WHO'S BETTER, PAVAROTTI OR ANDREA BOCELLI?
"Who's Better, Pavarotti or Andrea Bocelli?" by Susan Dunn, MA,
The EQ Coach
The debate rages, in nearly any review of an Andrea Bocelli
album on amazon.com, one of the most annoying debates going on
these days. It comes to the fore regarding his album, "Verdi."
Do we ask if Jonathan Rhys-Myers is "better" than Peter O'Toole?
There are some people who go beyond their craft, who are more
than the sum of their parts. (And how can I think enough to
analyze when Jonathan Rhys-Myers' face is on the screen?
Please!) I'm an emotional intelligence coach. In my field, the
academicians find it terribly important to differentiate between
"compassion" and "empathy," and to differentiate among "mood,"
"feelings, and "emotion." I'm a linguist (among other things),
so I just can't put "between" in the last sentence, because it's
incorrect though "among" sounds stilted. But on many other
grammatical points, I bend, and also keep it to myself. Are you
interested in hearing me explain when it's correct to us
"between" and when "among"? (I didn't think so!)
I could bore you till your eyes glaze over with the nuances in
my fields, and trust me they are extreme, but my clients could
care less. If you catch my drift. We want something
user-friendly, and we know what we like; we don't analyze why.
We love Andrea Bocelli. His singing makes us feel. He makes us
feel. Feel good, feel sad, feel miserable, long, yearn. No song
has ever touched me like his duet "Time to Say Goodbye" with
Sarah Brightman, except Opera Band's "Prayer in the Night"
(which isn't even opera, is it?), and Pavarotti's "Panis
Angelicus," and many others, each in its time, each in its own
way. I have 50 absolute favorites, don't you? But this "Time to
Say Goodbye" with Sarah Brightman ... hold on to your insides.
Who could be better than Pavarotti? His "Nessun Dorma" leaves me
weak in the knees, gasping for air. The power of that man's
voice is astounding. I idolize Pavarotti, I sit at his feet ...
who doesn't, but I don't eat caviar at every meal. I like some
soul food. I like a good pot of ragu bubbling on the back
burner, and that's Bocelli. He's young. He's blind. He's got
little kids. He chooses, or they choose for him, great songs.
He's got that Italian thing going on for him, in a way Pavarotti
never bothered to do, or couldn't. Most artists go with the
flow, and develop in keeping with their natures, none of which
is meant to trivialize Bocelli's talent. It's just that it all
comes together in a way that makes his work appealing beyond
technique or voice quality. (Bocelli sings Nessun Dorma on his
Viaggio Italiano CD.)
The fact that one of these men goes by one name only should be
at end to one discussion and the beginning of another. Yes, I
think, after reading a review, I guess Bocelli's voice is
"small." Compared to Pavorotti's, but not compared to mine, and
it's "big" enough coming through my earphones or car speakers.
But, speaking of Verdi, I think Nicholas Clapton's Liber
Scriptus is beyond words, but I can't listen to it for too long;
it's too much. It's at the edge. Bocelli can sing to me all day,
all night, all right! Also I'm learning Italian, and Bocelli's
enunciation is easy to pick up. I've included this album in my
EQ Foundation Course (which is heavy on the arts for reasons we
music lovers know) and also in my Club Vivo Per Lei / I Live for
Music ( http://www.susandunn.cc/vivoperlei.htm ). Bocelli does
great things, like doing that duet, Vivo Per Lei, with 5
different female stars from 5 different nationalities, in
different languages. Vivo Per Lei (I Live for Music) is on his
Romanza CD, along with Miserere. Bocelli is like Liszt - able to
capture the imagination of the public and accessible to many. I
leave it to the critics to count the number of angels that can
fit on the head of a pin. Let me ask you this: Which do you like
better? Homemade apple pie with crumb topping or Reine de Saba?
Are you kidding? Bring it on! P.S. Andrea Bocelli has brought a
lot of young people into the vicinity of opera, and what's not
to like about that? He's an easy sell. There's enough of the
grand Verdi to go around. Buy the album and enjoy it! Then buy 5
more and send them to five young adults who heard the commercial
on TV but shudder at the very word "opera" and watch the magic
happen. Bravo! Then take my Favorite Music Survey
(http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=710641429182 ) and voice
your opinion. I'd like to hear from you.
Pavarotti was gracious enough to give Bocelli the nod for
"Miserere." I concur. Bocelli has the propensity, or is it
proclivity ... zzzzzzzz.