We can now confirm earlier reports that soprano Kiri Te Kanawa and Red Sox rookie pitcher Clay Buchholz will be switching places this October. Dame Kiri will join the Red Sox starting rotation for the stretch run, and Buchholz will sing the soprano's October 14 program of Mozart, Richard Strauss, Duparc, Poulenc, Jake Heggie, Britten, Copland, Wolf-Ferrari and Puccini at Symphony Hall. Warren Jones will be behind the plate, er, at the piano for the season-opening recital.
"Major League Baseball clearly represents little challenge for Clay," Red Sox skipper Terry Francona was quoted as saying, in reference to Buccholz’s recent no-hitter in just his second Major League game. "And this kid loves a challenge. We cautioned him about moving too fast into recital singing, especially the French stuff, but with this kid's talent I'm not sure those rules apply."
As for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sox officials expect the silver throated soprano’s impact on the Red Sox starting rotation to be immediate and substantial. "To be honest, I don’t know where she picked up the game, being from New Zealand,” commented Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein, “But Dame Kiri will bring a lot of professionalism to our ball club. She’s a winner. She does everything at the highest level. If she hits her spots the way she can, with Varitek's guidance behind the plate she'll be fine. I believe Dame Kiri will be just the addition we need to get us to October and beyond."
Dame Kiri's turn as a hurler is without precedent since the deadball era, when tenor Enrico Caruso pitched a surprise six innings of relief out of the bullpen for the Chicago Whales of the Federal League during the 1915 pennant race.
UPDATE: Kiri? Come quick! We need you!
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