Regular Guy, Opera Talent

[GoodSpeak]

This video is just awesome stuff.

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=646496&cache=1

I cried....it was too much.

[Paul B]

No crying here, but the guy does have some pipes.

[GoodSpeak]

Indeed he does.

[Ron Thorne]

I didn't weep either, but I was pleasantly surprised, had goose bumps, and great hopes for this humble man from South Wales.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Nessun Dorma is my favorite aria, and this guy nailed it, imo. Even Simon Cowell was moved to applaud. You think Ashlee Simpson could pull that off?

[Gentle Giant]

Looked like all the judges, Simon in particular, wanted to sleep with him.

Though he got raves from the panel, it kind of reminds me of the Harry Chapin song, Mr. Tanner, apparently based in fact:


Mister Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest.
And of all the cleaning shops around he'd made his the best.
But he also was a baritone who sang while hanging clothes.
He practiced scales while pressing tails and sang at local shows.
His friends and neighbors praised the voice that poured out from his throat.
They said that he should use his gift instead of cleaning coats.

But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.

His friends kept working on him to try music out full time.
A big debut and rave reviews, a great career to climb.
Finally they got to him, he would take the fling.
A concert agent in New York agreed to have him sing.
And there were plane tickets, phone calls, money spent to rent the hall.
It took most of his savings but he gladly used them all.

But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.

The evening came, he took the stage, his face set in a smile.
And in the half filled hall the critics sat watching on the aisle.
But the concert was a blur to him, spatters of applause.
He did not know how well he sang, he only heard the flaws.
But the critics were concise, it only took four lines.
But no one could accuse them of being over kind.

(spoken) Mr. Martin Tanner, Baritone, of Dayton, Ohio made his
Town Hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately
his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards.
His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it
consistently interesting.
(sung) Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.

He came home to Dayton and was questioned by his friends.
Then he smiled and just said nothing and he never sang again,
excepting very late at night when the shop was dark and closed.
He sang softly to himself as he sorted through the clothes.
Music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
(And) he did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.

[steve(thelil)]

I teared up.

[tippy]

so is he trying out for idol? I so wish I could hear this guy but for some reason it doesn't work on my computer.

[Tom Storer]

To me he sounds like a decent amateur opera singer. More power to him, but I doubt he would have gotten a similar audience reaction if he auditioned for an opera company. That the audience for a cheesy TV pop talent show was stunned and amazed must say something about the respective expressive power of opera and the kind of pop music the audience came to hear.

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by Tom Storer

That the audience for a cheesy TV pop talent show was stunned and amazed must say something about the respective expressive power of opera and the kind of pop music the audience came to hear.

Or not.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Okay, Storer, just because you effortlessly belt out Madama Butterfly in it's entirety during your morning shower doesn't mean the rest of us can't be impressed with this guy's obvious talent.

[walto]

Originally Posted by Tom Storer

To me he sounds like a decent amateur opera singer. More power to him, but I doubt he would have gotten a similar audience reaction if he auditioned for an opera company. That the audience for a cheesy TV pop talent show was stunned and amazed must say something about the respective expressive power of opera and the kind of pop music the audience came to hear.

Right on. I agree absolutely, Tom. Nessun Dorma is a great aria, and everybody was rooting for this guy. That's why it was a sweet and teary occasion. But his singing wasn't anything special, I didn't think.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Yeah, just remember, anybody can be a critic but not everyone can sing.

[Gentle Giant]

I've seen and listened to opera but I'm no judge of talent. Every year, the Met hosts auditions at Jordan Hall in Boston (and elsewhere). I've been to a few with my father and aunt and uncle and they always all seem pretty amazing to me. But even the non-professionals in the audience, the true opera buffs, can notice the subtleties of tone and inflection that separate the wheat from the chaff.

My guess is that if this guy was the real deal, he'd be auditioning for someone other than Simon Cowell. That said, I was impressed.

[Tom Storer]

Hey, think of all the singers who would be lousy critics. Does that stop them from singing? Hell no. So why should the rest of us stop being critics just because we can't sing? I mean, look at the logic.

"Those who can't do, teach. Those who can neither do nor teach are critics."

No, but seriously. The reason people are moved by that clip is that the guy is an unassuming Joe Schmoe whose appearance and affect are modest and reserved, but who shows his focus and training while singing an emotionally powerful composition in a context where humble citizens are given a chance to reveal their artistic aspirations, at the risk of being laughed off stage but with the potential prize of inspiring the crowd and getting a big wave of love and approval. He won the prize and certainly deserved to, but that doesn't make him an unusually talented singer.

Personally, if I hum the melody to "Happy Birthday" people furrow their brow and say, "Hey, that sounds kind of familiar." So it's not like I'm JEALOUS or anything.

[crawjo]

Here's his winning performance in the semi-finals...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDB9zwlXrB8&NR=1

[Pete C]

There's an amazing Chinese basso who sings Ave Maria & The Lord's Prayer in the NYC subways.

[stonemonkts]

I agree with Tom.

It's hard not to root for a guy like him, add to that he sang two very popular, and naturally tear-inducing arias.

Nessun Dorma is one of my favorites too. I probably have 50 versions of it. This guy did ok as an amateur, but his timing was off. I also think Pavarotti destroyed the piece, so I'm not easily swayed.

Want to hear it done right? Track down any version sung by Jussi Björling, and you'll hear it how Puccini intended.

I found this.....

Björling

[Douglas]

He didn't particularly move me either.

Here's one from Austrian pop idol

[walto]

That Bjorling version is beautiful, Stone.

Here is Franco C.

[stonemonkts]

Incredible performance, Walto. Very charismatic. Nice contrast to the Björling.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

I will listen to the other versions of Nessun Dorma posted on this thread again and will have something to say about both of them. In the meantime I have other things to attend to first.

