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From:  richard@r...
Date:  Fri Jan 25, 2002  10:32 pm
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] pseudo opera

On Fri, 25 January 2002, "Caio Rossi" wrote:
> Brightman is an adult, and I've seen her a little overweight on TV, but,
> regardless of that, she's also successful in the "pseudo opera" market.

Yes and no. Having the last name of "Lloyd Webber", even for awhile, did quite a
bit for her long before the "pseudo-opera" genre ever came into being - she was
established long before "PBS classical" ever really existed the way it does
today.

And
> then you say Bocelli, who has an impairment, sells because of that
> impairment.

Partially, yes. I stand by it. He is a novelty act; as I said, a record
executive likely saw him as having the varied marketable traits of Feliciano,
Ricky Martin, and the Three Tenors rolled into one act.

I think you're mistaking your DESCRIPTIONS for
> EXPLANATIONS.

I don't think so. At least in this country, I think he is very much marketed as
"the blind tenor". That may not be what they put in huge neon letters on his
album covers, but why else make sure that virtually every image of his out there
shows him with his eyes closed? Jeff Healey, a wonderful blues singer/guitarist
who happens to be blind, doesn't do that. I can only assume it's to remind the
record buyer that he's blind, so as to tug on the heartstrings of the potential
customer that much more.

> Richard> If it were a full-grown woman with the same voice, I doubt anybody
> would care. The appreciation of her voice is *very* colored by her image<
> If you were a full-grown woman with the SAME voice, you'd be in a freak show
> with the bearded lady and the cyclope.

You miss my point, and it's probably my fault, so I'll rephrase: if she were a
full-grown woman at the same level of training and with the same set of vocal
problems she has, I doubt anybody would lavish the same attention on her.

> He'd still have to have a voice and a repertoire that people enjoy listening
> to, even if that voice were electronically fabricated. And, as I said, I can
> remember being the first to tell many people who had enjoyed his music for a
> long time that he's blind. They didn't have any idea of that.

Sure, but the American pop market has interestingly low expectations for those
who are perceived as disabled. The mindset that I've run into tends to be, "Wow,
isn't it cool that they can do that at all!" Boccelli is what might be called
"high concept" in the movie business: "The blind Latin tenor."

> Take the 3 Tenors, for example: don't you think that many people bought
> their CDs ALSO influenced by what they heard and read about them being the
> best tenors alive, although they could not say what made them different from
> any other tenors?

Apples and oranges. Domingo and Pavarotti had been household names since the
1970s. It also helped that they debuted as "the Three Tenors" at a world-famous
sporting event. Not only that, Domingo was a "crossover" artist long before
Peter Gelb ever ran Sony Classical - e.g., "Perhaps Love".

> But that still doesn't explain Church's and Brightman's successful careers
> worldwide.

Church we've discussed thoroughly. Not sure why you need to bring her up here.
Brightman is a different case, since she's been pretty close to a household name
since the late '80s.

And you're treating Boccelli as if he were a phenomenon in
> America only, but it's not true. His being Latin is not remarkable in Latin
> countries, where EVERYONE is Latin, but he's also very successful in these
> countries. The explanation must lie somewhere else.

It's an issue of being a whole package. Assuming that a potential customer
doesn't care about classical music one way or the other, Boccelli has at least
four marketable traits: 1) He's foreign-looking (and thus "exotic" and
"interesting"), 2) He's blind, 3) he's good looking, and 4) he has an unusually
well-trained voice for a pop singer. I'll restate the idea of the traits of Jose
Feliciano, the Three Tenors, and Ricky Martin in one act.

I don't dislike Boccelli. He's a fine pop singer; I don't tend to like the
people he duets with (Brightman, Celine Dion), and he hasn't recorded anything I
want in my library - I'm just arguing that a) he is no way an "opera singer",
it's just that there are people making money off of selling him as an "opera
singer" (which is what I have a problem with) and b) if it were simply a
question of his musical merits, I don't think we would have ever heard of him.

Richard





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