Post by chantelle on Jun 25, 2010 19:39:37 GMT
Hi Michal,
The voice classifications (from dramatic to coloratura) are not exclusive to opera, however they to tend to be reserved for singers whose careers center around classical music. (For example, Barbra Streisand is generally known as a mezzo-soprano, but the classification is never more specific than that.) And as Hayley's repertoire is... well, the strictly classical pieces are definitely in the minority! I'm not sure we need to concern ourselves with her classification. But if pressed, I would put Hayley firmly into the soubrette category. Each of the classifications requires great vocal stamina and ability, so coloraturas certainly aren't "lightweights" in comparison to dramatics! But a soubrette possesses the "sweetest" and generally the most youthful tone-- Susanna from "Le Nozze de Figaro" is a classic soubrette role, and I think Hayley's voice fits into this easy-on-the-ears, sweet-toned group.
As for Elin! Although I'm familiar with her name I'm less familiar with her voice or music so I'm going off a couple audio clips and her biography. You're right, Elin is an "ancient" music specialist (although not quite so ancient as all that-- her debut album focuses on Baroque repertoire) and considering that the voice classifications as we've been discussing them came into existence along with the development of "modern" opera (we bascially have Mozart to thank for that!) they don't necessarily apply to Baroque singing, which was an entirely different discipline altogether. Elin has the unique "boy soprano" (bad terminology, but it gets the point across) type of voice that Camilla Kerslake could have given several years of intensive and dedicated training... Again, one of the best ways to judge a classical singer's voice is to look at their resume, and Elin's opera / oratorio work includes roles mostly on the lighter, but not necessarily coloratura, end of the scale. Roles such as Pamina (The Magic Flute), Micaela (Carmen), and Despina (Cosi fan tutte) can be and have been performed by able-voiced sopranos of all classifications except the very heaviest! However, Elin seems to prefer pre-Mozart composers such as Handel and Purcell, as her rather unique voice conforms to the sound that composers seemed to prefer "back in the day." Just listening to her, I'd put her in the light lyric category. I actually think Elin has more "depth" to her voice than Hayley, but that's probably just because Elin is several years older! Fact of life-- the voice becomes richer as the singer becomes older. (In this case of "depth" and "richness" I'm referring to the layers of harmonic overtones than can be heard in the voice. Hayley's voice is fairly shallow harmonically, while Elin's voice seems to have more lower harmonic tones supporting those ridiculously high notes!)
(General Music Rambling- Feel Free to Skip This Part!)
Please bear in mind-- the whole concept of the operatic voice, and to a slightly lesser extent the classical voice, revolves around training. I don't remember whose publicity blurb made this claim a while back, but I had to laugh because the singer claimed to have a "naturally occuring operatic voice." Sorry, but Luciano Pavarotti didn't just wake up one morning and decide to sing like Pavarotti! It's a discipline and an acquired style just as much as Whitney Houston's melissma or a rock star's "screaming" or LeAnn Rimes's belting. Yes, some people are gifted with larger and louder voices than others, but in its raw and untrained form, the voice is just that. Loud.
A young child trying to imitate her favorite pop star's scoops and slides will sound affected and unnatural because she is intentionally mimicking a style, and a young person trying to "sing opera" purely on the basis of mimickry will sound just as affected and forced. It proves that the operatic style is one that has to be intentionally put on, a costume to be donned, rather than something that happens naturally.
Usually a lot is made of the fact that "classical / operatic" singing is the "healthiest" way in which to use the voice, and so an argument could be made that it is the most naturally correct way to use the voice. But first of all, just because something is healthy doesn't mean our body automatically does it that way! There would be no need for voice teachers if that were the case! Secondly, I'm not sure that the "healthy" way of singing actually conforms to the "operatic / classical" style (which really should be two seperate styles, with several sub-styles, as I've repeatedly pointed out due to difference in repertoire). It just seems that way because the only time you really hear about "healthy singing" is from classical singers and teachers! I think the closest thing to a naturally occuring voice will be found in a good choral singer-- the singer is using correct technique in all respects but without the demands of putting on a solo performance or projecting their lone voice over an orchestra and is thus using their voice correctly and allowing their natural voice (which may or may not be a thing of beauty- but it doesn't matter in a group!) to sound without any added strain of "style."
