Dear Listers:
Just over a year ago one of the great artists of the 20th century was here at
the NC School of the Arts giving a vocal (opera) masterclass and the name
Charlotte Church came up. The clinician wasn't impressed with Charlotte
Church. Someone had taken a VERY young tenor to this clinician and the
clinician commented to the masterclass attendees "I see a duet cd on the
horizon!"! The attendees cracked up laughing and the masterclass moved on.
I initially was made aware of Charlotte Church by the Great-Granddaughter of
Mme. Ernestine Schumann-Heink. Schumann-Heink's Great-Grand asked me "What do
you think of Charlotte Church?" Dizzy me! I thought she'd said "Charlotte
churches" and told her I'd sung in quite a few of them! The local Borders
Books & Music had Charlotte Church, Dolora Zajick and David Daniels on the same
cd listening station. I picked up the Church cd and noted that she was singing
"Habanera" from Carmen. "Bali H'ai" from South Pacific was on the same cd.
I thought to myself, do we have a budding mezzo or contralto here? I listened
to a minute of both selections and promptly switched the station to Zajick and
Daniels!
I've seen tabloid pics of Charlotte Church smoking cigarettes. She does
support North Carolina industry. My leading questions regarding Charlotte
Church are "Does Charlotte Church have a decent voice teacher, has she ever
listened to that person and what in the Sam Hill is going on with the
(potentially non-existant) voice teacher here?"
History repeats itself. I sense another Deanna Durbin here, although this
time with far less talent! I'd be pleased if she were my student. Don't get
me wrong. There IS something in the way of talent there if the Sony folks don't
throw it into the slop jar!
Ed
Pure vowels, long phrases and elaborate embellishments are the three principles
of "bel canto...Tone supports breath and not breath the tone!
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