Here's something you might be interested in.
In a previous post I said that Mario Lanza was the Andrea Bocelli of his day. I must emphasize that Lanza was an infinitely better singer than Bocelli. Mario Lanza could have been a legitimate opera star whereas Bocelli's opera singing is fraudulent and a perversion of the art form.
In the '40s and '50s the public's ear was still bent toward a legitimate sound. There were no microphones on Broadway which meant those singers had to project to the back of the house. No one would have had a problem hearing Mario Lanza in a live performance without a mic. He was a good singer.
Lanza was a movie star with an operatic voice. Singing opera in the movies and singing it live--in staged production--are different activities.
Mario Lanza did perform the role of Pinkerton in Pucinni's Madama Butterfly at New Orleans opera. He received good reviews but that was the extent of his opera career.
The comparison to Bocelli hinges on the question, "Who is your favorite opera singer?"
In the '50s and '60s, the casual listener probably would've said Mario Lanza because of his role in The Great Caruso. That movie was the top grossing movie of 1951. The song, from the movie, The Loveliest Night of the Year sold over a million copies, it's not an opera aria.
Today's casual listener is going to say Bocelli or, God forbid, Paul Potts is their favorite "opera singer."
The point being neither Bocelli or Lanza were true opera singers. To be clear, Mario Lanza had a legitimate operatic voice but went to Hollywood instead of La Scala.
Bocelli does not have a legitimate operatic voice but the public's ear has become conditioned to artificially processed voices. Therefor, many believe Bocelli to be an opera star.
Interestingly, back in the 90's Michael Bolton released an album of opera arias. It was terrible but at a few points in each aria we could hear that an operatic voice was hidden in there. Had Michael gone a different direction 30 years ago he could have done the opera thing.
This brings up a point that we tend to overlook. People will make statements like, "Mariah Carey studied opera." or "You know, Julie Andrews was operatically trained." We say this to emphasize how much we admire them as singers.
The correct statement is, "Julie Andrews was operatically trained but she wasn't good enough to sing opera." Yes, I said it.
Lanza and Nessun Dorma:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvVmFgOT1CU
Bocelli and Nessun Dorma. This clip has been viewed over 12 million times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbGKQ8YASCY
In a previous post I said that Mario Lanza was the Andrea Bocelli of his day. I must emphasize that Lanza was an infinitely better singer than Bocelli. Mario Lanza could have been a legitimate opera star whereas Bocelli's opera singing is fraudulent and a perversion of the art form.
In the '40s and '50s the public's ear was still bent toward a legitimate sound. There were no microphones on Broadway which meant those singers had to project to the back of the house. No one would have had a problem hearing Mario Lanza in a live performance without a mic. He was a good singer.
Lanza was a movie star with an operatic voice. Singing opera in the movies and singing it live--in staged production--are different activities.
Mario Lanza did perform the role of Pinkerton in Pucinni's Madama Butterfly at New Orleans opera. He received good reviews but that was the extent of his opera career.
The comparison to Bocelli hinges on the question, "Who is your favorite opera singer?"
In the '50s and '60s, the casual listener probably would've said Mario Lanza because of his role in The Great Caruso. That movie was the top grossing movie of 1951. The song, from the movie, The Loveliest Night of the Year sold over a million copies, it's not an opera aria.
Today's casual listener is going to say Bocelli or, God forbid, Paul Potts is their favorite "opera singer."
The point being neither Bocelli or Lanza were true opera singers. To be clear, Mario Lanza had a legitimate operatic voice but went to Hollywood instead of La Scala.
Bocelli does not have a legitimate operatic voice but the public's ear has become conditioned to artificially processed voices. Therefor, many believe Bocelli to be an opera star.
Interestingly, back in the 90's Michael Bolton released an album of opera arias. It was terrible but at a few points in each aria we could hear that an operatic voice was hidden in there. Had Michael gone a different direction 30 years ago he could have done the opera thing.
This brings up a point that we tend to overlook. People will make statements like, "Mariah Carey studied opera." or "You know, Julie Andrews was operatically trained." We say this to emphasize how much we admire them as singers.
The correct statement is, "Julie Andrews was operatically trained but she wasn't good enough to sing opera." Yes, I said it.
Lanza and Nessun Dorma:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvVmFgOT1CU
Bocelli and Nessun Dorma. This clip has been viewed over 12 million times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbGKQ8YASCY