America’s leading voice critic has died
mainPeter G. Davis, the opera critic’s opera critic, has died at 84 after prolonged ill health.
He was Sunday Music Editor of the NY Times while Harold Schonberg was chief critic, then reviewed for 25 years for New York magazine. He was also classical music editor of High Fidelity.
No-one knew American singers beter than Peter. He wrote a book about them.
Charming man, very encouraging colleague.
america’s pre-eminent vocal critic was and is conrad l osborne
I’m partial to David Patrick Stearn.
I think you are right
Absolutely correct. And since John Steane’s passing, the finest and most acute anywhere
Some will mourn him, some will not. In his little pamphlet titled “The American Opera Singer” he, irresponsibly and in the most cavalier manner, wrote off many a singer from the ‘80s and ‘90s heyday, some with a mere sentence or two. Singers like Studer, Vaness, Millo, well, you name them. And his venom caught on, unfortunately. In a sort of fateful vindication, look at what we now have: an unprecedented drought of singers worth our salt. Could well spell the beginning of the end. Too bad it didn’t occur to him to revise his pamphlet. Willing to bet he lacked material to write about. And that’s because there is no one to write about.
He was right about Studer, who abused her voice until there was nothing left and she was fired by Mehta. Aprile Millo and Carol Vaness were just OK…saw them all the time in the 90’s. I wouldn’t call them major MAJOR talents.
Todat’s MAHOR talents= wagnerian soprano Lise Davidsen, contralto Jess Dandy, Lisette Oropesa,… you need to get out more.
No he wasn’t. Do your own research instead of relying on the scribbling of irresponsible hacks passing for serious critics or journalists.
a.l. seems to have some ‘issues,’ sounds very angry, bitter. certainly over-opinioned. perhaps it’s just the time we live in. i hope he has somewhere to turn for comfort.
You bet A.L. has some ‘issues’. E.g., issues against naked bias, irresponsibility, laziness and, above all, stupidity.
Studer ruins Abbado’s Nozze with her flutter. 1994 was too late for her for Mozart!
Would that we had someone, anyone, today who fluttered so good.
What a peculiar paragraph. Davis’s “little pamphlet” is a hardbound book over 600 pages long.
What a grotesque thing to write about someone who just died.
Not grotesque at all but the simple, raw truth. Take it or leave it.
In your case, I’m leaving it, buster!
A.L. need to go see an audiologist pronto.
Translation: Davis developed very high standards for opera singing a few decades before A.L. did.
Very sad that he has departed. Your mention of him as an encouraging colleague is welcomed Norman. He had many virtues, including a self-deprecating humility, as well as the wisdom in his writings reflecting the fact that he actually knew music (composition…). Alex Ross captures him nicely here now: https://www.therestisnoise.com/2021/02/for-peter-g-davis.html