ian,
in practice, there is usually some style of music that we are most suited
to. what that style requires is either what we already are or, would be if
rising to the call of our true nature (or, something like that) plus the
ability to produce that style. (once reaching what i thought was the
'right' way to sing opera, i lost interest in it completely a week later.
it had nothing to do with me and, for me, became only a novelty.)
if one is exceptional in one style, it is unlikely that one would be
equally exceptional in another style as it takes more than one element to
make one an exceptional singer. so, for pavarotti to sing in another way
than he does is probably silly. (although, in reading what he has said
about the voice, i'd be surprised if he could sing in another way.)
how many opera singers are able to sing radames? not many. singing
only opera isn't what makes one capable of doing so. what i'm talking about
would be something like mozart's figaro. most baritones with a halfway
decent low range are going to be capable of singing that role (or masetto or
papageno). if they can learn an operatic production and follow the musical
requirements, they can sing it. does that mean they are all going to sing
it like siepi? certainly not. but, they could do a perfectly acceptable
job.
the same singer could then turn around and sing 'moon river' in the
manner of the crooner. he would have to do it differently than he sings
figaro (unless he wants it to sound operatic) but that only requires
understanding how the sounds of that style are produced. again, that's not
to say he is going to rival andy williams, it is just to say that he will do
a stylistically credible job.
most of the improvments made by singers in their singing is made by doing
something differently. just as a singer can make a change within a style
for the sake of improving, that same singer can make a change for the sake of
representing another style. the quality of the results is determined by the
quality of the chosen action applied to the quality of a voice. if a great
piece of meat is made to sing by an ill chosen method, the results will be
poor. if a lame piece of meat sings according to the best choice possible,
that singer may not be able to sing radames but, might give an acceptable
rendering to papageno (sorry about cross-faching).
to teach different styles, one has to understand those styles. in
teaching the styles that one understands, one has to know what the sounds of
a style are, when they happen and how to produce them. to teach a potential
singer a particular style is to assume that the style being taught is most
appropriate to that singer. to be only capable of teaching one style to
'all who enter', is to risk turning a pavarotti into 'joe the wedding singer'
or, an andy williams into the 3rd elephant trainer in 'aida'.
mike
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