The Problem With "Opera"
Michael Nyman's music is very attractive...but even only listening to the first three 30 second samples, I am struck by the strident, forever vibrato, cliche of the operatic voice. Why do modern composers bow to this stale convention? It's like conceding that the only serious dance is done on pointed toe. Granted the boy's haunting solo in Peter Greenaway's film, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, was strong. However, "natural" voice can be very strong too. Take even the English-dubbed version of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. How sweet and moving the voices of even the non-professional singers were. The singing of "actors" in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge was great as well. Even if one might resort to "abstract" human voice, I would think that would be more interesting than the same old, "Classical" style that composers cling to.
