Great Singers on Great Singing

Repeat after me: Jerome Hines is not Gregory Hines. Jerome Hines is not Gregory Hines. Possibly only I have trouble making the distinction. Deep down I know he's not, really I do, but the fact remains that all the time I was reading the book, I pictured Gregory Hines interviewing opera singers. Even now, having seen pictures of Jerome, I still see Gregory. It's very odd, I know, but there it is.

Anyway, that's beside the point. I've just finished reading Great Singers on Great Singing, Jerome Hines' series of 40 interviews with opera singers and a few other experts about vocal technique. I'm not quite sure why. Why I was reading it, that is. After all, it's aimed pretty much solely at actual singers. Yes, there's a glossary in the back, but nevertheless, there's not much fun stuff here for those unversed in the ways of placement, passaggio and projection. And I certainly fall into that category: or at least I did. 40 interviews later and, while I still know next to nothing about the subject, on demand I could probably now supply a handful of definitions- not to mention 40 different opinions of chest voice and the concept of 'open throat' ('the beginning of a yawn' seems to be the consensus on the latter).

It's not a bad read, actually, although I'm not quite sure who I'd recommend it to. Personally, I was fascinated to read about all this technical stuff, but I think many people would rather just listen to the singing. And I'd tend to agree with the warning from Cornell MacNeil: 'This book may be injurious to your vocal health'. I can only imagine what havoc it could wreak in the wrong hands: 40 fabulous voices telling you how they do it, and all saying different things- very dangerous to the impressionable mind, I should think. But I enjoyed myself, and I've certainly emerged with some education. It was nice to read Anna Moffo's interview, the next best thing to hearing her speak (which I never have). Above all though, a phrase stood out from Franco Corelli, who said singing should be approached with "love and seriousness". It's probably even more euphonious in Italian, but still, I think it sums it all up, really.

I do have some issues with the book though, on a mean & petty sort of level, all of which boil down to the fact that Jerome Hines bothers me. I'm sorry, he just does. Perhaps he wasn't as irritating in person as he seems, I don't know. But he's got some very annoying habits. For one, if his transcripts are to be trusted, an irritating tendency to finish other people's sentences. The interviews are loaded with 'I suggested', 'I interjected', 'I interrupted' and so on. He also talks more about himself than he ought, considering he has his own chapter as well. And perhaps worst of all, he seems determined to 'sign off' every interview with some corny little summary of its subject... the greeting-card philosophising gets very old very quickly.

But ignore me. It's a good book and surely the best (and possibly only) of its kind. And authored by the Mel Gibson of the opera world, it would seem. (Tall, handsome and the composer of an opera about the life of Jesus.)

Now listening to: Renée Fleming: 'Ma quando tornerai', Alcina. Georg Frideric Handel. Cond. William Christie.

Comments

[Carl]

And who do you think Hines cast in the title role of his opera?
I don't think it's mean and petty of you to find Hines a bit disturbing.

[Sarah]

Oh he didn't... now I really am disturbed.

[Mme. Grisi Pasta]

The worst things about the book, which I've read almost twenty times, are:

1) Who decides which singers are "great"?

2) The terminology, even with the glossary, is shoddy at best because some singers say a word and mean one thing while another singer means something different by the same word.

3) Jerome's presentation is lackadaisical, as you say. His interjections could have pre-empted some valuable information. Likewise, Hines is probably even asking the wrong questions. When you press one of those singers to talk about the term "support," they will inevitably give you some bullshit answer that has no relevance to the actual physical phenomenon that is ascribed to singing. In fact, even defining concepts like that makes them far more important than they actually are.

4) One can't possibly learn to sing by replicating the sensations that great singers experience when they sing well. It's like asking someone to make cupcakes solely by the taste of the finished product and not by a recipe of parts and process.

That said, the only interview that makes any sense and actually gets to the heart of what singing is about—both in process and in action—is Cornell MacNeil's. He does define anything and essentially says that vocal function must be in harmony with the laws of nature and that even his own sensations and perceptions are meaningless.

[Brad]

It is true, Cornell MacNeil's chapter is not only the best, it is the only chapter that is helpful. All of the other chapters may contain an nice comment or two that gets at the 'heart and seriousness' of singing but ultimately, MacNeil's no-nonsense attitude toward singing is not just lacking in vocal semantics, it is lacking in the sentimentality and falsehood that so many singers use in later life to explain away their lack of success.
For MacNeil, singing is about hard work and honesty. No "colors" or exceedingly vague metaphors. Nor has it any excessively technical or pedagogical posturing in it. If he seems arrogant, his career backs up his claim to "know what I'm talking about." His very naked and confident manner of singing is reminiscent of the earlier baritone John Charles Thomas, neither of whom were afraid to simply offer what they had and let the audience take it or leave it.
As a voice teacher myself and as one who has spent my share of time around singers who speak endlessly about "interpretation" and "colors" and yet struggle with basics such as pitch and rhythm, MacNeil's words echo in my ear very much like his singing and to me are like a breath of fresh air.

[Troy O'Keefe]

Hello, my name is Troy, I am 20 years old and I am Australian. I'm writing to ask if you could help me find an address whereby I can write to Mr. Cornell MacNeil.
I look forward to your reply,
Warm Regards,
T.O'Keefe
AUS.