Vocalist.org archive


From:  sopran@a...
sopran@a...
Date:  Mon Jun 4, 2001  5:30 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Bartoli this, Bartoli that....


I'm not a big Bartoli fan, but also not a detractor. So please, don't anyone
interpret that I am trying to "bash" her.

I think that people respond to Bartoli's personality and the enthusiasm that
she brings to her performances.

I've not had the opportunity to see/hear her live, so can't comment on her
impact in person. However, I agree with your assessment that there are many
other mezzos who have similar or even greater gifts who don't seem to get the
kind ot attention that Bartoli does. IMHO, it's not really all that
remarkable a voice. It is remarkable how far it's taken her.

On video and television, I find her tics highly distracting. Her acting as
Susanna I found rather rough and crude. Susanna as a Sicilian peasant rather
than the clever, well schooled protege of a noble woman.

The music industry "insiders" that I know say that Bartoli is largely a
product of the recording engineers. They say that the voice is relatively
small, and although in many ways it works very efficiently for her, it's real
ly not all that well produced.

Fairly or not, it's often the "flawed" artists who get a lot of attention and
affection, while those whose techniques are more reliable (and voices perhaps
more beautiful) get taken a bit for granted. I think that Bartoli is probably
aware of this and has played the situation very craftily, cancelling whenever
there's the slightest reason, but managing to maintain demand for her
performances and sustaining the devotion of her fans. Her girlish charm may
help her get away with some of this behavior. We'll see whether things change
when she starts to show some age...

She has also championed a lot of underperformed repertoire, another very
shrewd move on her part. Go where the competition ISN'T!

Judy




emusic.com