# That’s not opera: It’s an opportunity



## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Very interesting and thoughtful article on young people who enter competitions.

http://www.claudiafriedlander.com/the-liberated-voice/thats-not-opera-its-an-opportunity.html

She's such a lovely girl but I can't watch it all the way through.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

sospiro said:


> Very interesting and thoughtful article on young people who enter competitions.
> 
> http://www.claudiafriedlander.com/the-liberated-voice/thats-not-opera-its-an-opportunity.html
> 
> She's such a lovely girl but I can't watch it all the way through.


Oh dear oh dear! Vacuous applause from the ignorant and the sentimental - and Mr Cowell smiling as he sees the cash register in his mind adding up the dollars he will make with this young gal. Then having ruined her voice through inappropriate use he will grimace and see what's the next 'talent' he can use and discard. But we see this on a regular basis, youngsters given stuff to sing that is entirely inappropriate (e.g. the Charlotte Church phenomena) and then ending up in their early twenties with wrecked voices. Oh well, hope she has made some money out of it to compensate.

(Oh and btw, anyone who says exploiting a young girl's voice like that is wrong is a right killjoy!)


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

DavidA said:


> Oh dear oh dear! Vacuous applause from the ignorant and the sentimental


People respond to it and seem to love it so why aren't these people flocking to the opera house?!



DavidA said:


> - and Mr Cowell smiling as he sees the cash register in his mind adding up the dollars he will make with this young gal. Then having ruined her voice through inappropriate use he will grimace and see what's the next 'talent' he can use and discard. But we see this on a regular basis, youngsters given stuff to sing that is entirely inappropriate (e.g. the Charlotte Church phenomena) and then ending up in their early twenties with wrecked voices. Oh well, hope she has made some money out of it to compensate.


Yep it's all about $$$ and who cares that a lovely voice has been ruined and a young girl heartbroken.


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## CDs (May 2, 2016)

sospiro said:


> Yep it's all about $$$ and who cares that a lovely voice has been ruined and a young girl heartbroken.


I third this! All those competition shows have the performers sign a very lopsided contract. It really only lines the pockets of the management company. I hope this doesn't happen to this little girl.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Is this a case of "operatunity knocks? Sorry, I'll get my coat!


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

It's a shame because she definitely has potential but someone better be smart enough to grab her and tell her how beautiful her voice is and how neat that she had her one day in the sun, but from now on in if she really is serious about becoming a singer she will never again for the next 2 years utter one sound that comes from an aria.
She will be too busy training her throat muscles and learning how to strengthen her voice and finally , slowly, she will start to sing some Mozart and Rossini and work her way up the right way so that she doesn't allow exploiters to destroy her voice.
She's got talent but it could be over for her if someone doesn't take her under their wing and save her from the almighty $$.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

sospiro said:


> Very interesting and thoughtful article on young people who enter competitions.
> 
> http://www.claudiafriedlander.com/the-liberated-voice/thats-not-opera-its-an-opportunity.html


YES! YES! YES!

I read the article to the end and it is something that I have been thinking myself. Yes there are a thousand reasons why this girl doesn't sing 'Nessun Dorma' like Pavarotti, Domingo, Corelli, Cura, Kaufmann [insert name of favourite tenor here] etc.

BUT, do you realise how prissy it sounds to non opera fans when you say, "That's not opera!"

I think there is a huge mental block against opera in anglo-saxon cultures because people have an idea in their heads that it is something it is not. There is a misconception that it is 'culture'. I.e. it is rather like greens (something that is good for you, but that nobody really likes). Think bored rich people yawning. When a lot of these people actually go to an opera and find that there are surtitles (or it's in English) and it's about sex, intrigue and passion, most of them they discover that it is something intensely enjoyable. Opera at its best is visceral and immediate in a way that no other art form is. (It's simultaneously sexy and sexual.)

When another Laura Breton turns up, saying "That's not opera!" reinforces the prissy stereotype and alienates those who aren't opera fans.

