In a message dated 2/27/2001 1:51:35 PM Eastern Standard Time,
lloyd.hanson@n... writes:
<< My point was that in an art form there is a synthesis of emotion, not
the emotion itself. The more abstract the art the more this is true.
If any art form reduces the synthesis to the level of the emotion
itself that art form is, on the basis of the maxim above, a less
abstract art form. We have discussed before your dislike of much of
opera because it does not seem "real" to you and I think this is a
valid criticism. But, at the same time, it is a validation of opera
as a more abstract form of art and, in the same way, most pops
singing as a much less abstract form of art. >>
what is the greatest abstraction of a man; a bust in his likeness, his
twin brother, his son, his dog or a boat he built himself by hand?
first, my objection to opera singing is not a dislike. it is a
philosophical rejection of artifice. i do not always reject artifice but,
in the case of operatic singing, i reject it as i feel that what it replaces
is far greater. as i stated in my response to peggy's wonderful post on
judy garland, i see the voice as a vehicle of expression. if it is allowed
to do just that, it can be a true mirror to the essence of an artist.
whether that artist is caught up in the point of the words or is just totally
in love with the melody, the voice can reflect that if unimpeded by vanity.
opera singers are most certainly not the only singers guilty of vain
impediments. so much of pop singing is riddled with it.
having said this, i do make a distinction between my philosophical ideal
and that to which i am willing to listen (my stance on this issue is similar
to wagner's stance on vegetarianism- it was just too late for him).
i have quoted a student, in the past, saying that "talking is like
walking and singing is like flying". we are not impressed by airplanes
flying. we would be very impressed by a human flying. when the voice
becomes abstracted from that which we recognize as human, we are not
impressed by its flight. for me, operatic singing has ceased to be
recognizable as human.
mike
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