Little Boe's Peep

I realize I'm a bit late commenting on this bit of news.  Unfortunately, I have been working seven days a week at the "pay the bills job," and by the time I get home, I can't focus enough to write.  This article: Opera singer Boe bites the (tiny) hand that feeds him
however, has been on my mind since I read it, and I have been wanting to blog about it ever since.

I'm not really familiar with Mr. Boe's work - I've only ever heard/seen him perform as Jean Valjean in the 25th Anniversary Les Mis Concert, and, to be very honest, I didn't care for him.  My opinion of Mr. Boe as a performer, however is irrelevant in regards to this.

In a rather public forum, Mr. Boe has admitted to not really caring for the genre of music in which he has made his name as a performer.  He has, of course, been blasted for it by fans and other professionals in that genre.  This brings up the question - Does one HAVE to like the work they do in order to be proficient or to even excel at it?  Mr. Boe is known primarily as an opera singer, however, he admits to preferring (*gasp*) rock and pop music to opera.  He admits to not attending opera and even to (blasphemy!) falling asleep while watching opera.

If you had an accountant who admitted to you that, while that was the way he earned his living, and he had a gift for it, he didn't care for accounting, would you think less of him?  Would you blast him for not eating, sleeping, and breathing his profession even in his off hours?  Would you fire him and look for another accountant?  This is exactly the attitude being projected at Mr. Boe.

Award-winning opera director Sir Jonathan Miller, in defense of opera felt the need to take a dig at Mr. Boe by pointing out that "...he sings rather well but I know he comes from something other than opera. He was a car mechanic, I believe."  Really?  You mean he is less of a talent because he had a job other than singing prior to having a singing career?  Whatever Mr. Boe - or any other singer - did in order to support themselves, in order to pay for their training, in order to pursue their dream, should have no relevance or bearing on the how they are treated by the industry.  The TALENT, what they do in the audition or performance is the only thing that matters.  At least, it is the only thing that SHOULD matter.  This is the kind of snobbery and elitism about the opera world that I detest - and a large reason why I didn't pursue an operatic career, much to the dismay of past voice teachers.

My dream is, and always has been to perform on Broadway.  Yet, when I started taking my singing seriously and studying, most of my teachers were from a classical/operatic background.  I was asked again and again "Why do you want to waste your time on musical theatre? You're a lyric coloratura - you can sing Lakme!"  Well, quite honestly, like Mr. Boe, if I am not performing it, opera, in general, bores me - Nixon in China totally put me to sleep.  I love singing the arias.  I don't care for a lot of the more incidental things, in most cases, I don't care for opera as a whole (there are exceptions - operas and opera singers I will do whatever I have to in order to see them), and, most importantly, I don't like the elitist attitude that comes more often  from the producers, directors, and staff of opera companies than from the performers.  When not performing, I don't feel opera is "my world" any more than Mr. Boe, but when the opportunity presents itself to perform opera, I enjoy it.  I put myself into what I am singing heart and soul.  I am a dedicated performer, whether what I am performing appeals to my aesthetic or not.  Would you know from my performances that I don't particularly care for opera?  Would you know from Mr. Boe's performance?  No.  Our personal feelings are irrelevant as long as our performances do not suffer because of our personal feelings.