lloyd,
you have made many valid points in your post. the comparison of pop/classical to film/acting is a good one. because singing classical music with an orchestra, in the theater, has the requirement of being heard over the orchestra, that skill is required. so, only those with that skill can be considered succesful, at the very least. i'm sure you would agree that it doesn't follow that everyone who gets heard over an orchestra is worth listening to.
drums are probably the easiest instrument to play. after all, any fool can hit a drum. do we want to listen to them all? hell no! any fool can use a microphone (need i ask?). unfortunately, because it doesn't require any special skill to use a microphone, there is a larger sampling of fools to sift through in order to get to those doing something really valuable with one.
to compare classical singing to pop singing is probably, ultimately as pointless as comparing figure skating to hockey. yes, they both skate but...not for the same reason.
maybe, for bocelli and what's her name, we need a new category like 'popera' or 'fictional opera' (like 'historical fiction').
mike
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