Doc - I'm with you all the way on the snobbishness you sometimes get from classically trained singers towards more popular musical idioms. The acid test is when they try and do it themselves.
Some years ago, when that great tenor sax player and broadcaster Benny green was alive, he was comparing Kiri Te Kanawa's treatment of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" from South Pacific to the treatment by Mary Martin in the film version. He demonstrated beyond doubt that, in that genre, Mary Martin had "it" and Kiri Te Kanawa - great as she was and is - just didn't have "it".