If Kathleen Battle can sing at the Met, then surely, at the very least, so can Audra McDonald. I've heard both women sing sans amplification at Carnegie Hall and I believe Audra's voice is bigger than Ms. Battle's.
I really don't see a distinction between good classical vocal training with respect to both musical theatre and operatic singers: both kinds of performers must learn how to use their breathing properly and learn the techniques to properly place their voices. Of course, individual voices vary (as mentioned before, some have larger instruments than others -- for every Kathleen Battle, there's a Jessye Norman) as do acoustics of performance halls, but the foundations for healthy singing are basically the same for both musical styles. So, both performers can sing at either the Met or a Broadway house w/ or w/out a microphone, but they must know their capabilities and limitations.
I'll make the point again: opera singers do not sing against amplified electric guitars and keyboard synths. Nor do they sing 8 times a week for that matter. Also, back in the day, Broadway orchestras were smaller, so no microphones were necessary. And some Broadway voices were just naturally robust, e.g., Ethel Merman.
Given the right material, orchestration and number of players in an orchestra, a Broadway singer trained in the classical tradition surely can sing at the Met.
Think about it, as talented as they are, someone like Ms. Gheorghiu or Sumi Jo will have a hard time singing in a show like PHANTOM with its blaring synths (that damn synthesized pipe organ) w/o a microphone 8 times a week. Conversely, Audra will probably blow out her voice if she attempted Pamina or the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflote w/ or w/out a microphone 8 times a week at the Met as well.
Updated On: 5/15/06 at 07:11 PM