N.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

I was talking to somebody about opera recently - though I wonder why I bother - and the person said he was a fan of _opera_, such as Nessun Dorma, particularly as sung by [XXXX] (redacted, whatever popera singer/ensemble.)

I searched around for metaphor. This is akin to seeing a video about a zoo's lion enclosure, where the lion isn't really even a lion. If you love lions, go on safari and see the real thing in the flesh in their natural habitat, behaving as they should. And if you like Nessun Dorma, that big beast of an aria, go see it in its natural habitat, Turandot, in an opera house. I feel like I'm on a mission!


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## BaritoneAssoluto (Jun 6, 2016)

I've seen the previews to this season of America's Got Talent while in the dentist's office and I shook my head when I saw the young girl perform "Nessun Dorma". Such barbarous attempt to have your child in the spotlight, is only going to wreck her voice and your potential money cash-cow, Simon, will be no good. Seriously, I question the future of the operatic world if we let money-hungry opportunists and misguided participants take the lead, the serious ones who are doing this to continue a tradition started by Riems, Melba, Pasta.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Don Fatale said:


> I was talking to somebody about opera recently - though I wonder why I bother - and the person said he was a fan of _opera_, such as Nessun Dorma, particularly as sung by [XXXX] (redacted, whatever popera singer/ensemble.)
> 
> I searched around for metaphor. This is akin to seeing a video about a zoo's lion enclosure, where the lion isn't really even a lion. If you love lions, go on safari and see the real thing in the flesh in their natural habitat, behaving as they should. And if you like Nessun Dorma, that big beast of an aria, go see it in its natural habitat, Turandot, in an opera house. I feel like I'm on a mission!


If it helps, you are not alone


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

The Conte said:


> YES! YES! YES!
> 
> I read the article to the end and it is something that I have been thinking myself. Yes there are a thousand reasons why this girl doesn't sing 'Nessun Dorma' like Pavarotti, Domingo, Corelli, Cura, Kaufmann [insert name of favourite tenor here] etc.
> 
> ...


Nail. On. Head.

For those of you on Facebook, check this out. I cannot believe that an opera company is endorsing this.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

The Conte said:


> I think there is a huge mental block against opera in anglo-saxon cultures because people have an idea in their heads that it is something it is not. There is a misconception that it is 'culture'. I.e. it is rather like greens (something that is good for you, but that nobody really likes). Think bored rich people yawning. When a lot of these people actually go to an opera and find that there are surtitles (or it's in English) and it's about sex, intrigue and passion, most of them they discover that it is something intensely enjoyable. Opera at its best is visceral and immediate in a way that no other art form is. (It's simultaneously sexy and sexual.)
> 
> N.


Excellently put.

As Don F. states in the following post when you try to explain why you love Opera you often wonder why you bothered trying. The thing that gets me about the 3 tenors/Paul Potts/Boceli/Jenkins etc, despite their widespread success, "most" people have still concluded Opera isn't for them.

In the past I don't think the gap was so huge. Music hall would feature light Operatic voices (often performing parodies). G&S and Operetta were popular in theatres AND as parlour piano music. And yes there was the Opera. Now it's novelty pieces on TV shows, albums bought as Christmas presents for aged relatives and what people perceive as Grand Opera. Even the BBC has given up the ghost. Oh for something like "Your 100 best tunes".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Hundred_Best_Tunes

NB the article whilst interesting doesn't touch on the presentation of the person performing an opera track. It beggars belief that a voice can't be worth presenting unless there's something 'special' about them and yet they can sing...

A is pre pubescent
X is 'only' a shelf stacker/bus conductor/postman/brain surgeon/rocket scientist ()
Y is a stunner!!!!
Z is blind.

I think this contributes to a general feeling - oh good on them, nice tune, but it's not really for me.

Depressing.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Belowpar said:


> Excellently put.
> 
> As Don F. states in the following post when you try to explain why you love Opera you often wonder why you bothered trying. The thing that gets me about the 3 tenors/Paul Potts/Boceli/Jenkins etc, despite their widespread success, "most" people have still concluded Opera isn't for them.
> 
> ...


