Singing opera

[paokz]

Hello!..I am new to this forum..
I love music..and i wanted some opinions about my singing..
Its live in my home..
The song is raise me up by josh groban
M friends cant accept that i am singing so i want some true opinions..Thanks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBbTEcYfzQ4

[Xenophanes]

OK. ""You raise me up" was recorded by Josh Groban, among others, but he did not write it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Raise_Me_Up

Second, I don't think Josh Groban is an opera singer. I know some, and I don't think he qualifies--nor does he pretend to.  He does sing what he sings quite well, from what I have heard, but what is he like without a microphone?However, he has a more consistent production and much better support and breath control than you do.

Now, as for your vocal instrument, I feel you could learn to sing well if your really want to work at it. I think most people can, IF they really want to work at it.  But that's a big if, and there is no shame if you would rather do something else.

Here's a real opera singer, the late Leonard Warren. Do you think Josh Groban could do that? Leonard Warren had one of the great voices of the last century, so the comparison is a little unfair, of course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYameVeiRWQ

[paokz]

I dont like this style of opera..I know my perfoance is not so good but i am trying..I like josh style siging..I can have more breath control but i need to record in microfone..Cause in the videocam i cannt put much power

[Tsaraslondon]

I dont like this style of opera..I know my perfoance is not so good but i am trying..I like josh style siging..I can have more breath control but i need to record in microfone..Cause in the videocam i cannt put much power

Then you will never be an opera singer. Opera singers have to project their voices into large auditoriums without microphones and also need to be heard above an orchestra. Of course some singers have larger voices than others, and this will dictate, to a certain degree, what music they sing, but they ALL need to project without the aid of a microphone.

Josh Groban is not, as Xenophones points out, an opera singer. As far as I'm aware, he does not pretend to be. On the other hand, the likes of Russell Watson and Kathryn Jenkins like to pretend they are. They are not. Neither of them ever sings unmiked, and neither of them has ever sung in an opera on stage.

If you don't like Leonard Warren's "style of opera", then it probably means you don't like opera or opera singing at all. Nothing wrong with that. We all have our likes and dislikes, but it would suggest that opera singing is not for you.

[cjvinthechair]

Mr. Paokz -

You & I share a little in common; we both have something of a voice, & would love to develop it. I've left it too late....you, possibly, haven't, though to make an operatic voice from the good raw material you have would need 5-10 years with no guarantees, & I'm not sure that's what you have in mind.
Good breath control and learning to use your full instrument is entirely possible, but you're not going to learn it from random comments on this site (or any other, though the 'voice and choir' section of 'Talk Classical' has many more posts directed towards voice improvement).
In the meantime, we may both get a decent round of applause at the karaoke bar, but you must decide if you want to make the huge commitment (time & finance) to try to go one or more stages further.

Good luck (& I'll happily duet with you on 'You Raise..') ! Maybe someone will buy us a drink ?

[Xenophanes]

I dont like this style of opera..I know my perfoance is not so good but i am trying..I like josh style siging..I can have more breath control but i need to record in microfone..Cause in the videocam i cannt put much power

There is some danger in trying to imitate someone else's singing, since your voice is probably not like theirs. Your voice appears to be much darker than Josh Groban's, and it also seems somewhat lower in range. It's hard to tell until you learn to sing better and can see what you really have. In any case, you have to sing with your vocal equipment. If you are serious, I'd suggest finding a voice teacher.

As I said, Josh Groban is not an opera singer.  There are some excellent singers who didn't do opera. Gordon Macrae is one. He was a show singer. Here's his recording of Danny Boy on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ92APhU_us

John Charles Thomas sang both opera and all sorts of other songs.  His voice is a somewhat heavier baritone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWkF9Vkde8c

[paokz]

Wait a minute..If Josh Groban is not opera..If Il divo is not opera..What kind of music is this?...I like that style of music..
Song like this..Like unbreak my heart by il divo...These kinds of songs sound better to my ears..
I sing in front of broken camera microfone..Yep i could sing in front of orchestra i think..But its too far just a dream...
Yep i want some vocal teacher..But here in Greece you cant find the one you need.. :/

[Cato]

Wait a minute..If Josh Groban is not opera..If Il divo is not opera..What kind of music is this?...I like that style of music..
Song like this..Like unbreak my heart by il divo...These kinds of songs sound better to my ears..
I sing in front of broken camera microfone..Yep i could sing in front of orchestra i think..But its too far just a dream...
Yep i want some vocal teacher..But here in Greece you cant find the one you need.. :/

How many operas have you heard?  Remember that various kinds of opera exist from various eras: some singers choose one type, others can wander from Mozart to Hindemith, like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

There have been singers like Mario Lanza who have had careers doing popular songs and musicals with an operatic voice.

