Opera Singing: Torture

When I was younger, I often scoffed at opera singers, who I thought were just a bunch of fat people screaming. I assumed that as I matured musically, I would one day abandon this idea, since most classical musicians seem to hold opera singing in high regard. Instead, my youthful instincts have become strong opinion: most opera singing is simply offensive to the discerning ear.

First on my list of grievances is the almost constant out-of-tuneness exhibited by opera singers. No other group of professional musicians could possibly get away with such frequent, flagrant disregard for correct pitch. Imagine, for instance, a violinist playing a lyrical line in an orchestra, but every few notes are more than a half-step sharp. Our ears wouldn’t tolerate such playing; yet, we’ve learned to accept it from opera singers.

Equally unpleasant, is the overuse of vibrato. Vibrato is either a fluctuation of pitch or of volume (usually both), but when the pitch varies too much, the resulting noise is confusing and vexing to the listener who is trying to perceive an actual musical tone. Tasteful vibrato would vary by much less than a half-step in each direction from the pitch center; yet, I’ve heard opera singers at the Met whose vibrato spans nearly a major third! How is one to know what note is being sung? I suppose the ear naturally averages the two extremes, and we imagine the exact midpoint, but when this midpoint isn’t even the correct note . . . (see the above paragraph).

Solo arias (or anything with just one opera singer), accompanied by instruments, are sometimes tolerable, because the listener naturally corrects the out-of-tune notes. However, as the number of opera voices increases, harmonic chaos quickly ensues. Examples of this that come to mind are the amazing fugal passages in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, or the contrapuntal portions of Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand. When the chorus is singing, everything is relatively clear, but as soon as they are replaced by the four soloists, any attempt to perceive harmony or contrapuntal lines is futile.

Don't misunderstand my intentions in writing this post -- I love opera itself. Despite being perhaps the least sophisticated genre of what we call "classical" music, it does contain some of my favorite musical passages. It's the singing style, so lacking in musicality, that ruins opera for me. For instance, one of the most exquisite moments in music is the beginning of the quartet, Mir ist so Wunderbar, from Beethoven's Fidelio. Regrettably, the orchestral bliss lasts only for a moment before being shattered by the cacophonous wailing of the soprano (the same tragedy occurs in every recording/performance I've heard, so there's no need to specify which singer).

So, if opera singing is distasteful, what kind of singing isn’t? I think many of the greatest singers are found in unassuming early music ensembles. For example, try listening to the various Bach Cantata CDs directed by Philippe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi label). The singers (choir and soloists) are wonderfully in tune, and sound almost ethereal. I also think that some pop-singers are more pleasant to listen to than opera singers, although the music they sing isn't quite as good.

In conclusion, if you’re in the majority of people who cringe at the sound of an opera diva, don't feel uncultured or immature for having such a sound opinion!