two thumbs

Over the years, my objection to the opera press in general has rarely had to do with reviews of my own performances. What always upsets me about critics is their failure to report the shared sense of something so unusual happening that no one who witnesses a particular performance will ever forget it. I still don't know why critics dash out of the theater before observing an audience's reaction. Do they think the public doesn't know what's good or bad?... [There was] a performance by Itshak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman, and Isaac Stern in celebration of Stern's sixtieth birthday. Getting the world's three best violinists to play together was as momentous an event ... as putting together a pop concert with Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, and Barbra Streisand would be. The next day the reviews were fine, but none of the critics commented on the unique nature of the occasion or the extraordinary reaction of the audience.

I do believe criticism is necessary, but criticism is not a defined art form. It's just one person's opinion... A critic may have read more about opera than most of the other people in the audience, but that's about it. A critic's art also lies in their writing ability... critical writing that is boring is just as unacceptable to me as critical writing that's uninformed.

Both quotations from Beverly Sills' memoir entitled Beverly, by the singer and Lawrence Linderman.

I think it's really interesting to read things like this from one of the world's best-loved performers, someone that you cannot imagine ever got a really bad review. Certainly she would have, or at least productions she was involved with were reviewed badly; otherwise the second quotation would be odd coming from her. But I think her first point is even more pertinent at the moment.

It made me think about our experiences of music or of theatre, and how they can be coloured by "what we're listening out for". These days, in a bit of a vocal rut, I listen to singing with an extremely technical ear, and having had a sampling of many types of productions over the last few months, I watch with a director's eye. Thus, if the singing or production is not of relatively high quality, I have been known to tune out.

However, it's so important to me, and I remind myself of this all the time, not to forget that there may be other elements that make a performance special: the personnel involved (special collaborations? Debut? Farewell performance? Signature role?), the occasion (opening of La Scala? New production or commission?) or simply, personal reasons (first visit to Deustche Oper?) and those things are often much more important to your attitude going in, and therefore your experience, than the cut-and-dry, easily reviewed elements.

I'm of the opinion that if you decide you're not going to like it, you're not, and vice versa. Certain critics that write for the Toronto Star come to mind. But I find you're also in the position to decide how the audition or performance is going to go, too, and it can be a slippery slope if you've gotten into a negative cycle. As much as we should not take criticism from critics, colleagues, teachers, and directors to heart, it's pretty hard not to, and then it is useful to remember Beverly: It's only one person's opinion.

What it comes down to, in no particular order, is: audience reaction. personal bests. contribution, large or miniscule, to music history. Maybe. I mean, I cannot think what else could matter if you are doing your best, your audience is moved, and especially if our tradition benefits in some way from the occasion in which you participated.

It's been a hard, hard audition season for me. The criticism that I have received has been surprising, but consistent. Maybe that is the sign it should be taken to heart. I still have to be careful that I don't allow that criticism to define my conception of my artistry. After all, I know myself best, and I really know whether or not that's something that is under my control. And I wouldn't want Beverly to think I'd lost sight of the real reason we do this: to move people.