Good commentary on PRI, Maggie.

Random thoughts.

In the glitter and fanfare of all that fame and glamour, starring in live musical theater can be beastly work, as can singing regularly night after night in a club (like a nightclub act) can become. Somehow the glamour can wear off really quick, and it can become just another kind of daily (or nightly) grind. Some folk "yust go nuts" for that kind of life, but a fair number of people who aspire to be stars discover when they get there that it's not all beer and skittles. Out in front of the audience can be a real high, but it can also be damned hard work. In fact, most of what goes on behind the scenes is just damned hard work.

Unless Susan Boyle is really into something like that, and knows what it entails, I would suggest that she seriously consider a recording career. Stilly mentioned Glenn Gould. Good example. He concert toured for about fifteen years and decided it was hell-on-wheels and that he hated it. So he quit and turned his talents to studio recording. He turned out what are arguably the "definitive" recordings (if there can ever be such a thing) of J. S. Bach's keyboard works. And he did it his way and pretty much in his own time.

And it's honorable work. I've seen film clips (Classic Arts Showcase channel) of singers like Bryn Terfel and Kiri Te Kanawa (with Leonard Bernstein conducting. She begins singing at about 1:45 into the clip) in a studio, with full orchestra, wearing earphones and standing before high-quality condenser mics—and dressed in their grubbies—singing their little hearts out. If somebody goofs, okay! Either do another take or tidy it up with software. Once it's in the can, you can then move on to the next thing you want to do.

And someone can listen to your performance as often as they like.

Or "ghost voices." Marnie Nixon dubbed in the voices of Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" and Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady," along with dozens of others (she actually appeared on screen as one of the nuns in an early scene in "The Sound of Music" (in "What Do You Do with a Problem like Maria?" MN had the solo line, "She makes me laugh!"). This gave her a solid career as a singer (she also did concerts and recitals) without the hassle of "being famous," a hassle that Susan Boyle is all too swiftly and painfully learning about.

And don't forget royalties. A radio announcer friend of mine taped a batch of commercials some years ago that the company is still using. He said he spent an hour and a half in the studio recording the spots, they paid him a wad at the time, and still, every three months he gets a royalty check in the mail. For stuff he did once. A few years ago!

Kinda makes a person smile. . . .

Don Firth

P. S. Speaking of Kiri Te Kanawa, she, of course is one of world's foremost sopranos and I like her singing very much. Compare THIS with THIS. Frankly, for sheer verve and intensity, and as much as I like the singing of Dame Kiri, I can't help but prefer the second performance.