The memory lingers in Bill Doherty’s mind, like a haunting aria filling your heart with emotions that never fade.
It was music that brought Maestro Doherty and Oscar Feliu together one final time.
Next week marks the one-year anniversary of Feliu’s unexpected death during a hunting trip in a rural New York town. Feliu was called “the father of music in The Villages.”
Before Feliu left on that fateful trip, he attended a music lesson with Doherty. He spoke of that bittersweet memory on Saturday.
“One year ago today I gave Oscar his last voice lesson,” Doherty said. “We worked for about two hours on the opera ‘Tosca,’ which he was scheduled to do with us last March.
“Oscar sounded so great during his lesson. Afterwards, we shared a bottle of wine together on my front porch. We talked about everything.
“The next day he left on his hunting trip. It was like a vacation for him, and he was so excited. I just thank God we spent that beautiful afternoon together.”
Feliu, along with Doherty, pioneered many of the forms of music here, including classical, opera, pop, Broadway and even some rock and roll. Doherty heads Central Florida Lyric Opera. He also leads the St. Timothy Catholic Church choir which, on Nov. 20, will sing at a Papal Mass with Pope Francis.
Feliu is the man who brought Doherty to The Villages and their bond lives on.
“The only reason I’m in The Villages today and doing what I’m doing is because of Oscar,” Doherty said last year. “He is like a brother to me and he had a profound impact on me and music in The Villages.”
Feliu founded The Opera Club of The Villages, and was instrumental in forming The Villages Philharmonic. Feliu helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships for local singers. He was a mentor to a host of singers, including world-famous Fernando Varela.
Feliu was a world class singer and teacher, but to Bill Doherty, Oscar was something more—a friend.
“I’ll never forget him,” he said.
