As a child in Memphis, Carl Ratner liked to to sing along with records, but not the Elvis Presley discs that were the rage among his peers. Belting out arias and lieder, he dreamed of growing up to be a classical performer. This Sunday he’ll give his professional solo recital debut at the age of 46. It’s a late start, but he’s not complaining: there was a time he doubted he’d live to see middle age.
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Ratner pursued vocal training while studying music history at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the late 70s but couldn’t find a mentor. “I failed to wow the powers that be with my vocal gifts,” he says. “They allowed me to study with undergraduate students, but I could never get lessons with faculty. I sort of went, ‘Ach, forget about it.’”
Ratner opted not to get a proper HIV test. “At that time there was no treatment, and they were talking about a law to quarantine HIV-positive people in Illinois,” he says. “I contented myself to assume that I was positive, but not to be officially informed.” While avoiding a formal diagnosis, he had regular blood work done to monitor his cell counts. Ratner didn’t know that the lab was routinely testing his blood for HIV. In January ’94 he called the clinic from his office at Chicago Opera Theater. “The person on the phone said, ‘You’re still HIV-negative.’ I just sat there for a moment, stunned, and then I said, ‘That surprises me.’” Ratner asked if he could get that in writing. “He said ‘Yes,’ and I said, ‘I’ll be right over.’”