You're talking about an era before the idioms of popular and classical music were so far apart. The music young people grow up listening to calls for styles of singing very different from the steady, full-toned effect of what the popular music world used to call "legitimate" voices. We can thank jazz, country music, southern gospel, and rock and roll for this. The "crooners" and big band singers of the 40s weren't necessarily operatic (though some, like the wonderful Jane Froman, would have been capable of it), but they sang music which real opera singers could and did sing effectively. In a still earlier generation, popular melodies were routinely sung as encores and recorded by celebrated opera singers, and the general public lapped it up.

Music has changed, singing has changed, and operatic singing is now a specialty to which most people don't automatically relate. Now it seems they must be lured in by glamor or sex or some other gimmick. Its just fortunate that people are still innately susceptible to the power of a great voice singing great music.


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## Roland (Mar 13, 2013)

Thanks for mentioning Jane Froman. She does have a lovely voice.

I like the steady, full-toned effect of many popular tunes in the forties and fifties. I believe some of these tunes can rightfully be heard nowadays as "art music" written for Americans.

One of my favorite opera singers who did cross over the barrier to popular music and sang that music so convincingly was Dorothy Kirsten.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

In the US, were these considered "Pop" in the 40s-50s?


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

The Conte said:


> YES! YES! YES!
> 
> I read the article to the end and it is something that I have been thinking myself. Yes there are a thousand reasons why this girl doesn't sing 'Nessun Dorma' like Pavarotti, Domingo, Corelli, Cura, Kaufmann [insert name of favourite tenor here] etc.
> 
> N.


Most of my favourites were dead or retired by the time that aria was written. Cowell's protegées are welcome to it. I'll throw in _O mio babbino caro _as well.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

silentio said:


> In the US, were these considered "Pop" in the 40s-50s?


Not "pop," but "light classical," a more distinct intermediate category then, enjoyed by a wide range of listeners. The sixties, I think, was the last decade when opera singers routinely appeared on popular TV variety shows.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

The post on Slipped Disc elicited a variety of comments.

http://slippedisc.com/2016/06/why-lara-bretan-is-a-worry-for-opera-singers/


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

silentio said:


> In the US, were these considered "Pop" in the 40s-50s?


What a exceptional voice Steber had, thank goodness a number of recording where saved.:tiphat:


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

sospiro said:


> The post on Slipped Disc elicited a variety of comments.
> 
> http://slippedisc.com/2016/06/why-lara-bretan-is-a-worry-for-opera-singers/


Many of the comments were of the 'don't be such a killjoy' - 'isn't she wonderful' kind. I think most of the doubters were more concerned with the damage singing heavy repertoire would do to a voice of a young girl. One of the contributors to slipped disc made the following comments which I think are worth sharing here:

