I feel sorry for the opera aficionados and expert opera singers who are complaining about this wonderful tenor. Their own hubris, envy, and exalted sense of self-importance have made them deaf to the beauty that thrills the rest of us in this man's story and voice.
They no longer hear music. They hear only notes.
The same thing happened last summer on America's Got Talen when the eventual winner told Brandi she was going to sing "I am Telling You." Brandi gets all superior as if this 11 year old was wasting their time. Then out comes an amazing voice.
Go Paul.
“Their own hubris, envy, and exalted sense of self-importance have made them deaf to the beauty that thrills the rest of us in this man’s story and voice.
They no longer hear music. They hear only notes.”
Since your reply seems to be somewhat directed to me, I’ll go ahead and reply.
1) one of the things that differentiates conservatives from libs is our ability to think logically rather than with our emotions. Sure you’re in the right forum?
2) You may be obsessed with “the beauty that thrills the rest of us in this man’s story and voice”. Unlike you, I can separate the two: inspiring story; however - good, but not great, voice.
3) “They no longer hear music. They only hear notes.” In other words, I’m so obsessed with technical perfection that I am seeing the trees instead of the forest. Since my all-time favorite conductor is Wilhelm Furtwangler, all I can say is that you are guessing wrong on this point.
4) “Their own hubris, envy, and exalted sense of self-importance” - I gave my opinion of his singing. In doing so, I also included my qualifications. In my years of being a Freeper, I have never mentioned that I am a musician - it was never relevant. I have previously mentioned, in other threads, that I am an attorney. This is because when speaking on political or legal matters, I occasionally feel that it appropriate to mention my qualifications. Does that make me full of envy and hubris when I choose to criticize Alberto Gonzales?
5) Since you seem to think that you are superior to me because you find his singing so much more beautiful than I do, let me leave you with this thought: I find excellence beautiful. Whenever I witness true greatness, I am left in awe. Paul Potts does not inspire such awe in me with his voice. However, Jussi Bjorling does. So does Kirsten Flagstad.
I’m sure a lot of people were moved to see Paul McCartney’s wife on “Dancing with the Stars” - dancing with an artificial leg is a great story. But countless people literally weep tears of joy when they first see an Astaire and Rogers movie. No hard luck stories there - just two people reaching a level with their art that no one else has come close to.
And on a personal note, I can only listen to my favorite work, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, about once a year. From every aspect, technical, musical, emotional impact, beauty - it shocks me each time I hear it. The fact that he was completely deaf when he wrote it doesn’t even enter my mind. It’s the greatest piece of music ever written, period. I don’t need to elevate it by taking his special circumstances into account.
Not so. I love watching my nephew play little league baseball. He has soft hands, an accurate throw and some pop in his bat. But I don't think he's A-Rod.
When I first started formally studying music, I worried that analyzing it too much would rob it of its magic. Quite the contrary. I didn't lose my ability to enjoy good or mediocre music, but I gained an appreciation for great, even transcendent music.
A good comparison is to wine. I know very little about wine, and I have friends who are much more expert than I. They enjoy a really great bottle in ways I cannot -- but they also join me in enjoying a cheap table wine or a Bud at a ball game. Gaining expertise in music or wine or food or art does not necessarily make someone a snobbish asshat, though some folks are inclined that way.
I hope Paul Potts derives a great joy from his singing, and that he shares that joy with the folks listening. In studying, analyzing and critiquing music (like wine, food and art, or movies, or sports, or anything else), never forget to enjoy it. That's what it's for. Being able to enjoy the subtle shades in flavor of a fine steak need not prevent you from enjoying a burger.
My mother was not a world-class musician by any stretch, but I will never hear a voice more beautiful than hers was when I was a child. That is what music means. That is why it is important.
But to elevate Potts based on the emotion generated by the roaring crowd, to put him on a par with Pavarotti, Domingo and Bocelli, is to denigrate those men's exceptionally rare gifts and skills. The great is not an enemy of the merely good, and it does no violence to either to be able to tell the difference.