What captivates me in this video is the audience response. Here is a man with a moderate amount of talent (note: not a great talent, and little skill) risking it all for the chance to sing "Nessun dorma*" on Britain's Got Talent. You can see the judges and audience brace themselves when Mr. Potts announces that he is there to sing opera. By the time he is halfway through his selection, however, members of the audience are visibly weeping, others are cheering, whistling, and clapping, the deliciously snippy Simon Cowell is beaming. It is thrilling.
Opera (like all Serious--aka "Classical"--music) is said to be dying. Despite sexy marketing schemes aimed to "widen" the support base, audiences consist of old, white people. The general public doesn't seem to give a damn. Yet time and time again, I have witnessed a profound awakening when people are exposed to the raw emotion of Serious music, so often hid behind Hype and Hyperbole.
Hubby and I grew up in households that cherished Serious music, and these traditions were lovingly shared with us by our parents. Others of our friends did not. 15-year-old Hubby once brought home a school friend who had been raised on 70s & 80s metal; while they were hanging out, Hubby's father turned on some background music. It was Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. Hubby noticed his friend had grown quiet; his friend's face was covered with tears. "Why didn't anyone ever tell me?" Friend asked. "How could there be this kind of beauty in the world and no one ever told me?" Later, in college, Hubby had a neighbor heavily into rap. After turning on Coolio's latest album, Neighbor burst out of his room, hollering to any one who would listen, "Man, are you listening to this shit?! Coolio is a fuckin' genius, man! I'd like to see someone else come up with this shit!" The song was "C U When U Get There," with Coolio rapping his own text over Pachelbel's Canon in D**.
So what is The Problem? Is it the Mystification of Serious music? Is it Snobbery on the part of over-zealous guardians? Is it the Disdainment of "Intellectualism" on the part of an ostracized public? How can we cut through the Bullshit and get straight to the Passion?
*"Nessun dorma" is THE most famous Tenor aria, period. It comes from the final act of Puccini's Turandot, when the character of Calaf battles wits with the princess, who attempts to discover her suitor's true identity. Translation (via the score):
No one shall sleep! Even you, o Princess, in your cold room, watch the stars, that tremble with love and with hope. But my secret is hidden within me, my name no one shall know... No!...No!... On your mouth I will tell it when the light shines. And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!...You, I will win!
**You know, the one that always gets played at weddings.
Opera (like all Serious--aka "Classical"--music) is said to be dying. Despite sexy marketing schemes aimed to "widen" the support base, audiences consist of old, white people. The general public doesn't seem to give a damn. Yet time and time again, I have witnessed a profound awakening when people are exposed to the raw emotion of Serious music, so often hid behind Hype and Hyperbole.
Hubby and I grew up in households that cherished Serious music, and these traditions were lovingly shared with us by our parents. Others of our friends did not. 15-year-old Hubby once brought home a school friend who had been raised on 70s & 80s metal; while they were hanging out, Hubby's father turned on some background music. It was Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. Hubby noticed his friend had grown quiet; his friend's face was covered with tears. "Why didn't anyone ever tell me?" Friend asked. "How could there be this kind of beauty in the world and no one ever told me?" Later, in college, Hubby had a neighbor heavily into rap. After turning on Coolio's latest album, Neighbor burst out of his room, hollering to any one who would listen, "Man, are you listening to this shit?! Coolio is a fuckin' genius, man! I'd like to see someone else come up with this shit!" The song was "C U When U Get There," with Coolio rapping his own text over Pachelbel's Canon in D**.
So what is The Problem? Is it the Mystification of Serious music? Is it Snobbery on the part of over-zealous guardians? Is it the Disdainment of "Intellectualism" on the part of an ostracized public? How can we cut through the Bullshit and get straight to the Passion?
*"Nessun dorma" is THE most famous Tenor aria, period. It comes from the final act of Puccini's Turandot, when the character of Calaf battles wits with the princess, who attempts to discover her suitor's true identity. Translation (via the score):
No one shall sleep! Even you, o Princess, in your cold room, watch the stars, that tremble with love and with hope. But my secret is hidden within me, my name no one shall know... No!...No!... On your mouth I will tell it when the light shines. And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!...You, I will win!
**You know, the one that always gets played at weddings.
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