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Cantiello

In the meantime I have other things to attend to first.

I'll hazard a guess that it's food-related.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Right you are, Ron. Now that I've finished my sesame encrusted tuna sashimi with wasabi and ginger and a main course of osso buco and sweet potato gnocchi, I'm able to post a bit about Paul Potts.

The point I'd like to make is that Mr. Potts, as opposed to a professional opera singer, is admittedly a rank amateur. That is what impresses me. He presented himself to an audience claiming nothing else but his passion for singing and sang his heart out. That is what impresses me. He just did what came to him naturally. He's not a classically trained singer. He's obviously a person who loves singing and Opera. I give him major props for that. Did he turn in the "definitive" version of Nessun Dorma? I can't answer that.

As for the Franco Correlli take on the aria posted by my friend Walter, all I can say is that it's open to criticism as anything else is. Dare I say it's over dramatic and dated? I still enjoyed it and find in it a legitimate interpretation. The Bjorling version was indeed beautiful, although a little too understated for my taste. How about the interpretations of, say, Mario Del Monaco, Nicola Matinucci, Jose Carreras, Ihsan Ekber and Pavarotti, not to mention the great and still unequaled, imo, Enrico Caruso? Hell, even Sarah Brightman and the lite Opera guy Andrea Bocelli have done a credible job with that aria. So, who's to say who is the "best"? Of course, there is no such thing as the "best". I'd like to offer one of my favorite singers doing his take on Nessun Dorma, the great Placido Domingo. He never fails to move me. Puccini was a master, no doubt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RdJmqLrsbo

[Jimmy Cantiello]

And I love the chorus. Without the chorus the piece would be significantly diminished. Gotta have the chorus by all means.

[Ron Thorne]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Cantiello

The point I'd like to make is that Mr. Potts, as opposed to a professional opera singer, is admittedly a rank amateur. That is what impresses me. He presented himself to an audience claiming nothing else but his passion for singing and sang his heart out. That is what impresses me. He just did what came to him naturally. He's not a classically trained singer. He's obviously a person who loves singing and Opera. I give him major props for that. Did he turn in the "definitive" version of Nessun Dorma? I can't answer that.

My sentiments too, Jimmy.

Now I'm salivating about the food-related items.

[Jimmy Cantiello]

Another one of my favorites that's always on my mind is Georges Bizet's "Toreador Song" from the opera "Carmen". I found a take online sung by Dmitri Hvorostosky, whom I'm not familiar with. He does a light hearted version that's quite infectious. If you have a few minutes, give a listen. Again, the chorus is the key to this piece, imo. The music is uplifting and belies the actual dialog which is quite ominous. Walto would probably tell you that listening to arias and snippets of operas is not the same as listening to the opera as a whole and he would be justified in saying so. But, there's nothing wrong with getting our pleasures where we can, don't you think? I just love this brief passage.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OqEn57tVA1s

[walto]

How about the interpretations of, say, Mario Del Monaco, Nicola Matinucci, Jose Carreras, Ihsan Ekber and Pavarotti, not to mention the great and still unequaled, imo, Enrico Caruso? Hell, even Sarah Brightman and the lite Opera guy Andrea Bocelli have done a credible job with that aria.

Stone was the guy with the huge collection, not me, but I can comment on a couple of these. Caruso had an amazing voice and I like him a lot, but in the recordings I've heard, the poor recorded sound tends obscure his talents. I think I have two versions with Pavarotti--I like him, generally, though I prefer the Corelli and Bjorling versions of N.D. posted on this thread. Del Monaco was really great when he was starting out, and I think everybody expected wonderful things, but I guess he shot his voice quite young. To me, anyhow, he often seems to be straining in his high register. Carreras has a smaller voice than these other big shots, but it's pleasant, I don't rank him as one of the greats, myself. I've heard Bocelli sing this aria on some collection of "greatest hits", but I can't remember it. I remember thinking he had a nice voice, but he didn't really knock me out--not sure what was missing. Domingo has always reminded me of Yo Yo Ma. They're both flawless technicians, but their performances often leave me a bit cold for some reason. I won't say they're passionless or robotic--that's not fair. Maybe it's just that some of these pieces, being easier for them than others, lose some of their drama because of that. I dunno. I haven't heard (or even heard of) Matinucci or Ekber.


BTW, I don't agree at all with your criticism of the Corelli. I think that's a brilliant performance and that he was one of the greatest Italian tenors of all. My only complaint about him was his pronunciation of French. He seemed to think it was Italian with a lisp. I don't mind the dress he's wearing. His Gounod would be incredible if not for the constant weirdness of the tongue in the teeth.

The point I'd like to make is that Mr. Potts, as opposed to a professional opera singer, is admittedly a rank amateur. That is what impresses me. He presented himself to an audience claiming nothing else but his passion for singing and sang his heart out. That is what impresses me. He just did what came to him naturally. He's not a classically trained singer. He's obviously a person who loves singing and Opera. I give him major props for that.

That's pretty much what Tom S. and I said. It was a moving performance because of who and where the guy was. On a blindfold test it wouldn't have been much.

[Tom Storer]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Cantiello

[B]He presented himself to an audience claiming nothing else but his passion for singing and sang his heart out. That is what impresses me. He just did what came to him naturally. He's not a classically trained singer.

He most certainly is a clasically trained singer--not at an advanced level, perhaps, but he has taken singing lessons with a classical voice teacher, no doubt about it. You can't just make that kind of delivery up while singing in the shower. If this isn't true, I'll pretend to eat my hat.

[crawjo]

Keep in mind who this guy is going up against:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOHM-...elated&search=