Late last year I hung out with jazz musicians for the first time in a long while. My friend (a jazz pianist) and I had just watched an amazing band play a great set, and went to talk to the clarinetist. We introduced ourselves and midway through the conversation the player casually asked, "oh, are you a musician?" in response to me using some musical jargon. I outed myself as an opera singer and suddenly he looked really impressed. His eyebrows went up and he said, "that's amazing, you're a legit singer!" He then explained that legit was the jazz-industry term for singers who sing in a more classical style. I knew the term, and nodded and smiled as the conversation flowed back to what we were previously talking about. This man had just shredded on the clarinet, playing with an easy and virtuosic style that had me alternately slack-jawed and grinning like an idiot, but deemed me worthy of extra esteem just because of the style of music I perform.
That term bounced around my head the rest of the evening, as I kept meeting new jazz musicians and seeing their eyebrows raise, newfound respect crossing over their faces, every time I said those magic words: "opera singer." Mind you, none of these people have ever heard me sing -- I could be complete crap for all they knew -- but the mere mention of my "legit" style was enough to earn their admiration. My friend received no such response; when he or I would mention his prowess as a jazz pianist, he would get a nod and warm smile of camaraderie. I have immense respect for vocal musicians in other styles; it takes practice and skill no matter the genre. Musical theater singers have to be in insanely good shape to meet the demands of their genre; jazz and R&B singers can riff in ways that put my coloratura to shame; country music has that wonderful ping ("twang") to it that I aspire to in my squillo; folk music from all backgrounds involves meticulous research and immersion into regional styles and oral histories; pop is universally appealing to a degree that no other genre can match; rock and metal put demands on the voice that I can't even begin to rival or comprehend. Opera is a demanding, physical, technical, emotional art form that takes a mind-blowing amount of invisible work, but other genres are equally deserving of respect. This happens among non-musicians as well. When I (eventually) get around to mentioning that I'm an opera singer, I get the same sky-high eyebrows and genuine excitement. I'm not going to lie, it feels nice to get automatic awe, but it also makes me uncomfortable, especially considering the usual shape of the conversation immediately after the revelation. Me: I'm an opera singer. Person: Wow that's so cool! I've never met an opera singer before! Opera is amazing! Me: [excitedly] Oh you like opera?! Person: Well I've never seen one, but I've always wanted to go. Me: If you don't mind my asking, what's stopped you from going? Person: I've just never gotten around to it. I've had this conversation easily 10-20 times in the past year. If it continues on past that point, I usually end up recommending easy/cheap places to find and experience opera (during the summer there's the Met Summer HD Festival, which is free, easy, low pressure, and fun, and the NY Opera Fest, which has a wide variety of affordable options). If I have something coming up, I'll also invite them to that. Opera just isn't that high on people's list of leisure activities. It's seen as Work, as an Event, a Special Occasion. It's the art-house foreign film of live performance. This elitist stigma and niche core audience hurts ticket sales, but translates to respect in a one-on-one conversation. Opera is incredible and has the ability to bypass logic to reach directly into the emotional core of a person, but the fact that people have a distant reverence for it without having experienced is a little disconcerting. I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I just wanted to bring it up. It's one of those weird things that come up as an opera singer. Fellow artists (of all styles!), have you experienced this? Do you see it as good, bad, neutral, hilarious? What have you observed? Let me know in the comments!
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AuthorMaayan is a Manhattan-based opera singer. Archives
January 2019
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