By Debbie Palmer Staff Writer If it weren't for wacky, auditions there's no telling where David Cangelosi would be today. "My career has been built off crazy auditions," he admitted with a laugh. Take the tryout that led to his singing with Placido Domingo at Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Cangelosi, at the time performing in Massachusetts, believed the audition was in New York and only learned at the last minute it was in Washington. Unable to get a flight, he jumped in the car at 5 a.m. and drove to the capital. "Talk about going the extra mile, I literally went hundreds of miles," he said. Once there, he changed clothes in the parking garage at Kennedy Center, ran in, warmed up and auditioned. "I got back in the car and drove all the way back to Massachusetts." It was worth it - he got the job - a production of "Il Pagliacci" that starred Domingo and aired on PBS stations throughout the country in December. It is one of many achievements since Cangelosi, a 1981 graduate of Normandy High School, left Seven Hills for a career in opera. He has sung at the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall, and next year will travel to Paris to appear in "La Traviata." On Saturday, the setting may not be as glamorous, but the performance meaningful nonetheless. Cangelosi will return to his hometown - for only the second time in his career - to sing with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center. He will perform a role in "Carmen," conducted by Leonard Slatkin. "One of the great highlights of my career was performing in Cleveland, and I'm looking forward to it again," he said. Cangelosi, who previously performed with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, is now based in Chicago, where he performs regularly with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Next spring, he will sing with the Paris Opera, follow that with a summer in San Francisco and then return to Washington to perform again with the company for which Domingo is artistic director. His previous Cleveland performance came in April, when he sang in the opera "L'Heure Espagnole" with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Allen Theater. That experience also brought the most emotional moment of his career. After the first performance, he was surprised by almost every English teacher he had in junior and senior high school, who came backstage together. Page 1 2 Top Of Page Bio : Performance Schedule : Reviews/Publicity Sound Bytes : Contact Information Home