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From:  "Kubiak, Laurence L SSI-SMMS" <Laurence.l.Kubiak@I...>
Date:  Wed Jul 19, 2000  4:51 pm
Subject:  RE: [vocalist-temporary] Re: Seth Riggs, Speech Level Singing,Fu ll Resume a...


Mary-Beth wrote:

>One side bar...........I'm amazed that people continue to annihilate
>Seth's results...........I know of no other teacher who has had the results

>he has. And remember, I only pulled out a few names........nearly 40% of
his
>studio is Opera students. I have ANgela Blasi's resume in my hand right
now,
>if you all really want me to post it. My point being two-fold;
> 1) Who else do you know has had the results that he has had. NOt a
>school, but one teacher.

Thin ice here. This is what I, and I suspect others, find off-putting about
SLS, to which I am otherwise favourable disposed: this claim that no-one
else gets the results Seth Riggs does. Maybe it's true among the
non-operatic singers, but it simply isn't true among opera singers.

Past teachers whose success rates leave Riggs in the dust include Porpora,
Garcia, Cotogni, Sbriglia, Rosati, the Lampertis, Marchesi, Melocchi,
Novicova, Viardot...and I could go on. Details of both quantity and quality
available on apllication.

Among teachers still with us or but recently departed, Riggs's success rates
don't approach those of Vera Rosza, Freddie Cox, or Ottakar Kraus in
Britain, Bandera or Campogalliani in Italy, or Ivogun in Austria. I don't
have much experience of the US, but I seem to recall that Armin Boyajian had
a high strike rate in the US (Ramey and Plishka certainly), but I'm sure
there were others. Perhaps a lister can enlighten us as to the success rate
of Richard Miller. These are all from the top of my head, but if you'd like
lists of pupils, I can pull them together without much trouble.

None of this denigrates Riggs, whose promotion of good vocal health among
non-operatic singers can only be applauded. But it is difficult to sustain
Riggs's claim of astonishing success among opera singers, at least from this
side of the Atlantic.

Happy Singing,

Regards / vriendelijke groeten

Laurie Kubiak
Commercial Analyst - Europe & Africa SMMS
Sales and Contract Support, Shell Services International
Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA
Telephone: +44 171 934 3853; Fax: +44 171 934 6674
Mobile: 07771 971 921: E.mail: Laurence.l.Kubiak@i...
Office: LON-SC 631

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