--- RALUCOB@a... wrote:
> this is exactly the problem i have with opera
> singing. because of the
> attempt to do something other than the singer's
> speaking timbre, or, as lloyd
> might have it, to become an instrument, that which
> we find expressive in the
> tone of the human voice is removed.
Dear co-vocalisters,
To a certain extend, I can agree with both parties.
However:
5. Unaesthetically changed vowels in combination with
a strong wobble (Barbara Bonney: 'When singing opera,
you don't *have* to sound like an American police
car') can make it impossible to enjoy the music, the
wobble and vowels are supposed to serve.
4. Changing vowels can certainly go to far: than it
gets either un aesthetic, ridiculous or both. I think
real great singers know exactly how far to go.
3. Vowels can be changed to a great extend without
making texts un understandable. However, people who
have clear distinctive (not pure!) vowels can be
understood much better than others. This has also to
do with redundancy: the not-redundant language
information should be treated different from the
redundant, especially where words are not being
repeated.
2. Most opera lovers (like me) already know the
important texts before they are going to be sung. This
gives more room for the use of language to serve that
higher form of language: music.
1. Most people's speaking timbre, I experience as not
very aesthetic, and moreover, as unexpressive. That is
especially true for the American dialect, for my
native tongue, which is the Dutch language and others.
German is bit better (although Saxonian and Swabian is
not that great either), French, Spanish, Portuguese
and especially Russian is already really better and
finally there are very good reasons that Italian
became the language of opera.
The monotonous way in which most people speak in the
countries I first mentioned may sound natural to even
more people, to deal with matters of love and death it
is very inappropriate i.m.o. That television and some
kinds of popmusic have made many people believe
otherwise is extremely sad, but does not change the
above mentioned things.
0. For me, the magic of a well performed opera, cannot
be matched by any other artform.
Best greetings,
Dre
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