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Emily Zamourka: Homeless singer dubbed 'subway soprano' offered record deal after viral video

Classically trained musician was made homeless after falling ill and receiving huge medical bills

Roisin O'Connor,Adam White
Thursday 03 October 2019 04:23 EDT
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Homeless woman filmed singing opera at subway station by LAPD

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A homeless woman who went viral after she was filmed singing opera in a Los Angeles subway has reportedly been offered a record deal.

Emily Zamourka, as she has been identified, was shown performing Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro” in a video tweeted by LAPD HQ last week.

It was captioned: “4 million people call LA home. 4 million stories. 4 million voices... sometimes you just have to stop and listen to one, to hear something beautiful.”

The clip has since received more than a million views, leading calls for someone to help her become a professional opera singer.

It was revealed after the clip went viral that Zamourka, 52 is a classically trained musician who moved to the US from Russia more than 20 years ago. She was made homeless after falling ill and racking up huge medical bills.

Her prized $10,000 violin was reportedly stolen while she was living on the streets.

According to TMZ, Zamourka has caught the attention of Grammy nominated producer Joel Diamond, who reportedly wants to offer her a recording contract.

The website says the deal would be for an initial album released on his label, Silver Blue Records. It did not confirm whether Zamourka had accepted.

A GoFundMe campaign has also raised more than $59,000 for LA’s Downtown Women’s Centre to help Zamourka get off the streets, provided she “wants their assistance”.

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