I've been reading some of the comments here and elsewhere regarding Laura Bretan's performance. It has been difficult to think of what to say on a topic so subjective and emotionally charged. In terms of aesthetic, no one can tell another that they cannot enjoy listening to someone sing. This is not what the classical community is seeking to do, even if it at times seems as though they are. What we can do is say when something is amiss vocally. We have heard from voice teachers and young aspiring opera singers on why Laura is singing in a way that could be damaging. I am speaking out because Claudia Friedlander is my voice teacher and seeing people ignorantly criticize and mock her is ridiculous. And I am speaking out from the perspective of someone who sang in a way similar to Laura's in my early teens. I want to highlight the damage it did to my voice and the hard work and perseverance it took to rectify my technique (or lack thereof). I say all of this because the hard work and mental strength it takes to study to be an opera singer deserves to be recognized by the rest of the world. The dedicated teachers and performers seeking to bring honesty and authenticity to the public should not be berated for saying the truth. So here is my (rather long) story.
I began taking lessons at the age of 14 with a family friend who was an opera singer. She had an amazing voice and had sung professionally, but decided to settle down and have kids. Her husband played in orchestra pits on Broadway and as a result she became a stay at home mom. She was a great singer, but not a teacher. It took me awhile to understand that these two things were very different. I began creating a sound she would describe during lessons as a replacement for her lack of pedagogical study. She would explain how the sound should be in a particular piece or exercise and I would find a way to create it with my voice. At the time, I thought I was just singing in a classical style. Because of the promise she heard in my voice, she gave me dramatic soprano arias. I sang things like O mio babbino caro and Glitter and Be Gay all while in high school. People around me praised my singing and told me how amazing I was. It felt so easy to sing these pieces, and I assumed I must have been born with this ability and would pursue undergraduate work in vocal performance. I had a heavy vibrato, like Bretan's, and a large range reaching all the way up to a high E. When I applied to college, I was rejected from all but one of the music conservatories to which I applied. After starting there, I was instructed by my teacher to stop singing with my vibrato, which I had thought was natural, and sing straight tone. In a school filled with rich vibrating voices, I felt as if I sounded like a small child who had never sung anything. Suddenly, without the aid of my vibrato, I could not sing in tune on notes in my passaggio. My teacher suggested that I may be tone deaf. A future as an opera singer seemed far away and I wondered if I was cut out for it. Somehow, I plugged along for the remainder of my freshman year and then left the school. Once in New York, I tried again with a teacher from Manhattan School of Music. This teacher told me I had nodes, benign growths on the vocal folds brought on by incorrect singing. Who was I to say it wasn't true? If a singer gets nodes, surgery is sometimes required to remove them, in addition to a long period of vocal rest (i.e., no singing). All I wanted was to be able to sing again, instead of seeing it as such a stress. A visit to the ENT revealed that I, thankfully, did not have nodes. So following this I found another teacher in New York and began rebuilding from the very bottom. Singing three note scales was a challenge. My voice was breathy and my range was barely an octave. Without the aid of my vibrato and fake resonance, I did not know how to produce sound with my natural voice. I enrolled in another university and was subjected to performing this way in Performance Class in front of a class of singers who probably wondered why I was pursuing music. I wondered the same sometimes. I spent long hours practicing vowels, elementary art songs and tongue and neck exercises to reduce tension that had been created through my old way of singing. Slowly, over the course of three years, things got better. Once I finished my music degree, I decided to seek out work with another teacher and I found Claudia. She has helped me to understand a great deal about vocal technique and artistry. Because of her help, I can produce consistent sound throughout most of my range, even in the dreaded passaggio. I have finally begun to learn about breathing, something not communicated effectively to me ever before. Instead of feeling as if I have to create a large sound in order to be a singer, Claudia has helped me to embrace my real voice and channel my emotions and thoughts through it in song. This is what opera is. It is not a spectacle - it is an arduous art form of which its artists are students of for their entire lives. I began singing because I wanted to express my emotions through music, but got sidetracked along the way with the misconception that all that mattered was how much vibrato I had and how high I could sing. I was preoccupied with being "good." All of this is so irrelevant. I write this in hopes that those who are attacking Claudia and anyone else in the classical realm will realize that we are speaking out because opera is more than high notes and vibrato. It is also written with the hope that those who have never sung before can get a glimpse of how emotionally grueling it can be to truly learn how to sing opera. This is some of the motivation behind Claudia's article, and it would do many good to understand that listening to what others have to say on a subject that one is ignorant in can go a long, long way.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

^^

That was an excellent response from one of Claudia's students. I liked the 'open letter' too. It's a bit patronising but needed to be said

