| | Phil wrote:
"'Sneering hate' is an awkward Objectivist cliche. And most people or critics don't necessarily -hate- Mario Lanza or other great sense of life experiences. That's too strong a statement. They are uncomprehending or untouched or non-heroic in their own emotional reactions. (Moreover, sneering and hate are two different reactions. The first is belittling and the second usually involves taking something more seriously...you don't sneer at things you react strongly enough against to hate and vice-versa.)."
How wrong you are, Phil!!! Lanza remains the most vilified operatic singer who ever lived. (For an example of what he was up against, read my essay here:
http://freeradical.co.nz/lanza/ConfoundingtheEnemy.php)
In Lanza's lifetime, his critics were merciless (and almost destroyed him), and although much smaller in number now, they're still very much around. Just go on to any opera forum and mention his name; you'll soon be met with catcalls. His critics will either denounce him as "the most tasteless singer who ever lived" (to quote a prominent member of the City of New York University's Opera-L forum), or - when confronted with examples of his great singing - they'll change tack and say, "Oh, well, his voice was too small for the stage...he couldn't even be heard from Row K" - a preposterous statement. The glee that greeted his death in certain quarters was almost palpable: Time Magazine sneered and said, "Well, his voice had been tarnished for years anyway," and critics such as Leslie Mallory prophesied that, "The music world will little note nor long remember Mario Lanza's contribution to vocal splendour."
Lanza's critics exemplify what Rand called the "hatred of the good for being the good."
|
|
