Classical Poll: Andrea Bocelli
Wednesday November 19, 2008
After browsing through classical music albums on Amazon today, I thought I'd organize the search results by bestselling albums. (For beginners and undecided buyers, searching by bestselling albums can be a great way to find excellent music.) The artist occupying the number one slot happened to be Andrea Bocelli. Bocelli's newest CD, Incanto, was released on November 4th - only two weeks ago. Bocelli has a great voice and his music is really quite beautiful, however, I'm not a big fan. Are you? Take the poll.
Comments
Bocelli is a human symbol of victory over personal adversity, and he has a pleasant, light tenor voice. But he is utterly out of his league with the magnificent tenors of yesterday and today – from Gigli and Bjoerling to Florez and Alagna.
Why on earth is Bocelli included in classical music? I consider him a popera singer – this is the kind of pizzeria music that many confuse to be “opera.” It’s true, he has recorded operatic roles and other classical works, but I would hardly call his music classical. I admit some of his numbers are chilling, like “Il mare calmo della sera” and “Time to say goodbye,” but the bulk of his popularity has come from his blindness. I have similar feelings about Thomas Quasthoff – the celebrated German baritone. It’s amazing what he can do with given his body, but just not deserving of all the hype he gets for his singing. Nevertheless, these are two wonderful stories of people who overcome adversity to achieve their dreams.