Pavarotti Passes the Torch - Will Paul Potts Carry it On?
Perhaps the answer lies in the former Welsh salesman Paul Potts - the "little lump of coal that turned into a diamond" on England's Got Talent in early 2007. With a performance that rocked the audiences and brought one of the show's judges to tears he transformed over night from obscure cell phone salesman with heavy debts to a world recognized singer with internationally sold out albums after his performance of Nessun Dorma.
As was reported in a previous article the "plebeian" performance of Paul Potts was explained - how he did a great service by breaking the social barrier of opera and bringing it down to the "unwashed masses", something that many opera fans detested. The quality of his voice was entirely unimportant - he was not "one of them", and so he was not welcomed.
The people, as it were, would hear none of this however, and Potts has become something of a sensation - maintaining a very popular MySpace and continuing to sell CDs.
Pavarotti has been referred to as "the king of high C's" for the notes he was able to hit - and sold a remarkable 100 million albums, almost unheard of in the opera genre. His death comes as he was hoping to return to his "farewell tour" - which was cut short due to his ailing health. After a number of surgeries that doctors hoped would stem the cancer's growth - which is considered one of the most dangerous forms of the illness - he was attempting to recuperate in his Italian home. It was reported early Wednesday that his situation had become "very grave", before it was finally announced by the Associated Press that the opera star succumbed to the cancer.
With the tragic loss of Pavarotti the hopes of many are that Paul Potts, with the leg up with his television show popularity and link with the common people, can quickly fill the gap, perhaps even mitigating the wound that is the tragic loss of Pavarotti.
Published by Chadd De Las Casas
I was born in Valencia, California in 1987. It's ironic that I turned out to be a writer, since my first exposure to it was an essay about why I hate writing. I am also the owner of the Content Producers Wiki. View profile
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5 Comments
Post a CommentIf Potts is Pavarottis successor then why is he never invited to sing in the big opera houses?And why has he never been invited to sing in duet with one of the big names in the operaworld?
All of the Potts duets with famous singers are virtual.Never has there been a real opera duet with real opera singers.Why is he never invited?
It seems like talking how Potts who now has a nice career as a popera/crossover singer could take up from Pavarotti who was one of the best OPERA tenors of all time seems to be unfair to many excellent tenors who sing in top opera theaters today. Potts is talented and is great in POPera, but by opera standards his singing is amateurish - that of a talented amateur, but amateur nevertheless. There are many excellent tenors singing in top opera theaters today that you and some of the posters below seem to be ignoring. Ever heard of Roberto Alagna, Juan-Diego Florez, Rolando Villazon, Stephen Costello, Piotr Beczala, Joseph Calleja, Jonas Kaufmann, Ben Heppner, Lawrence Brownlee and many other excellent tenors I don't have time to list who are singing leading roles in top opera theaters today.
I am so happy for Paul Potts, He has what it takes, I think God Waited for the right moment to bring him out.
Now that we lost Our beloved, Pavaratii, Lets bring on Potts! Bravo!!! Paul Potts when Are you coming to New York??
Good job. Now is the time for a new generation of opera stars. Andrea Bocelli has done a fabulous job of making opera appealing to the public, Charlotte Church, eh, should be noted for her contribution as well, but what a world this would be with new voices taking over the roles of past stars like Pavarotti, Sutherland, Domingo, and Callas.
Magnificent article. And as a classical music fan (and musician myself), I'd never heard of Potts. I'm off to check him out.