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Who is Christopher Macchio? Here's all about the opera singer who gave viewers 'goosebumps' at RNC 2020

He also sang 'Nessun Dorma' — an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot — popularized by Luciano Pavarotti in the 1990 World Cup

On the final night of the Republican National Convention (RNC) after President Donald Trump concluded his speech, there was a fireworks display over the Washington Monument that spelled out ‘Trump 2020’. During the fireworks, Tori Kelly’s version of Leonard Cohen’s 'Hallelujah' was heard along with Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless the USA’. Cohen fans were miffed and vented their anger on Twitter.

Some users also questioned Kelly about the usage of the song. She replied on the micro-blogging site, saying, "Seeing messages about my version of 'Hallelujah'." All I know is neither myself nor my team received a request," as per Variety. But the tweet has now been deleted. Cohen had released 'Hallelujah' as part of his 1984 album ‘Various Positions’. But at the time of release, it didn’t much popularity. But two weeks after his death (he died on November 7, 2016), ‘Hallelujah’ was on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, according to Time magazine. The song was made popular by other artists such as Bono, Willie Nelson and Justin Timberlake, who blended their love for Cohen’s song into their own versions.

But the Cohen song was again performed by Christopher Macchio, in an opera-version of the original. He also sang 'Nessun Dorma' — an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot — popularized by Luciano Pavarotti in the 1990 World Cup

Who is Christopher Macchio?

According to The Schultz-Hill Foundation, as stated in the Resorts Atlantic City website, Macchio is a classically trained tenor from the Manhattan School of Music and he is from New York. He has performed classical arias in Italian, French, English and German. He is also popular for being able to perform in Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Turkish and Arabic.

Macchio was part of the bi-lingual Italian-English radio show 'Cosmopolita' on 88.7FM WRHU New York, and has performed live at the annual Columbus Day Parade on ABC-TV, NBC-TV and also the PBS Television special 'Bell’Aria: LIVE from Las Vegas', which was shot at the Venetian Resort.

Macchio performed at Trump’s annual star-studded New Year’s Eve Party in 2015. In an interview with Millennium Magazine, the artiste said, "Elton John canceled at the last minute, and someone suggested to Donald Trump that I be flown down from New York to Palm Beach in time for the concert. I received the call at 8 PM on December 30, agreed to perform, and flew down first thing in the morning on New Year’s Eve." At the party, he performed in front of celebrities like Serena Williams, Martha Stewart and Steve Wynn. The report states there were about 1,000 guests at Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago. After the performance, according to the report, Trump had described Macchio’s performance as "phenomenal, unbelievable and incredible" and later introduced him to musician Rod Stewart, with whom he later performed in Beverly Hills.

One of his most exciting performances was a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall with the New York Tenors. Also, during Stewart’s 70th birthday celebration, Macchio performed in front of a Hollywood crowd with Stewart and the Glenn Miller Orchestra in Stewart’s home. The story states that his goal is to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Covent Garden in London and La Scala in Milan.

He had posted about performing at RNC on Twitter and wrote: "It is with the greatest honor and pride that I accepted an invitation by our noble Commander-in-Chief @realDonaldTrump  to perform LIVE! at @WhiteHouse before he accepts the Republican nomination at the@GOP National Convention 2020!"

Others went on Twitter to comment about the performance. One user said, "Christopher Macchio is amazing!!! I could listen to him for hours."

Another said, "Thank you CSPAN for showing Christopher Macchio’s wonderful closing songs."

One commented, "That is Christopher Macchio singing at the @GOPconvention. My God what a voice."

One said, "Christopher Macchio giving me goosebumps...beautiful voice."

Macchio in a later tweet thanked the president and his family and wrote: "What President @realDonaldTrump⁩ & the 1st family did for me tonight is something I’ll never forget. They stood & listened in regal nobility as I performed with tremendous love & pride in my heart for a nation grateful for their commitment to saving our culture & way of life."