Plan 9 from Otter Space
Some songs just steadfastly repel the crossover treatment. Some years ago Karita Mattila came to grief on “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” and now Anne Sofie von Otter doesn’t do much better. (Why does it always sound like they coached this number with The Opera Milf?)
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/DqlXf7QcDbs" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
(The entire concert, which includes some quite creditable singing and ring-a-ding-dinging from Peter Mattei, may be found here.)
While she employs some of the same devices as the Lovely MILF, I find the tout ensemble far, far more acceptable.
And similarly with Mattila.
Neither is capable of the stylistic tone-deafness of La Voce.
OH, MY. I just watched Mattei’s “New York, New York.”
I think it may make me gay. Oh, wait …
I think Ms. von Otter’s performance would have been greatly enhanced had she been turbanized! Mr. Mattei on the other hand looked great!
I actually didn’t find it as offensive as the operatic MILF’s insistence in singing Somewhere Over (the top) of the Rainbow.
I think my eardrums came, listening to Peter Mattei.
quelle domage. I always thought that L’Otter had good cross-over instincts. That collaboration with Elvis Costello was quite good.
“Better than Flemming”– ha! Talk about damning with faint praise!
All of these opera gals have to accept that no matter what Madame taught you years ago, you have to stay in chest voice if you’re going to do Broadway.
Would I get up and embarrass myself by belting ‘An die musik’? No, I would not.
speaking of staying in chest voice and la bella voce di MILF, she has a new verismo album coming out featuring a “new” original manuscript edition of sola perduta from ML and some very recycled cover art.
“I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” from One Touch of Venus
Ever hear of the above? oWell, few yeas ago, four or
so, when Anne Sophie van Otter was in Santa Fe singing
her very controvesial Carmen (I thought it was wonderful!),
she gave a liederaband, and lo! and behold — for an
encore she sang “I’m a Stranger Here Myself” — even tho’ by
then the community had made her very welcome. She was
a delightful stage personality for a song recital and her
performance of that song a rousing success.
So…go figure. The girl’s got good stuff in her.
The trouble about ‘cross-over’ is that opera stars one minute are playing to ‘the heights of music sensibility’. Take Bel canto singers…..here on Parterre, as people tear their hair out relentlessly whether Ms ‘Such and Such’ finished some aria in some performance, with a D instead of a an E flat, unlike Ms So & So. The boring hypocritical cheek and chatter of it, all!
Then ‘image wise’; we have singers taking a stance where they go slumming into Broadway fare for some quick fame or cash. What do we usually get? Something, culturally akin to a cheap desperate street bag swinger trying to keep signaling during every phrase they sing ‘you know I get to do do high priced jobs, up in 5 star (opera houses) hotels too!’
Is it any wonder ‘with this conflict tension’ they come off ill at ease, either looking pretentiously ridiculous or just plain silly. Folks, you cannot have it BOTH ways. Anyone want to race and buy some CD -of ‘Mattila Sings Broadway’ featuring hits from from that old whore of a 40′s show called ‘Song of Norway’? I think not. As for that mention by someone here, of that CD of Van Otter in combination, with that over rated Elvis Costello…..? …Jeeeeeez! Or Terfel anyone? Or Pavarotti’s excursion with ‘Yes Georgio’? Or Sutherland’s ‘Talking Pictures and ‘Sutherland sings Noel Coward’? Talk about raving ego -mania, gone mad musically. Stilted, stiff ,constipated performances where ‘you sense the inner mental fight the singers were having ‘being vulgar’….. about ‘the need… to letting go’…. getting down and dirty (operawise). The record lists are littered with the unloved and well forgotten attempts…the debris of foolish choices by opera singers to do Pop or Broadway. It is all about the MONEY, folks…perhaps, when opera bookings start showing gaps in a singer’s schedule.
Broadway and Opera are two disciples that call for different forms of selling technique and ‘sell’ presentation. I love both. I just want opera singers to leave Broadway to its real professionals. There is nothing wrong with a throwaway Broadway ‘concert encore’ by opera singers and recitalists :but making and marketing CD’s and TV shows built primarily around ‘being versatile’…….turns them into pseudo fast food material. Memories of which – with the accompanying wrappers , always finish in the rubbish bin.