Sir Thomas Allen Gives British Newspaper a Piece of His Mind
Sir Thomas Allen is celebrating 40 years of performing at the Royal Opera in London and, according to the Independent, he is not very happy with many artists who call themselves opera singers but never sing on the opera stage. Many record and give concerts using microphones but never set foot on a stage where no amplification is present. Allen says that the dumbing down of the classical genre is one of the music industry’s cruelest tricks, and he refuses to give in to fake popularization and lowbrow quality.
In this recent interview, he goes on to say that if people who have never sung in an opera claim to be opera singers, they are being deceitful. In his opinion, those singers could never do the real thing at the Royal Opera. In a 2002 speech to musicians and recording industry executives, he called the “sugar-coated programming of the recording of choice bits of easy listening” a “plague” and compared promoters of such acts to “well-organized hijackers with no musical sensibilities or taste.” It does not seem that he has changed his mind since then.
www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/news/these-people-have-never-sung-an-opera-in-their-lives-6296320.html
Rest in Peace Camilla Williams, Feted Soprano and Beloved Teacher
Soprano Camilla Williams passed away in late January at the age of 92. Williams made her debut as Madama Butterfly at the New York City Opera on May 15, 1946, according to the Los Angeles Times. At that time, no major U.S. opera company had an African American soprano. Nine years would pass before Marian Anderson would make her Metropolitan Opera debut. Williams never sang at the Met, but she did perform at the Vienna State Opera and at London’s Sadler’s Wells Opera. In 1971, she retired from performing and taught at Brooklyn College, Bronx College, and Queens College before becoming the first African American professor of voice at Indiana University.
“Camilla Williams was a trailblazer not only for African American women in opera but for all women in opera,” Metropolitan Opera soprano Angela Brown wrote to the Indianapolis Star. “If there were barriers, she didn’t let them deter her. When she got to a wall, it would crumble. She would knock it down because of her awesome faith and fortitude.”
www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-camilla-williams-20120131,0,7966732.story
www.indystar.com/article/20120131/LOCAL/201310324/Opera-singer-teacher-Camilla-Williams-92-broke-racial-barriers
Nicola Luisotti Named Music Director of San Carlo Opera
In February, Nicola Luisotti was appointed music director of the newly restored Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy. General Director Rosanna Purchia announced the news following a meeting of the Teatro di San Carlo Foundation, according to the San Francisco Examiner. Maestro Luisotti succeeds former Principal Conductor Maurizio Benini and Music Director Jeffrey Tate.
Born and raised in Northern Italy, Luisotti is currently music director of San Francisco Opera and the principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Philharmonic. “I have spent a good deal of time abroad in the last 10 years of my career,” commented the maestro. “My heart fills with joy at the thought of spending so much more time in my home country with such a prestigious appointment.”
www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/nicola-luisotti-sf-opera-s-music-director-takes-on-teatro-di-san-carlo
www.nicolaluisotti.com
See Human Vocal Folds in Action on YouTube
Videos available on YouTube showing vocal folds in action could be valuable tools for the student of singing. The videos show speech, not singing, but they do give a good picture of how the vocal mechanism works. The clip labeled “Articulators” shows a young woman’s vocal tract as she talks about her love of music. She was imaged with magnetic resonance technology while talking. You can clearly see her tongue, lips, and jaw moving. Her soft palate rises and falls, which dynamically changes the resonant properties of the vocal tract.
The video named “Vocal Folds” shows an actual laryngoscopy procedure and the vibrating folds during vocalization. The muscular apparatus opens the folds wide when the subject takes a deep breath and varies the amount of tension to change pitch when sound is being produced.
mustelid.physiol.ox.ac.uk/drupal/?q=vocalization/articulators
mustelid.physiol.ox.ac.uk/drupal/?q=vocal_folds
Errata
In the article “Performing Parents and Their Teens” in the February issue, we regretfully missed several errors. Hector Vasquez is a baritone, not a tenor. Cynthia Clayton and Hector Vasquez’s son is named Tino, not Tito. Marie Te Hapuku’s son’s name is Kit McArthur, not Kit Te Hapuku.
