Dear Editor: I would like to commend Sherri Weiler’s series of articles on books that singers should have in their library. I especially enjoyed “The Functional Unity of the Singing Voice” (February, 2004). … As an undergraduate student, I am learning about the vast amount of literature that is available in our field. Weiler and Classical Singer present these works to students like me, who might otherwise not know where to look!
—Lauren Glass, Evanston, IL
Dear Editor: In the past, you had some articles regarding older singers, i.e., 40-55 year range. Lately I have not seen [many such articles]. My voice has a brilliantly beautiful sound. It sounds as fresh as ever, and now I am ready for a full career—yet I am in that age range where no one will give an audition. Please help!
—Joyce Sinno, Tuxedo Park, NY
Singers in this age range will do best to put on recitals, start their own companies, and find local venues for their talents. It is very difficult to get a hearing with a company unless you have a good resume to back you up, although it has happened! —Editor
Dear Editor: The cover picture of Marilyn Horne on the March 2004 issue is missing only one thing: a crown!
—Elsie Inselman, St. Clair Shores, MI
Dear Editor: I am shocked at the carelessness of your editorial “How You Look” (March, 2004) in which you accuse anyone who is thin of being “anorexic.” As a singer who is not an “average size,” I take personal offense to the fact that you would label me as “anorexic looking.”
The people of today are making a great effort to get fit and healthy. … People who are physically … “fit” are every size and shape. …The health-conscious people of today do not want to see a 600-pound Violetta. They cannot relate to her, any more than … if she was a sickly and emaciated 80 pounds. It is unrealistic to think that an audience should be expected to suspend their disbelief to such an extent.
The singers in the Broadway “Boheme” were not fanatically thin. … They were not “anorexic,” any more than they were morbidly obese. … Has the Broadway “Boheme” really done such a great disservice to opera, or is it finally a breakthrough to bring opera back into the mainstream and into reality?
—Heather Connolly, via e-mail
It sounds as if you have been able to do a great job of being able to be fit and healthy. My hat is off to you. There are a lot of singers who have not been able to achieve this and are being pushed out of the running for jobs as a result. (See Cindy Sadler’s article in this issue for an example of just such an instance.) My concern is that singers are going to lose weight beyond what is healthy for their frame and feeling desperate, will try to lose it in unhealthy ways.
—Editor
Dear Editor: I want to express my thanks for including the article by Ms. Ottley in the recent edition of Classical Singer. I am one of those singers who got “pretty far up the ladder but wasn’t invited to play on the roof,” and decided to end my pursuit of a performing career about three years ago. I have remained active in music, to a degree, but have struggled with feelings of failure.
I know that I am not alone in this. I think that there are thousands of singer’s souls that are either wounded or dead, and it is such a waste. There [have] got to be additional ways for singers to find expression and contentment within our art. Many of us no longer
chase the dream and are trying to figure out how to feed our singer souls.
—Name Withheld
Dear Editor: Your request for feedback to ensure a vital magazine for singers is right on. Classical Singer just gets better and better! Keep focusing on the non-famous.
—Name Withheld, Alpharetta, GA
Dear Editor: This publication is full of dynamite! Very informative articles on vocal health, relevant experiences with professional singers. Very informative and enlightening to the industry and the art.
—Mark Meek, Milwaukee, OR
Dear Editor: Excellent, pertinent advice and articles. Many of the topics I have taught to my students in the past—but refreshing to know that what I have said finds common support in the field.
—Phoebe Flewelling, New Castle, NH
Dear Editor: I would like to see more articles that really describe the voice and how it works, by people who know what they are doing. I am on my fifth teacher. An “off” comment by a teacher in an audition made me make the switch. In one year I will have a full-fledged voice, but with how many years left? I have seen teachers in your directory who don’t know how to teach. Anyone can hang up a shingle. Please try to write articles on how it’s supposed to feel inside when you sing right.
—Name Withheld, Lakewood, OH
ERRATA
The incorrect ad for V.O.I.C.Experience was published in the March issue of Classical Singer. Martina Arroyo has
participated with the program in the past, but is not appearing at the V.O.I.C.Experience this year. To contact V.O.I.C.Experience in regard to their program August 9-31 in Orlando at Walt Disney World, call 847-707-0177
