A breath of fresh air

M. Mason writes:

The news from Britain has, for the most part, been so unremittingly depressing that I’ve decided to send this to you as a bit of fresh air. Back in June on the UK’s new search-for-a-star musical tryout show “Britain’s Got Talent,” among the usual crowd of annoying pop star-wannabes, freakish rap singers and other types often seen on these programs, there was one very ordinary contestant, an unknown man from Wales named Paul Potts. When it was time for his audition, he nervously walked on stage—a timid, very plain-looking man wearing an inexpensive, ill-fitting suit—to perform before a large audience and the judges, including the imperious Simon Cowell of “American Idol” fame.

The female panelist, Amanda Holden, asked him: “What are you here for today, Paul?” “To sing opera” he replied, whereupon the other judge (Piers Morgan) glanced over at Cowell as if to tell him: “I can’t believe what this sorry-looking chap just said.” When you see the clip of this at the link below, in the very beginning (at the 23:27 mark) it almost breaks your heart to see Potts’ face after Morgan’s condescending reaction; it looks as though he feels he has no hope.

Then the Welshman opens his mouth and begins to sing.

Now, quite apart from this remarkable performance, there’s something else I was reminded of. If you read through hundreds of the ecstatic brief comments on that YouTube thread (that is, if you can bear to wade through the frequent “hip” vulgarity and profanity) something becomes very obvious. A large percentage of the younger viewers of this performance (including many Americans who saw it later on the internet, as well) clearly had little or no previous experience of hearing an operatic aria. It wasn’t just a matter of their being ignorant of where this particular piece came from. They literally did not know that such overwhelmingly beautiful music even existed, despite the fact that this famous work should have been recognizable to most people in Britain and America. For many of these postmoderns whose minds have become so darkened and their musical tastes so degraded it was as though they had suddenly discovered some previously unknown and magnificent Jewel from a lost continent. They were actually unaware that what they had just heard was an artifact of their own classical Western heritage that they have been taught to despise—a portion of “Nessun dorma” from Puccini’s opera Turandot.

Paul Potts later went on to win the “Britain’s Got Talent” competition, and I am told that there have been at least ten million downloads of this performance from various links on YouTube and elsewhere, making it one of their all-time “most viewed videos.”

- end of initial entry -

John D. writes:

Many thanks to both you and M. Mason for the post, “A Breath of Fresh Air”. It has rendered me speechless.

Gintas writes:

I heartily second the comment on Paul Potts. My wife had me watch the clip last night, and she was commenting how refreshing it was to hear something so beautiful instead of the usual beat-box drivel.

M. Mason writes:

I must confess upon viewing this again that the video evokes conflicting emotions that are inspiring and—upon further reflection—also deeply saddening as well. While the audience is mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the work and the talent of the man performing it, Britain continues metaphorically to sink beneath the waves, remaining insensate to its ongoing civilizational suicide. This may be one of those rare times when we see an unknown and very ordinary person produce one of the last dying gasps of inspiration and refinement from that “former world” to capture the heart and collective consciousness of the general British public before even deeper darkness descends over there. Or to put it in the words of one YouTube poster from the UK: “a guy everyone [had] written off as a “Loser,” a hopeless dreamer with bad teeth and a cheap suit … and then … one of the most beautiful, cathartic moments in recent history.”

Judith H. writes:

I viewed the video of Paul Potts and had a generally mild-to-negative reaction on several counts.

First of all, when pop fans suddenly hear an operatic voice it is not unusual for them to whoop and holler as if they appreciate the art form, which they do not. They are responding to the high notes, to the unusual sounds that they are not accustomed to hearing, and they do what they think opera fans are supposed to do—they cry and whoop and scream, etc… Then they gush forth with the “wasn’t he great” sort of comments.

It is highly unlikely, though not impossible, that many of those in the audience care about the whole opera—they just want that aria. As when Pavarotti sang with the Three Tenors—they used to turn whole stadiums of people into screaming idiots with certain high notes and well-known songs, but the opera world in general had a low opinion of the Three. It was hard to know if they were helping or harming the art form.

The noteworthy thing about the Paul Potts story is that he appeared on such a show at all and that the crowd was so shocked that they actually enjoyed it. But this is potentially dangerous for him—if he wants to be an opera singer he has a lot of work ahead of him.

First, he used a microphone. His voice may not be nearly as big as it sounded. It seems like a pleasant lyric tenor voice with some reserves of power that must be trained further. He wobbled on the highest note—not unusual when you’re scared.

To be an opera singer, you must have a voice that will carry without a mike. Except in huge places like stadiums, where mikes are permitted. Then the singer must use less of his voice so as not to blow people’s brains out!

So Potts, to be judged properly, must sing without a mike.