Also. A young person with a fundamental gift for singing and an interest in classical / operatic music has a certain amount of flexibility as to what kind of voice they want to become, especially those of us not blessed with a particularly large, loud, deep, or high instrument to start out with. A young average "lyric" can learn the higher, more flexible coloratura roles-- certainly in terms of oratorio if not opera (it's much easier to sustain a few solos in The Messiah than it is to sing an entire Handel opera!) OR she could develop the lower, deeper part of her voice in hopes of singing, if not Wagner, then at least Verdi someday. The different repertoires that a singer focuses on can give them an entirely different sound. Personally, I love singing German and French repertoire, which probably robs my voice of some of the flexibility it would have if I focused on Italian repertoire. The old saying, "use it or lose it," holds true for singing as much as anything else. A singer is constantly battling to maintain their top, lower, and middle registers all at the same time. Those "sweet spots" I was talking about can change over the course of time-- your vocal chords are like muscles in that they can be retrained and their strengths and weaknesses can be refocused. I've developed an abnormally low range for a soprano because I wanted to sing jazz. A bass-baritone friend of mine loves singing musical theatre, so he has maintained an incredibly high "belter" range, stretching up into notes tenors would be jealous of!
It's all in the training. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.
And finally, as if this weren't all confusing enough...! Voices change as they get older, too. (See: Elin vs. Hayley, above) The human voice isn't really settled in its type until about 30 years old (not a magic number by any means, but a good average number) which is why you don't see many singers in their 20s in lead roles at the Met! They are still learning and still training and still developing their voice. Women go through another drastic voice change at 40, which is why a soubrette/lyric who has only been singing Susanna until her 40s may suddenly be able to sing the heavier role of The Countess, because the voice has matured and deepened!
(End of Rambling)
Regarding Joanna and Nessun Dorma! No, a tenor aria generally doesn't do a soprano any favors...
But Joanna seems to acquit herself very well indeed here! However, I definitely agree wtih Nicola and hope that this is the end of the "usual" crossover repertoire that we'll see from Joanna. On the bright side, her website refers to Nessun Dorma as a "special" recording, so maybe it was made exclusively for this video and won't be appearing on the album? The recording quality doesn't sound quite as polished as the samples of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "The Prayer" that we've heard. In fact, I'd almost bet you that the accompaniment is a karaoke track. My money says this one won't be on the album! 
Just to give Joanna her due on this thread...! haha I will say that even though the song has been done to death, her arrangement of The Prayer is fresh and enjoyable. I love the duet-with-self harmonies during the bridge of the song.
Nicola, I read your interview-- well done, as usual! Joanna is incredibly likeable, and her personality really shines through. Hopefully some of her TV appearances will be available to watch here in the US, because I'm sure she's an absolute firecracker to see "in person."
The voice classifications (from dramatic to coloratura) are not exclusive to opera, however they to tend to be reserved for singers whose careers center around classical music. (For example, Barbra Streisand is generally known as a mezzo-soprano, but the classification is never more specific than that.) And as Hayley's repertoire is... well, the strictly classical pieces are definitely in the minority! I'm not sure we need to concern ourselves with her classification. But if pressed, I would put Hayley firmly into the soubrette category. Each of the classifications requires great vocal stamina and ability, so coloraturas certainly aren't "lightweights" in comparison to dramatics! But a soubrette possesses the "sweetest" and generally the most youthful tone-- Susanna from "Le Nozze de Figaro" is a classic soubrette role, and I think Hayley's voice fits into this easy-on-the-ears, sweet-toned group.
As for Elin! Although I'm familiar with her name I'm less familiar with her voice or music so I'm going off a couple audio clips and her biography. You're right, Elin is an "ancient" music specialist (although not quite so ancient as all that-- her debut album focuses on Baroque repertoire) and considering that the voice classifications as we've been discussing them came into existence along with the development of "modern" opera (we bascially have Mozart to thank for that!) they don't necessarily apply to Baroque singing, which was an entirely different discipline altogether. Elin has the unique "boy soprano" (bad terminology, but it gets the point across) type of voice that Camilla Kerslake could have given several years of intensive and dedicated training... Again, one of the best ways to judge a classical singer's voice is to look at their resume, and Elin's opera / oratorio work includes roles mostly on the lighter, but not necessarily coloratura, end of the scale. Roles such as Pamina (The Magic Flute), Micaela (Carmen), and Despina (Cosi fan tutte) can be and have been performed by able-voiced sopranos of all classifications except the very heaviest! However, Elin seems to prefer pre-Mozart composers such as Handel and Purcell, as her rather unique voice conforms to the sound that composers seemed to prefer "back in the day." Just listening to her, I'd put her in the light lyric category. I actually think Elin has more "depth" to her voice than Hayley, but that's probably just because Elin is several years older! Fact of life-- the voice becomes richer as the singer becomes older. (In this case of "depth" and "richness" I'm referring to the layers of harmonic overtones than can be heard in the voice. Hayley's voice is fairly shallow harmonically, while Elin's voice seems to have more lower harmonic tones supporting those ridiculously high notes!)