But yes, you will need a good deal of ear and voice training: you might need therefore to leave Greece, if you cannot find a program there.  Perhaps you could audition for a scholarship.

[Xenophanes]

Wait a minute..If Josh Groban is not opera..If Il divo is not opera..What kind of music is this?...I like that style of music..
Song like this..Like unbreak my heart by il divo...These kinds of songs sound better to my ears..
I sing in front of broken camera microfone..Yep i could sing in front of orchestra i think..But its too far just a dream...
Yep i want some vocal teacher..But here in Greece you cant find the one you need.. :/

Opera singers sing in operas, generally speaking. Operas are generally staged dramatic musical theatre works in which the characters sing rather than speak, though some operas do have some spoken parts. There are a number of operas on YouTube.  Here's one, Puccini's La Boheme, and note that it is more than 1 hour and 43 minutes long. Some operas are longer than that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSuL4u3bOpg

Il divo has three singers who have voice training and sing in operas and oratorios aside from their Il divo work. The fourth one is a pop singer. Look them up on Wikipedia.

I don't know much about Greece, but operas are performed there, and there are a number of Greek opera singers.

[Tsaraslondon]

Opera singers sing in operas, generally speaking. Operas are generally staged dramatic musical theatre works in which the characters sing rather than speak, though some operas do have some spoken parts. There are a number of operas on YouTube.  Here's one, Puccini's La Boheme, and note that it is more than 1 hour and 43 minutes long. Some operas are longer than that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSuL4u3bOpg

Il divo has three singers who have voice training and sing in operas and oratorios aside from their Il divo work. The fourth one is a pop singer. Look them up on Wikipedia.

I don't know much about Greece, but operas are performed there, and there are a number of Greek opera singers.

And of course one of the most famous (maybe the most famous) opera singer of the twentieth century, Maria Callas, was Greek and trained in Greece.

Greek mezzo soprano Agnes Baltsa also started her training at the Greek National Conservatoire in Athens.

[paokz]

Yep i know Marios Fragoulis..He has same style with jish groban i think...I like him cause he too much opera power in  his voice!!!...And i think he creaed something modern..Pop and opera...Am i wrong?

[Xenophanes]

Yep i know Marios Fragoulis..He has same style with jish groban i think...I like him cause he too much opera power in  his voice!!!...And i think he creaed something modern..Pop and opera...Am i wrong?

Yes, he sings opera, too. I had never heard of him before, but there is an article on Wikipedia. He's a tenor. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Frangoulis

I listened to some stuff on YouTube and he is pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv5kY55gpuw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVOv3tPXFh8

[jochanaan]

To be an opera performer involves more than just singing.  Yes, many have been primarily singers, including the great Luciano Pavarotti, but most of the truly great ones have been great actors as well.  That's why I and many prefer Placido Domingo's work to Pavarotti's; Domingo was a great actor as well as a great singer.  An analogy might be the difference between a supermodel and a great stage actor.

[cjvinthechair]

Mr. Paokz is on more than one forum eliciting praise for his crooning. He's had some considered advice, and although there's some semblance of a voice there, which many of us could probably claim, perhaps he'd care to go away, spend time and money on serious training, then come back and elicit helpful advice.
Sorry - am usually a grateful 'lurker', but am currently feeling a little vindictive, and such neediness irks.

[paokz]

I think to an opera performer need to have more strong voice and feeling...Thats why vibrato come in the stage!..I know Pavarroti but i dont like his style!..Josh groban has something magical in vis voice...Its not the way he perfomes but his confidence to the croud that listen to him!!..He has something unique!!

[Geo Dude]

Liking Groban's style is fine, nothing wrong with that.  We're just trying to make clear that Josh Groban is not an opera singer and based on how you've responded to opera singers that you've been shown clips it sounds like you don't like opera.  Again, nothing wrong with that.

[paokz]

Ok i own apologize fto all if Josh Groban isnt an opera singer..But something in his voice is familiar  with opera!!..It cant be that didnt make training in opera!..

[Tsaraslondon]

Ok i own apologize fto all if Josh Groban isnt an opera singer..But something in his voice is familiar  with opera!!..It cant be that didnt make training in opera!..

I'd say it was closer to a musical theatre voice. Again, nothing wrong with that, but it is definitely not an opera voice.