His secret passion

Young Chang

The fact that a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame bears the words

“Michael Bolton” as of Tuesday is “dreamlike,” the star’s namesake

said.

“It’s beyond a dream,” Bolton said, during a phone interview last

week. “Much greater than what I could have hoped for.”

But the two-time Grammy-winning vocalist, author and actor -- who

will perform Saturday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center --

is equally grateful for the more mundane perks of his high-profile

life. Perks that, to some, seem more a way of making a living.

Because when Bolton is onstage singing to throngs of fans, singing in

that “zone” he says artists get in, he remembers that this is the

life he’s wanted since he was 11 years old.

“That’s what makes touring the harvest, the payoff, for all the

hard work you put in,” the 49-year-old said. “The thousands of hours

in the studio, if not millions, all of the promotions, the jabbering

sometimes when a new album comes out.... That’s the work. Touring is

not work.”

Bolton’s stop at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa

Mesa is part of his four-month tour promoting “Only a Woman Like

You,” his most recent album. The six-time American Music Awards

winner will sign his new CD on Saturday afternoon at Borders Books,

Music & Cafe at South Coast Plaza. The concert, titled “Lovesongs

Live” and co-presented with radio station KOST-FM (103.5), will

include old hits, new hits and even some opera.

Yes, you read right. Opera.

Bolton was introduced to the classical form through an invitation

to sing with Luciano Pavarotti during a benefit concert for children

in Bosnia. Bolton was honored and excited to respond to the task, but

he said he needed to learn how to sing the classical pieces on the

program.

“While I was studying, I just found an incredible world of

powerful music, especially for a tenor,” the Connecticut resident

said. “In R&B;, rock ‘n’ roll and pop music, we don’t think of

ourselves as tenors and baritones. I never had to hold a note and

make it vibrate and do the certain things you have to do in classical

music.... It was such a powerful experience.”

Bolton put out an album of opera arias in 1998, titled “My Secret

Passion.”

He predicts that his performance of Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” will

steal the show at the Center.

“Doesn’t matter how many hits I’ve done,” he said. “It steals the

show every night ... because it’s such a powerful piece.”

Center President Jerry Mandel said Bolton’s appearance at

Segerstrom Hall is part of the Center’s goal to feature popular

artists with an impressive list of achievements. Kenny Loggins, who

will perform there in December, is also a part of this roster.

“I’m not interested in [featuring] young artists who are

interested in proving something. I want the kind of people that have

had a career, that have a body of work, that are really tried and

true professionals,” Mandel said. “It’s for that special type of

person whose career has merited that.”

Bolton, best known for his late 1980s hit “How Am I Supposed to

Live Without You” and early 1990s chart-topping rendition of “When A

Man Loves A Woman,” has other artistic surprises up his sleeve. He

wrote his first children’s book, “The Secret Of The Lost Kingdom,” in

the late 1990s -- something he credits to waking up in a castle in

England one morning and being inspired to write -- and he is

currently working on a movie. Bolton also has his own film production

company.

“But my goal basically always comes back to my first passion,

which is music,” said the performer, who says he is most influenced

by Ray Charles. “You can sing forever ... and I believe I’ve had the

good fortune of really building a fan base, which is a couple of

generations. I hope I can keep taking care of my voice and keep

singing as the years pass.”