(General Music Rambling- Feel Free to Skip This Part!)
Please bear in mind-- the whole concept of the operatic voice, and to a slightly lesser extent the classical voice, revolves around training. I don't remember whose publicity blurb made this claim a while back, but I had to laugh because the singer claimed to have a "naturally occuring operatic voice." Sorry, but Luciano Pavarotti didn't just wake up one morning and decide to sing like Pavarotti! It's a discipline and an acquired style just as much as Whitney Houston's melissma or a rock star's "screaming" or LeAnn Rimes's belting. Yes, some people are gifted with larger and louder voices than others, but in its raw and untrained form, the voice is just that. Loud.
A young child trying to imitate her favorite pop star's scoops and slides will sound affected and unnatural because she is intentionally mimicking a style, and a young person trying to "sing opera" purely on the basis of mimickry will sound just as affected and forced. It proves that the operatic style is one that has to be intentionally put on, a costume to be donned, rather than something that happens naturally.
Usually a lot is made of the fact that "classical / operatic" singing is the "healthiest" way in which to use the voice, and so an argument could be made that it is the most naturally correct way to use the voice. But first of all, just because something is healthy doesn't mean our body automatically does it that way! There would be no need for voice teachers if that were the case! Secondly, I'm not sure that the "healthy" way of singing actually conforms to the "operatic / classical" style (which really should be two seperate styles, with several sub-styles, as I've repeatedly pointed out due to difference in repertoire). It just seems that way because the only time you really hear about "healthy singing" is from classical singers and teachers! I think the closest thing to a naturally occuring voice will be found in a good choral singer-- the singer is using correct technique in all respects but without the demands of putting on a solo performance or projecting their lone voice over an orchestra and is thus using their voice correctly and allowing their natural voice (which may or may not be a thing of beauty- but it doesn't matter in a group!) to sound without any added strain of "style."
Also. A young person with a fundamental gift for singing and an interest in classical / operatic music has a certain amount of flexibility as to what kind of voice they want to become, especially those of us not blessed with a particularly large, loud, deep, or high instrument to start out with. A young average "lyric" can learn the higher, more flexible coloratura roles-- certainly in terms of oratorio if not opera (it's much easier to sustain a few solos in The Messiah than it is to sing an entire Handel opera!) OR she could develop the lower, deeper part of her voice in hopes of singing, if not Wagner, then at least Verdi someday. The different repertoires that a singer focuses on can give them an entirely different sound. Personally, I love singing German and French repertoire, which probably robs my voice of some of the flexibility it would have if I focused on Italian repertoire. The old saying, "use it or lose it," holds true for singing as much as anything else. A singer is constantly battling to maintain their top, lower, and middle registers all at the same time. Those "sweet spots" I was talking about can change over the course of time-- your vocal chords are like muscles in that they can be retrained and their strengths and weaknesses can be refocused. I've developed an abnormally low range for a soprano because I wanted to sing jazz. A bass-baritone friend of mine loves singing musical theatre, so he has maintained an incredibly high "belter" range, stretching up into notes tenors would be jealous of!
It's all in the training. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.
And finally, as if this weren't all confusing enough...! Voices change as they get older, too. (See: Elin vs. Hayley, above) The human voice isn't really settled in its type until about 30 years old (not a magic number by any means, but a good average number) which is why you don't see many singers in their 20s in lead roles at the Met! They are still learning and still training and still developing their voice. Women go through another drastic voice change at 40, which is why a soubrette/lyric who has only been singing Susanna until her 40s may suddenly be able to sing the heavier role of The Countess, because the voice has matured and deepened!
(End of Rambling)
Regarding Joanna and Nessun Dorma! No, a tenor aria generally doesn't do a soprano any favors...
But Joanna seems to acquit herself very well indeed here! However, I definitely agree wtih Nicola and hope that this is the end of the "usual" crossover repertoire that we'll see from Joanna. On the bright side, her website refers to Nessun Dorma as a "special" recording, so maybe it was made exclusively for this video and won't be appearing on the album? The recording quality doesn't sound quite as polished as the samples of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "The Prayer" that we've heard. In fact, I'd almost bet you that the accompaniment is a karaoke track. My money says this one won't be on the album! 
Just to give Joanna her due on this thread...! haha I will say that even though the song has been done to death, her arrangement of The Prayer is fresh and enjoyable. I love the duet-with-self harmonies during the bridge of the song.
Nicola, I read your interview-- well done, as usual! Joanna is incredibly likeable, and her personality really shines through. Hopefully some of her TV appearances will be available to watch here in the US, because I'm sure she's an absolute firecracker to see "in person."
