tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919674981128634746.post2117273974177406036..comments2023-11-05T07:41:34.380-05:00Comments on Kashu-do (歌手道): The Way of the Singer: The Dystopian Operatic Future Is Here: Be The Change You Want!Kashu-Dohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17375903978220316261noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919674981128634746.post-21542245489196239292017-04-16T00:13:18.099-04:002017-04-16T00:13:18.099-04:00Excellent contribution Alex! Kunde is a tenor who...Excellent contribution Alex! Kunde is a tenor whose voice is high enough (short vocal folds) to handle the higher bel canto tessitura, yet whose fold cover is thick enough to produce a robust sound. He can truly sing both roles! Kunde was a bel canto specialist all his life and in his late 50s and 60s began to take on more traditionally spinto roles. I would not put him in the same category as those Jack-of-all-trades. The agents are wrong. It's a dangerous paradigm that kills voices early. One should build a repertoire based on what feels appropriate and good, and wander gently afield to develop repertoire. There are still bel canto specialists, early music specialists, Mozart specialists, Wagner specialist, and then there's the main stream. Lensky, Nemorino, Romeo, Tamino, Tom Rakewell are roles that can all be done by one singer without violating his vocal type. One does not need to throw Cavaradossi or Calaf into that mix to be viable!Kashu-Dohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17375903978220316261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919674981128634746.post-66992722319878915672017-02-15T06:33:44.043-05:002017-02-15T06:33:44.043-05:00The reason for what you stated in the article, is ...The reason for what you stated in the article, is that agents and managers now only want to sign and promote tenors who are a jack of all trades. This is because there is limited work, and they simply want to be able to get a singer any role any gig they possibly can. It is rare to have top singers sing the same role 100s of times. <br />Top agencies generally have a rule that they will not sign you unless you can gross 100k US dollars per year revenue. That means mostly that they must be willing to sing any gig they can, any role that's available. <br />It is those top agencies that really control the business in terms of who the stars are. The opera companies themselves mostly just work with those agencies who supply them the singers. <br />In order to go back to the old way, singers need to find a way to make it profitable again for them to specialize, and not have to be a singing Jack of all trades. For example, Kunde will sing a Rossini Otello, and then he will go sing a Verdi Otello. But what should he ideally REALLY be singing?Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03489877932080949616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919674981128634746.post-72391257582623894672017-01-30T01:43:50.568-05:002017-01-30T01:43:50.568-05:00I felt I had come home the day I sang my first ten...I felt I had come home the day I sang my first tenor aria! It wasn't easy at first though, because my body was not used to behaving that way and I had trained some wrong habits to "sound" like a baritone or bass. Now I can say it feels like it's rolling effortlessly! It took time to make peace with my vocal color, which sounds to my inside ear like a lyric bass but fluid! Outside it sounds like a full voiced tenor! Even though Otello and Siegmund sound the most natural I love the ability to sing Hoffmann and even Nemorino, which can only happen when I use the same quality for all of it: full-bodied, fluid and brilliant! Kashu-Dohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17375903978220316261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919674981128634746.post-47476730232596353542017-01-29T16:32:00.831-05:002017-01-29T16:32:00.831-05:00Glad to see that you're back! I have a quick,...Glad to see that you're back! I have a quick, though OT question for you, since you have gone from viewing yourself as a bass, baritone, and tenor at different times in your life. As my I have developed my voice, I've found that I now feel most comfortable singing as a bass-baritone or even lower. The sounds seems to ride the vocal cords effortless, so to speak. Can you say that there is any kind of sensation like that as you have found your "true voice?" Thanks for your time.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10006197538234663319noreply@blogger.com