Update Monday, 4:45 pm:
Kansas City’s homegrown opera diva Joyce DiDonato won’t be singing the National Anthem during the World Series, at least during the first four games.
A vigorous social media campaign, including an online petition signed by more than 3,000, lobbied Major League Baseball to #letjoycesing.
Instead, country star Trisha Yearwood performs on Tuesday and American Idol winner Phillip Phillips on Wednesday in the first two games of the Series in Kansas City, Mo.
Little Big Town and Carlos Santana and his son Salvador perform during the next two games in San Francisco.
“We are still considering candidates for the remainder of the games and there could potentially be an opportunity for her later in the Series,” MLB’s Matt Bourne says.
Original post follows:
Opera star Joyce DiDonato says she would love to sing the National Anthem at an upcoming World Series game if asked.
An online petition started circulating on social media on Thursday, requesting Major League Baseball to invite DiDonato, a celebrated mezzo-soprano who's based in Kansas City, Mo., to sing the anthem at one of the games.
DiDonato is currently on tour in Europe. "It's SO EXCITING! I've never been prouder of my hometown," she wrote in an email to KCUR from Vienna, Austria.
More than 1,500 people have signed the petition, and the hashtag #letjoycesing is starting to trend on Twitter. Major League Baseball representatives have not yet returned calls for a comment.
"I don't mean to unduly influence anyone, but I HAVE been a Royals fan since I was in diapers," DiDonato wrote on the Facebook page for the petition on Thursday. "And the ONLY time I was ever arrested (or nearly so) was because I was celebrating our LAST World Series victory a little too much, hanging outside of a moving car window going down Metcalf Avenue! And I can STILL recite the line-ups of those golden-age teams of the last '70's and early '80's. Let the fates decide, but I would SO be there if asked!!! So if I may, I heartily sign!"
The New York Times has described DiDonato as "the perfect 21st-century diva — an effortless combination of glamour, charisma, intelligence, grace and remarkable talent."
She's performed on stages around the world, including several title roles at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, such as in Maria Stuarda.