Remember too that there was no orchestra—he must have been singing to a tape recording. His voice will have to project above an orchestra.

The judges know nothing about great music and possibly harmed him through excessive flattery. He is classically trained and has been coached by Pavarotti, who is now very ill. So he needs another top flight coach who will not put wrong ideas in his head, and help him see himself objectively.

There are several popular opera singers who cannot really sing opera. Andrea Bocelli is one. He is blind and this fact endears him to millions. He has a very nice voice, but it does not project in the opera house, so he sticks to recitals and recordings. There’s a guy named Russell Watson who claims to sing opera but can only sing semi-pop semi-classical. Then there are these long-haired girls like Charlotte Church (also Welsh) and Hayley Westenra (Australian) who sing opera arias and turn huge crowds into whoopers. But it doesn’t amount to anything substantial—both girls use mikes, and would not survive in the real world of real opera. There are many nine-days wonders in opera.

There is an excellent Welsh bass-baritone named Bryn Terfel. Maybe he can help guide Potts’ career.

I don’t disagree with anything your readers said about the wonderful catharsis that audiences experienced when they heard him. I don’t mean to be a spoil-sport. I’m merely stating my reaction to the video (and to a companion video of the finals). I really wish him well. He is likable. He just has to recover from the false adulation of the pop world. I think he truly wants to sing opera. If that’s so, he will persevere and face cruel and fierce competition.

At the Metropolitan Opera message board they discussed him several weeks ago and some noted that his name was uncomfortably close to Pol Pot!!! I doubt that that will be a hindrance in his career. They all felt he is not impressive at this stage and will need a great deal of training. They also noted ruefully that such a performer would never be on American Idol. (I think I once watched American Idol for about 15 seconds.)

Sorry to go on, but your post interested me. (All your posts interest me.)

James N. writes:

Paul Potts reminded me what I like about opera. Your correspondent Judith H. reminded me what I hate about it.

The significance of the Paul Potts moment has nothing to do with opera. Look at the faces of the crowd before. They are prisoners, forced to watch barbarian drummers, cocktail flippers, 6-year old girls, AND TO APPROVE OF IT, TO CALL IT GOOD.

As soon as Paul starts to sing, the faces begin to change. The blonde woman nods. The old woman smiles. The judges, so bored and cynical, sit up and take notice. Then, without a sign from mission control, they are on their feet.

The scales have fallen from their eyes. They don’t have to pretend, just for that moment, that bad is good.

Who knows? Maybe freedom is slavery, or war is peace can be next.

Judith H. writes:

I’m very sorry I reminded James N. of what he hates about opera. I never meant to do that. I said that I agreed with your readers’ feelings about a catharsis experienced by the audience. I was only trying to warn about assuming that the pleasure experienced by the audience went deeper than a temporary thrill at hearing an unusual voice singing a type of music they aren’t accustomed to hearing.

I’ve attended concerts where young people in the audience are “turned on” by a fine singer, but often this does not go any further than the moment.

Your reader James N. said the Paul Potts moment had nothing to do with opera. I really don’t entirely agree. How was one to make a judgment except in terms of opera? The people in the audience may be slaves, but they are willing slaves. Nobody has to listen to garbage. Of course, your education, your upbringing and your culture have to introduce you to higher art forms from an early age, but still, I don’t believe anybody HAS to listen to bad music. Great music is available to everybody. There are lots of concerts and operas in England. If the audience is so stoned, so benumbed by lousy culture, they are partly responsible for that lousy culture. They are free to turn off their radios, their TV’s, to boycott record stores that promote crappy music, to insist that schools raise the standards of music appreciation. If they don’t do these things they will have to settle for what is given them.

I only know that when I read the original post I became curious and when I saw the two videos, I was disappointed, not elated, because I didn’t see anything to be elated about. A young singer with a lot of work ahead of him created a sensation and that was all I saw. I shared that dissenting opinion. It was precisely the reaction of the audience that turned me off for some reason. Which is why I said Paul Potts has to detach himself from that milieu. Possibly I was more concerned than I should have been about the dangers to him than I was about that audience. If the audience experienced a defining moment in their lives, that is wonderful news for the world of classical music. Some of them no doubt had memories of Pavarotti singing that aria, which is world-famous, and it was perhaps a revival of those days. He had sung that aria and others for Princess Diana—it could have been that the older people at least felt those times coming back for a moment.

Again I apologize to James N. if I missed the point of the video or if I gave an overly pedantic opinion. He’ll be delighted to learn that once I thought Pavarotti would never become the wonder-tenor everyone was saying he would become, because I saw him in a concert where he was so bad he had to leave the stage and get the music! He was totally unprepared and I thought, “This guy will never make it.” Shows you what I know.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at August 03, 2007 05:03 PM | Send