Friday, February 08, 2013

Levels of Achievement - Charles Handelman

A friend of mine, who could be called as insanely fanatic about ballet, as I
am about opera, has a favorite expression:

If dancers danced like some singers sang, they would come out in wheelchairs!"

I think that we must accept the fact that the general level of ballet
and concert performances MUST not be as flawed as some opera shows..Why??
Well,there are no"klutzes" at ABT, and Kissin really seems to know how the
famous concerti are played. Of course, we know that the human voice is an
entirely different story, subject to all kinds of maladies.

However, it is still miraculous that singers get out there with all
sorts of maladies, and those two little pieces of flesh in the throat do
some amazing things. As much as I now attend and enjoy ballet and concerts
(I regret I was too "opera-centered" for too many years, the human voice is
still a miracle to me.

Think of all the voices we have ever heard, and that includes singers
in small workshops...EVERY ONE is as different as ,snowflakes,leaves on a
tree. Good or bad...every time we hear a new voice...good or bad..it is NOT
like any other. Yes, "parts of Tagliavini' sound like Gigli, and so
forth..but each voice has its distinctive quality.

I wish I knew enough about ballet,piano,violin,etc. to be able to
make the distinctions I can make in opera. What do you think of all my
theories????


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