Lyric Opera 'Show Boat' Star Once Played College Football
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A former Citadel football player has changed gears 180 degrees in his career, and now performs at the Lyric Opera.
As WBBM Newsradio's John Cody reports, former offensive guard Morris Robinson is now in rehearsals for "Show Boat" at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's John Cody reports
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Robinson considered going pro in football, but the NFL didn't consider him a good candidate. At 6 feet 2 inches tall and 290 pounds, he was too small.
And while Robinson always sang, he wasn't a music major.
"I have a degree in English at the Citadel, with an emphasis on prelaw, and I was going to go to law school, and ended up going to work for 3M Company in Minnesota for a while, and then I worked for a division of Exxon and Monsanto, selling thermoplastic elastomers up in the New England area, and then I went back and started studying music at the age of 30," Robinson said.
The decision to turn from business to voice worked. Robinson starred at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Tanglewood in Boston, and Symphony Center in Chicago.
