I came off the road to spend more time at home."

At 38, Pitts decided to further his higher education. It was while he was at the University of Central Florida that the famous tenor Louis Roney took an interest in his voice and encouraged him to sing opera.

"He told me I could do just about anything I wanted if I put my mind to it," Pitts said. "He became like a father to me."

Two years ago, Pitts had a unique experience for a tenor. He was singing at a church in South Carolina when he heard a strange sound. Later, he found out that when he sang a high C, a glass vase in the sanctuary broke into three pieces.

"As far as I know, I'm the first tenor since Caruso to break glass with my voice, " he said. "A few sopranos have broken crystal, but tenors do not have the overtones that a soprano would. But it happened. This was not crystal; this was glass. I have the vase in my china closet at home."

Pitts' career just keeps getting better. He has had his third callback with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He has been asked to sing at the Vatican.

But with all the adulation and success that he has enjoyed, Pitts recalls a recent incident as being "what it's all about."

"Last Sunday I was in Little Rock, Ark., and had finished the first half of my concert," he said. "The pastor was talking to the congregation when a lady in the audience stood up and asked if she could say something. She said her father had died two weeks ago and for the first time, she realized that he is in a better place. 'I have found such comfort through this music today,' she said.

"That's the whole purpose of my life," Pitts said. "That's why I live and breathe -- for people like that. If you can make a difference in somebody's life, it doesn't get any better than that."

Get inspired

Tenor soloist Paul Pitts will present a concert of inspirational music at the 11 a.m. service Sunday at Anchor Baptist Church, 77 Lucas Drive, Brooksville. Pitts' CDs will be available for purchase. Call 232-8880.

[Last modified July 6, 2007, 19:23:53]