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Question: What do people from the classical music/opera world think of classical crossover & pop-opera singers!.!.!.!?
!.!.!. like Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Katherine Jenkins, Charlotte Church, Sarah Brightman, Hayley Westenra, Il Divo, Mario Frangoulis, Amici Forever etc!? Why do I get the impression that most classical music/opera people really despise the genre and its artists, esp the "purists"!?
I could understand if most people in the opera world object towards singers like Katherine Jenkins and Charlotte Church, but what about the Three Tenors!? Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo are all established opera singers with great operatic vocal to match, yet they also branch out to pop music and have many fans outside their loyal fans from the world of opera!. How do most people in the legitimate classical music/opera world view that!?Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I am a "purist" of sorts whenever it comes to things like musical theater/opera!. But It's not like I don't love the commercial stuff either!. The fact of the matter is, there is room for both!. It's when the commercial stuff starts to thwart and overtake the quality of the classics that you have a problem!.
Like, Britney Spears playing Mimi in "La Bie Boheme" would piss me off!. Kind of the same way when Ashlee Simpson played "Roxie Hart" in Chicago!. I don't feel she was qualified at all to play the role and in my mind!.!.!. was a cheap trick to drum up publicity!. This ain't the Pussycat Dolls!. You don't just get up there and shake your butt while singing mediocre music!. You work and sweat!.!.!. and hopefully graduate from the chorus, hah!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
They just cannot see behind their little box they are living in, that's all!! I pretty much resist putting music to boxes!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I am fine with it and I love Classical Music!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Well, all i can say is that with different times come different tastes, and different styles, I personally love the current take on classical and opera, its lovely!. These days, the taste would not be for pure opera, but pop-opera as you call it, is much easier for most to get attatched to!. It gives you the classic beauty and splendour that got it popular back in the day, yet a new breathe has been breathed into it, making it easier for the younger generations to identify with!. I for one am glad that it is still popular with some people, The youth today needs it, afterall, there is not much class left in this world, especially not in music, but with this new take on opera and classical, talent, class and taste, is not completley gone like it is in most of the music industry today!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
I think it's wonderful what the 3 tenors, especially Pavarotti, did to present opera to a new generation!. Presenting beautiful arias outside of the structured Opera, gave a glimpse of the magnificence of the music and operatic voice!.
Seeing Pavarotti perform with heavy metal bands was a real kick, since I love grand opera, and also like to listen to hair bands!.
They showed the world that you can have a magnificent voice and still be a regular person!.
I do, however, understand how people who are used to the more refined music of the masters and the magnificence of the operatic voice, can find the stridency of pop music and the "stringy-ness" (for lack of a better word) of the pop singers to be too harsh, and simply inferior!. It's the difference between silk and burlap!.
And then there are those who are just plain snobs!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Apart from the three tenors , many of those crossover songers cannot actually sing!.!.!.!.!.they are terrible!.
They have become famous because they are good looking and have great marketing managers!.
That is why many of the opera world dislike them!.
There is nothing wrong with being attractive but you have to be able to sing as well!.Www@QuestionHome@Com