An Open Letter to Laura Bretan, 6/1/16
Dearest Laura,
First, I want to say how brave and talented you are. It is clear you have a gift and a passion, and to put in front of the world like that on such a grand stage takes more guts than anyone can imagine. No one understands this more than so many classically trained singers who do this every day for a living.
Right now, you are basking in this new found fame, receiving compliments and opportunities that any 13 year old girl would envy. There are people around you, including the judges at America’s Got Talent, who are promoting you and pushing you to continue in this direction. Their motives may be pure and good-hearted, but take it from a voice teacher and classical singer: this is not what you should be doing right now. And the future could breed more damage on your artistry and instrument if you continue down this path.
First off, do you even know the background of “Nessun Dorma”? Yes, it is a beautiful aria. I can see why you (and those around you) are drawn to it. But it is in no way for a 13 year old girl to sing. (As an aside, there is SO much beautiful classical repertoire out there for someone your age. You should explore it!). It was written for a tenor character in Puccini’s opera Turandot. He fell madly in love with the cruel princess Turandot and wants to marry her. She has this rule that she will cut off the heads of anyone who wants her hand in marriage and cannot answer her three riddles (I once saw a production where said heads were all around Calaf when he sang this beautiful aria. That would have been cool if you had those heads on sticks around you when you sang it!). Well, he DID answer the riddles, but Turandot is so turned off by him she wants to do anything to get out of it. He tells her if she guesses his name she can behead him (nice!) but if she doesn’t, she has to marry him (that’s going to be a good marriage, huh?). She orders her minions to figure out his name or else THEY will be beheaded (“Nessun Dorma” is her line: i.e. “you will not sleep until you find out his name or else I will chop off your heads!” which he repeats at the beginning of the aria. Loosely translated (everyone should translate and know the context of anything they sing) the aria says:
None shall sleep! None shall sleep! You too, oh Princess,
in your cold bedroom,
watching the stars
that tremble with love and with hope!
But my secret is hidden within me; no one will know my name!
No, no! On your mouth
I will say it when the light shines!
And my kiss will dissolve
the silence that makes you mine! Vanish, o night!
Fade, you stars!
Fade, you stars!
At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!
￼So you can tell me if you feel this was an appropriate song choice…I, and countless other classical musicians and fans believe absolutely NOT.
Second, there is the point of healthy vocal production. My passion is vocal pedagogy and voice science. Your body is your instrument and it is essential to understand it so that you can have longevity in your craft. You love singing SO much that I am sure you want your instrument to serve you for years to come! You deserve that. There are things I heard in your sound (in addition to the repertoire choice, which didn’t help) that concern me. True classical training takes years of hard work, and forcing a sound that isn’t truly your own is dangerous. Your vocal cords are fragile things, especially at this growing age, and they need to be treated kindly with a knowledge of physics and physiology to maintain their health. Over time, the irritation of singing that way can cause swelling or even worse, nodes or popped vessels (think of a new shoe rubbing on your heel over and over again. You may not get a blister on the first day, but by the end of the week you may be bloody and in pain). Also, I fear this newfound fame will force you to sing even more, for longer hours, creating even more wear and tear on your cords.
The good news is, upon listening your instrument, I can truly “hear” what healthy vocal production would do to your sound in combination with appropriate repertoire. And I can say that you would STILL impress the judges and America with your talent if you were guided properly in technique and songs.
I am not the only one who feels this way: my incredible community of classical singers and voice teachers have expressed similar concern. We are here for you. Use us. This art form has a long history. Since you are in the spotlight and you made the choice to sing this music for the masses, you have the chance to educate yourself and America about singing and classical music. Actually, it is now your obligation.
With kind regards-
Heidi Moss soprano/voice teacher San Francisco, CA


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Of course there are exceptions to every rule. In the late 1950s Solti had an 18 year-old singer come to him for an audition. When he asked her what she wanted to sing she replied she could do the Liebestod from Tristan, or any of the Queen of the Night's or Pamina's arias from the Magic Flute. He was taken aback and said: "All right, let me hear them!"
He said: "She sang all three with great confidence and distinction; she had the top notes, the bottom notes, the middle notes, and she was a brilliant actress too. It was the most astonishing audition I have ever heard.

Of course the young lady was Anja Silja.









She sang Salome when she was twenty!

Interview with her below
http://www.bruceduffie.com/silja.html


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