With the ‘classical’ music acts – both those who play instruments and those who sing – I always have deep suspicions that they get way more respect than they “deserve”, mostly due to audience unfamiliarity.
As in, compared to our excellent ability to say “that’s better than just adequate” with pop singing/guitar playing, how many of us have the extensive exposure to what an operatic tenor should sound like or the nuances that make a particular violin solo outstanding to be able to say if this particular one is good? Mostly we’re comparing their skill/voice with the more ‘casual’ standards of popular music and go “WOW” that’s a powerful voice/fairly intricate playing. Which is true on one level, of course, the opera singer has a ‘better’ voice than your usual guy-fronting-a-band singer and the violinist isn’t getting by on a handful of chords.
But how do they rank compared to their real life competition? If, oh, whoever it is that auditions singers for an opera company (or violinists for an orchestra) stumbled across these performances would they simply shrug and go “Eh, I passed over a dozen guys better than him last week alone”?
I suspect so. At least, I’ve never heard a news story along the lines of “Symphony Orchestra/Opera Company makes offer to performer discovered on XXX reality show” – and you’ve got to know that would be ballyhooed all over the news if it had happened.
I dunno, the guy with the white makeup turned it into a whole act. Not one I’d pay money to see, but I didn’t have a problem with them putting him through.
I caught the two-hour rerun last night – couple of good acts. (And, yay, Mummers in the top 48? How cool is that!) Esp. liked those two male singers with guitars who threw themselves into their own versions of classic songs – look forward to hearing more from them.
ETA, and agree, Howie Mandel is a brilliant addition as a judge.
I’m convinced after watching the latest Vegas shows that some of the people that they let through are only “fodder” for us to watch to see how bad they perform next week and to see if they somehow make it past the next round. I think they have a place in the show in the first two weeks, but not this far in the talent search. They clearly can’t make it to a headlining act. The male vocal talents are strong and they should have been given another chance over the goof-balls they let through. They claim they have space for only a few in each group, but we all know about four of the acts are just in it for the freak factor. It’s a shame, but it’s all part of a ratings grab.
Those who think Howie is an awesome addition…I can see your point, but I don’t personally like Howie’s taste in talent. He’s as much of a sideshow as some of the acts they let through.
Those of us who know something about it have discussed it a bit here. I don’t watch these shows but I occasionally catch clips online. Neal Boyd was flat-out terrible; a mediocre voice if he could sing in tune, but he can’t. Paul Potts (Britain’s Got Talent) has a better voice, but is still no better than a comprimario singer at a mid-level opera house.
Can you blame them? America voted Kevin Skinner $1million based on his story and mediocre talent. Cite? His album didn’t break the top 200 and I don’t think his single charted either.
I’d probably break it down into four tiers: top level opera houses are places like The Met (New York), Chicago Lyric, and the big European houses like La Scala, Covent Garden, Opera Paris, etc. (by no means an exclusive list). Then there are second tier places (which are quite numerous and tend to hire younger singers): Santa Fe, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Opera Memphis etc. Lots of these. Then there are more local outfits. In St. Louis we have one called Union Avenue Opera. Still professional opera (and expanding all the time) but not big enough to break into the second tier. They do, however, still draw from a large talent pool, running auditions in Chicago, New York, and LA in addition to St. Louis. At the bottom you have companies that are more or less “community opera”. Some do pay a little, some don’t, generally they draw entirely from local talent.
Just to clarify, there’s no official ranking (that I know of) of opera companies. That’s just sort of how I rank them in my head. There are certainly companies that everyone would agree are “top of the heap” and others that are “bottom of the heap”, but the in-betweens are a bit fluid.
That said, the same sort of classification can’t really be applied to singers. Aprile Millo is a top-notch singer who can pretty much have her pick of roles and venues, so she’s going to be singing in the top houses. She’s one of a very small percentage of singers, though. Many (most) singers take what jobs they can get, and will sing at houses of any level. I’ve sung many shows at small local houses with singers who have sung at the Lyric, the Met, La Scala, etc.
If you don’t have the talent, though, you will not be hired at a top house.
I just asked because I don’t know Aprile’s work, I know her personally, we went to Hollywood High together, and she knocked our socks off back then. I reconnected with her recently and I had absolutely no idea where she ranked, so thanks for filling me in, I’m happy to know she’s a big deal.
I think I know what Howie is doing… It’s performance art on a HUGE scale…
“Look, they’ll vote for underwater titty painting! LOOK!”
I mean this in the best way. We NEED crazy acts that boring people don’t get. I’m ready to accept that I’m too old and lame to get it, but goddamn it, we really need more of the pure uncut weird in our culture right now.
Just 'cause I don’t get granny purplelips, so what?
There’s the actual top four most entertaining acts tonight, no particular order:
Fighting Gravity
Airpocalypse (I just grin the whole way)
Hotshot Tap
Future Funk
Then there’s the four that were the most talented or star powered overall, with the most geniune career potential (given that singers always have the greatest real potential)(no order):
Hotshot Tap
Nathaniel Kenyon
Paul Safy
Fighting Gravity
And then there’s** the four** I think will actually get voted through:
Christina and Ali (Parden my irritated gagging and barfing)
Nathaniel Kenyon
Fighting Gravity
Future Funk
