For the past 65 days, former Arizona State quarterback Gus Farwell has put forth his best effort to lift the spirits of his neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain — a city still under strict lockdown measures amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Every night at 8 p.m., Farwell takes to his seventh-floor balcony and performs an impromptu opera concert for his community.
What started as a gesture to cheer the medical and frontline workers in Spain turned into a two-month-long tradition. On Sunday, Farwell offered his grand finale.
In a video posted to Twitter, Farwell shared his rendition of Giacomo Puccini’s “Nessun dorma,” adding that police arrived to his flat to shut down his concerts for good. But the finale was certainly a spectacular way to go out — just listen to that response from the crowd.
Amazing.
Farwell, who moved to Spain with his family to chase a career as an opera singer, had struggled to get his music career off the ground until the pandemic hit. In an interview with The Athletic, Farwell mentioned that the balcony performances helped him revive his love for opera after seeing how the community responded.
Via The Athletic:
“I’m working on new pieces for the first time in a long time,” Farwell said about an hour before his evening performance. “And it just feels good. It just feels right. It’s coming from the right place. It’s not about me at all. It’s about this community. And the way people are reacting … ”
Each night, Farwell’s daughters record video of his performance. They post it on social media. He’s heard from ASU teammates such as Plummer. (“To see him doing that was really amazing,” Plummer said.) He’s heard from high school friends, including a nurse who told him that the video was exactly what he needed after a “hellish” day at work.
You can see his full performance here.
