from Linda Fox......
> Do you ever listen to a good school or a reasonable amateur
>orchestra playing a Mozart symphony thoroughly rehearsed and played with
>feeling and sincerity? Can you not appreciate the expression of the
>_music_ to any extent at all?
Dear Linda,
First I'd like to say sorry to Lloyd for misconstruing
his objection to singers using the personality stamp as a substitute
for good vocal style.
In fact I think there is a very small difference from what
I was expressing. I'm certainly NOT saying there is no place for such
student performances, merely that when inferior performances
are directly juxtaposed with performers who have polished their technique
and singing to an exceptional degree, it's like finding a rank amateur
in the middle of a world class cast in a professional opera, unacceptable.
These works are written to be executed by highly
skilled singers and just as Lloyd objects to the personality stamp,
I object to students who insist on damaging the music by trying to
perform arias that are clearly beyond their scope. If they're being
properly coached, is it not reasonable to expect that this training,
(the ability to differentiate the reasonable from the impossible),
would be uppermost in their artistic sensitisation.
Your example Linda of the highly proficient group,
is clearly one of "reasonable expectations", not the "student
group", and not the "utterly beyond them" group. The choice of
suitable vocal work : artistic standards and technical ability will
always be closely related and I have little sympathy for singers who
make choices that are clearly in error. Loving a particular aria is no
justification for screwing the hell out of it. That...is very bad taste
just as much as is substituting personality, for composer's intentions.
Having said that, I have great sympathy for singers
and instrumentalists who attempt music that should be within their
scope, only to have it dissolve in an attack of nerves. All the more
reason not to subject themselves to unreasonable expectations.
Regards Reg.
|
|  |
