Holden on Potts: Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

A slice of ITV cultural debate caught my attention on Saturday night - a profile of the talent-contest-winning singer Paul Potts, in which music critic Rupert Christiansen was invited to give his opinion on Potts' vocal qualities, only to be shot down by that well-known music critic, Amanda Holden.

Holden's point was that the opera world is too pretentious to embrace and accept Potts' talents. Yes, the opera world is often depressingly snobbish and un-embracing, but the problem here is that Potts genuinely has no talent. It's not about snobbishness, it's about a very poor voice and a seeming inability to exercise informed critical judgement on behalf of so many in the entertainment business - all these are rife in the 'crossover' recording market. 

I respect Amanda Holden as an actress and as an entertainer. None of her performances on screen have provided me with any reason to believe she is anything other than a talented performer. I'm no TV/theatre critic, so I wouldn't trust that judgement to hold forth on it in front of the nation, but I doubt she's got where she is without talent, understanding of her art form, and commitment.

I don't often agree with Rupert Christiansen's operatic critiques, but on Paul Potts he hit the nail on the head. The voice is ugly and has no sense of colour or dramatic direction, whilst Potts' performances are almost entirely lacking in musicality. Singing opera is a tough business, even tougher than stage and screen acting Amanda. Wonder into the Leeds Grand and ask any Opera North chorus member to sing Nessun Dorma and you'll get a far superior account to that of Potts. These people sing and act their behinds off for three hours a night, after over ten years of training, and earn a modest salary for it. They combine quality voices with dramatic principles of communication; their business is singing opera on stage, in costume, with no amplification and communicating it to whoever is sitting in the audience with no less than 100% commitment. I wouldn't mind inviting Potts to try this for a week or two. He wouldn't pass the chorus audition of course, but I fear that would be the least of his trials. 

Holden claims that Potts is educating the people about opera. I wish that were true. He's actually lining the pockets of a record label. If you want to educate people about opera, pick a young, enthusiastic, non-upper-class trainee opera singer from any UK music college. They'll teach you about drama, music, communication, vocal technique and the art of performance. I wouldn't mind betting they'd be unpretentious and likeable in the process - which from what I hear, are two qualities that Potts can't boast either.