From: Karen Mercedes
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Subject: Re: Child Prodigies (was: Opera/Charlotte Church)
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Adelina Patti was 14 when she made her formal debut, and before that was
known for standing on tables in her parents' cafe and singing arias. Not
only did her career last at least another 50 years, but she was considered
THE prima donna assoluta for many of those years.

I believe, however, to have sustained her career that long, Patti must
have been doing something right technically right from the beginning.
What I hear and see with Charlotte Church are some really significant
technical flaws that, unless she manages to develop and exercise some
self-awareness and intelligence, say "no" to the money-grubbers who want
to exploit her, and devote five years out of the limelight to serious
study while her instrument is still physically developing, I fear will
sabotage her in the end and turn her into yet another of the 5-year
wonders that the music industry seems overabundant in these days (you
will note that I did not say "the opera world" - unlike the
dreadful Andrea Bocelli, we have mercifully been spared Church's operatic
debut - at least thus far).

I decided a while ago that Charlotte Church is to opera what paedophilia
is to sex. There's something extremely distasteful to me about both
phenomena.

KM
=====
There is delight in singing,
tho' none hear Beside the singer.
- Walter Savage Landor
-----
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html