Opera Singers in the Jazz Club

Soundcheck | May 3, 2010
Before crossover became a fashionable record-biz term, opera singers were crossing over into the world of jazz and American popular song. In the 1950s, the American soprano Eileen Farrell surprised many with albums like "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues." Jessye Norman, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and Dawn Upshaw have crooned the lyrics of Gershwin and Vernon Duke. The latest installment in this tradition is soprano Renée Fleming, whose new CD "Haunted Heart," is a collection of popular standards and ballads. Are opera singers "slumming" when they cross over or stretching their artistic boundaries? Opera News executive editor Brian Kellow joins us to look at this venerable tradition.
Additional Resources:
» A collection of articles on Haunted Heart

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