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From:  LesTaylor@a...
Date:  Fri Sep 8, 2000  12:59 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] Roberta Peters


Dear Friends,
I had the pleasure of performing with Ms. Peters in LA TRAVIATA 1977. She was
quite the diva in those days. Voices you hear "live" are quite different than
they sound in recordings. She had a very good instrument. There were a couple
of better ones at USF, where I was attending graduate school at the time, but
neither of the ladies having them had her know-how, presence and most
importantly, consistency. A star has to deliver night after night and she
did.

Her voice was a bit metallic and evidenced the beginning of a wobble on
pitches higher than the Bb just below C6 and anything higher. She wasn't the
only one though, Callas had that same problem. Could have been cleared up
with some work on vowel modification through the passaggio. It's all a
balance that isn't easy to maintain.

She easily kept pace with a youthful Frederick Burchinall (I think he was 31
or so) who was our Germont (the elder). It says a lot that she still can get
up ion stage and do it at 70. I heard that Fred sang as a swing for the Met a
couple of years, then went over to Germany when his voice crapped out on him.
That's what happens when you get into "Anything you can do I can do better."
thinking.

It's all about knowing your voice and what it can do. Ms. Peters did very
well indeed with what she had. Be careful about being too nit-picky about
what other people do, it leads to performance anxiety. Look at singing
through the eyes of what you love about it and what you can contribute to it
rather than throught what you dislike and only can criticize about it. One is
constructive, the other is destructive, to yourself more than anyone else.
Warmest regards,
Les

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