Singing and Aging

I wholeheartedly agree with Ariane Comstock and dance critic Tobi Tobias,who offered the following in an article called "Enough," which was publishedin the Summer 2006 issue of "Dance Now":"Dance fans are forever complaining about dancing stars who refuse torecognise when the time has come to call it quits and retire from the stage. Two of the last century's ballet divinities, Rudolf Nureyev and MargoFonteyn, continued not merely for years but for decades past their prime,first adjusting their repertoire to diminishing physical capability,eventually creating a performance out of charisma alone...But for us, members of the tribe of dedicated onlookers, I haven an idea. If the artist who probably should retire won't, the viewer must decide whenenough is enough and retire the artist.Here's how: Just stop going to her performances...True, there are few of us who are obliged by their nefarious trade,criticism, to cover whatever moves and is news in certain venues. But evenin New York, a dance capital, we are very few. No one else, apart, perhaps,from the intimates of the dancer in eclipse is obliged to bear witness...Unlike the human body, memory can survive the depredations of time; it neednever be extinguished."And far more in the case of singers than dancers, there are the recordingsto aid that memory.Helene KaplanSeattle, WA

Singing and Aging

The only reason why I do not want to hear singers who are past their vocalprime is because it saddens me to hear voices that are mere shadows of whatthey once were. I know there are many who will give fulsome applause to afavourite singer regardless of their vocal performance simply because he orshe is actually appearing before them and they have fond memories ofprevious glorious performances. I have attended such performances andthey have only made my heart break. Legendary singers have no need to "slogaway" past their prime when they themselves are only too aware that theirvocal gifts are waning. Let them retire in peace!Regards,Jean Collen

Singing and Aging

yes very true and also what about a certain Maria Meneghini Callas? She certainly had an excellent technique which is still evident in her late Cenerentola recording. Maybe she along with Rethberg sang roles that were too heavy too often (Aida certainly for Rethberg might have been the limit). With Callas there was of course the emotional issues too with the Greek. Didn't Rethberg also have problems with Pinza or someone else during the early 40's. They both of course could still have sung Lieder but choose not to. Funny that Lotte Lehmann whose technique was not excellent sang longer than both of them. She of course didn't have the tumult in her love life as the other two did. Marco Schmid

Singing and Aging

Re: singers who don't age well, I don't think it always means poor technique by any means. Physical ailments, significant change of physique and, probably most of all, emotional turbulence in one's private life can all work to derail a superb voice and technique. And life isn't fair: there are those who sing the wrong things, eat the wrong things, drink the wrong things and screw the wrong things who still manage to keep their voices amazingly well like the Duke escaping Monterone's curse.Re: singers past their prime, I say let the public decide rather than try to institute forced retirement. For those who care only about the youthful, sensual sound of the voice, they can stay home and just not listen to the recordings. For others, like myself, for whom the actual sound of the instrument is only one aspect of a singers art, so long as the artist has something compelling to say with the music I'm willing to listen.Some singers compensate for the loss of high notes and tonal freshness with deepened interpretive insights. Nobody would claim Flagstad's voice was at is prime in her late 50's when she made the studio "Tristan" recording under Furtwängler, but in addition to singing that is still beautiful most of the time she brings an incredible wealth of musical and dramatic subtlety of inflection to that recording that I certainly wouldn't want to have missed. Hotter's recording of "Winterreise" with Erik Werba in the early 60's has a searing depth that you just don't get from the one made in his vocal prime with Raucheisen, or even the excellent mid 50's version with Gerald Moore. Sutherland's Norma became a much more interesting creation when she was having to dispense the tonal fireworks much more sparingly.Some even become better singers when they're having to apply care to the use of an aging voice. Lotte Lehmann, who had a chronic tendency to oversing in her prime, learned to open up those shrill high notes and even out her scale quite agreeably during that period from the late 30's to mid 40's when the instrument was still certainly intact but wasn't doing her bidding with such abandon.Max* * * * *

Singing and Aging

Singers who do not do well as they age, probably never had good technique.I remember one year at the NATS Convention, Horst Gunther, German Baritone, played recordings of his singing at 24 and 65. You could not tell the difference.One has to make adjustments for weak muscles and gravity. Marc Alan Innes