Vocalist.org archive


From:  Tako Oda <toda@m...>
Tako Oda <toda@m...>
Date:  Mon Oct 2, 2000  5:34 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] 'opera singer' was junior, church


On Sun, 1 Oct 2000, Margaret Harrison wrote:
> Tako Oda wrote:
> > Since Phantom of the Opera is technically an opera, Brightman had a
> > pretty long run as an opera singer.
>
> I guess I can't argue with those who say Phantom is an opera. But I
> can't think of it in the same class as opera written to be performed
> in an opera house, without electronic amplification (which Phantom
> surely was not).

Don't get me wrong, I don't think A) Brightman is an extraordinary singer
or B) phantom is the greatest opera written in recent times. I am curious,
however, to know why you think the "electronic amplification"
automatically makes Phantom inferior to a "live" opera. Composers have
always used whatever technology was available to them to make the best
impact possible. They're not interested in arbitrary rules, they are
interested in how effective their work will be.

The ability to use amplification judiciously gives a composer/singer more
creative options - period. It's not a crutch any more than putting players
in an orchestra pit to give singers a fighting chance is a crutch. It's a
technique, that's all. With amplification, a composer may use a 100,000
watt rock band instead of a string orchestra, or samples, or electronic
music... a singer with perfect technique may choose to use a breathy tone
and have it heard. Or get spooky off-stage voice effects. Drama is first,
technique and technology exists only to serve it.

If 19th century opera production values are yoru be-all-end-all, then of
course nothing else will compare. Why not see what amplified operas have
to offer that 19th century can't instead of only seeing what is missing?
You don't have to lose the "raw voice" aspect assuming the singer has the
chops, it can still happen... Depending on dramatic context. You're simply
not boxed in to that method all the time. Besides, why is "raw voice" more
important than other dramatic considerations? You win some you lose
some... amplification allows other kinds of intimacy that the raw voice
aesthetic cannot achieve.

I see the romanticization of 19th cent operatic style as limiting. The
development of opera as a form did not end a hundred years ago! If we're
serious about not wanting it to die out, we need to allow it to evolve
naturally.

Tako


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