“From Stage to Survival: Kathleen Watt’s Poignant Journey Through Cancer and Redemption in ‘Rearranged'”
In a world where the drama of opera often ensnares us in grand emotions and soaring arias, one woman’s story diverges from the expected narrative of fame and talent to delve into a profoundly personal battle against cancer. Kathleen Watt, once an extra chorister at the Metropolitan Opera, confronts a diagnosis that not only threatens her career but also her very identity. As she undergoes harrowing transformations from surgery to reconstructive efforts, Watt’s memoir, Rearranged: An Opera Singer's Facial Cancer and Life Transposed, takes us on a gripping journey that intertwines humor with heartbreak. How does one reclaim their voice when their very resonance is at stake? This narrative not only examines the physical toll of illness but also poses poignant questions about beauty, resilience, and the shared human experience. As Carolyn Roy-Bornstein reviews Watt’s riveting tale, she invites us to reflect on the unsung melodies of life amidst the chaos of cancer treatment and recovery. So, are you ready for a story that challenges not just the body, but the spirit? LEARN MORE.
Reviewed by Carolyn Roy-Bornstein
In 1997, Kathleen Watt was an assistant art director at a magazine by day and an extra chorister at the Metropolitan Opera by night, sharing opera’s magical world with the likes of Placido Dominguez and Dame Gwyneth Jones, when she discovers that an aggressive bone cancer has invaded her maxillary sinus cavity, an area of the midface that houses her “resonators.” Like the body of a Stradivarius violin, this resonance area accounts for 30% of an opera singer’s vocal power; thus her tumor is “breathtakingly tailored to obliterate my profession and my raison d’etre, never mind my face.”
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