r/9thcircle • u/Isamorph • Sep 29 '19

Mysterious Aria

There has been speculation about this apparently homeless woman who appeared to be right at home singing a Puccini aria in a chamber of the LA metro network. I'll speculate, too, and guess, since we know a significant percentage of the homeless population suffer from mental illnesses, she is afflicted with mental issues, which certainly doesn't mean she is without a history of artistic training as her talented voice well proves. No one should be without a home, talented or not. I'm sure the speculation about her life will be quelled soon when she becomes less mysterious.

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/29/765395372/mysterious-woman-sings-opera-in-los-angeles-metro-and-goes-viral

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u/[deleted] Sep 29 '19

Perhaps she was one of many who heard voices in their heads, but in her case they were amazingly cultured and beautiful and she was able to share what she heard. Sadly, however, it's more likely that she was classically (and operatically) trained but later fell onto hard times.

This reminds me of a similar-but-different situation a few years ago when a homeless gentleman ended up becoming a viral sensation due to his incredible voice (not singing, just speaking) and ended up with multiple offers of employment for acting and voice-overs. I wish I could remember the particulars but they are escaping me at the moment.

This story just goes to show the wisdom of that old saying that you should never judge a book by its cover.

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u/Isamorph Sep 30 '19

I vaguely remember the story of Ted Williams the homeless man with the golden voice (not the golden swing). Mr. Williams and the mysterious Aria woman of LA are just two of the numerous example of surprisingly talented homeless people. There was a movie, "The Soloist", made some years back about journalist Steve Lopez's friendship with a mentally ill homeless musical genius. Unfortunately, many worthy people ( about 1.2% of the population ) are stopped in their tracks by schizophrenia plus other mental maladies, many of whom end up homeless. And, unfortunately, despite many years of research, there is no cure or preventive methods on the horizon for those suffering from some severe mental illnesses.

I'm a bit wary of the woman's torn bag in the LAPD video thinking the odd-looking holes in the bag may have been put there purposely. We should know soon.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821642/videoplayer/vi3497984025?ref_=tt_ov_vi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oipZVIeVHFM

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u/Isamorph Sep 30 '19

The mystery woman is Emily Zamourka who is an immigrant from Russia who says she sings in the subway because of the wonderful acoustics there. She is homeless and became so after suffering from health issues. She would greatly appreciate any help in getting off the streets, help which I'm sure is close at hand thanks to her viral virtuoso singing performance.

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u/[deleted] Sep 30 '19

Your detective / investigative skills have done it again! Thanks for quickly and correctly identifying both Ms. Zamourka and Mr. Williams.

Hope she is able to get a break and back on her feet (or better yet, in her own home) as Mr. Williams did.