Danielle de Niese in a teal Vivienne Westwood corseted gown at Le Poisson Rouge in the West Village. c/o NYTimes

Yes, I love fashion. Yes, I love opera, but when the New York Times decided to do an introspective feature on what Danielle de Niese wore for an entire week, my heart sank a bit. I would have loved to read a journal about her experience performing in Enchanted Island at the Met, what went on at Domingo's birthday party, and who she's studying with in New York rather than some dull nonesense about tucking her jeans into her boots and wearing - le shock! - gym clothes to the gym. This article really missed the mark and failed to include photos of her sartorial journal, which would have at least made the article worthwhile. Of course, I still read it and have reposted after the jump for your viewing pleasure.

Article Reposted From the New York Times

Ryan MacPherson as Alfredo and Malcolm MacKenzie as Giorgio in Glimmerglass Opera’s 2009 production of Verdi’s La traviata

Photo by Richard Termine/Glimmerglass Opera

Anne Midgette wrote the New York Times article that opera enthusiasts often refer to when commenting on the decline of "the big voice." Her article mentioned problems in the structure of the university system which may have contributed to the decline in full bodied singers, and questioned the trend towards lighter voices. Olivia Giovetti has written a counter article that recently appeared in Classical Singer Magazine, that asks whether we are focusing on the wrong question when we wonder where the big voices have gone. She comes up with a number of reasons why the industry may be looking for lighter, more agile voices. She cites examples of voices being destroyed from strain, anxiety, drug addiction and fatigue, and claims that the necessity of having a large voice for the sake of filling a big opera house is the real problem, and that perhaps we need to instead look at the small house model that had nurtured many of the voices of the past.

Click here to read the full article, written by Olivia Giovetti for Classical Singer Magazine