To: "VOCALIST" <vocalist>
Subject: Re: Domingo - a baritone?
Date sent: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 12:38:29 -0500
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Gordon
To: vocalist <vocalist>
Date: Thursday, December 16, 1999 3:29 AM
Subject: Domingo - a baritone?

MG:
>Now Domingo may not be the greatest vocal technician of all times, but
>he certainly is a great singer by most reasonable standards and
>definitions and one of the world's most successful tenors. It does seem
>a bit presumptious to me for Ms. Mercedes to "know" that Domingo
>struggles as a tenor simply because he "has never found the key to
>unlocking his top notes."

JRL:
Before this becomes a flame war, let me say that you should check vocalist
archives for the most recent discussions initiated by me, a Domingo fan. I
became a singer because of an experience at the Met with Domingo and Milnes
singing Otello.

Karen's statements are not as presumptuous as you would think. They are in
fact dead on. I have heard Domingo warm-up for concerts and singing ringing
C's, and then go out and crack a Bb in the concert. YOu only need to
compare early Domingo with what he's been doing the past decade or so, to
hear the amount of tension that has built up over the years.

We enjoy singers because of their emotional spiritual commitment to the
music they sing as much as to the sounds they make with their voices.
There are several teachers on this list with the expertise to be able to
teach Domingo something about a balanced tone. This does not mean that we
have thecombination of charisma, daring, vocal gift, and luck to be where he
is.

An aspiring singer, even a seasoned professional, listens to great singers
to learn what to do as much as to learn what not to do. If perfect
technique were required for stardom, I dare say most of our current stars
would not be up there. What makes stars is the ability to move the audience
with the thing that is singular about them. The better the technique, the
better the inate gift is amplified. Domingo is an inspired, gifted singer
with such an unusually potent talent, that his technical deficiencies are
not enough to hamper his ability to thrill us. Like any teacher of voice,
a part of me will always wonder how much more thrilling it might be if he
did not have so much tension (in the body, the tongue, the jaw, the throat).
In her own way, I sense that Karen is saying the same thing.


Cheers,

JRL.
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Gordon
To: vocalist <vocalist>
Date: Thursday, December 16, 1999 3:29 AM
Subject: Domingo - a baritone?


>Dear List:
>
>This is in response to Karen Mercedes comments on Placido Domingo. Note
>that Mr. Domingo is not my "favorite" singer, and I do not own any of
>his solo recordings. I have however heard him quite a bit and do admire
>his singing.
>
>Ms. Mercedes writes, "he (Domingo) has gone on record as saying he is
>truly a baritone who has to work to sustain the tenor _fach_. ...
>Listen to his Figaro on the undistinguished BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA
>recording he made and you will realise that there's no way this man was
>ever truly a baritone. He is a tenor who has simply never found the
>technical key to unlocking his top notes."
>
>Now Domingo may not be the greatest vocal technician of all times, but
>he certainly is a great singer by most reasonable standards and
>definitions and one of the world's most successful tenors. It does seem
>a bit presumptious to me for Ms. Mercedes to "know" that Domingo
>struggles as a tenor simply because he "has never found the key to
>unlocking his top notes." Again, the assumption is that we all fit into
>nice little boxes - so Mr. Domingo is NOT a baritone, but he IS a
>tenor. Isn't it possible he is kind of in-between, and tenor top notes
>are hard for him because tenor isn't a perfect "natural" fit for him,
>even though his competitive advantage is optimized as a tenor? Ms.
>Mercedes is narrowly focusing on his statement that he is "a baritone"
>and missing what I believe to be an essentially accurate statement - I
>believe Mr. Domingo is merely attempting to explain to the interviewer
>that he has to work (via daily practice) to sustain the tenor
>"tessitura" and that it is not natural for him.
>
>For what it's worth ...
>
>Cheers,
>
>Michael Gordon
>
>