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Article: The Arts: Jessye Norman sings Billy Joel? Strange but true, and it's not the worst of crimes committed by record executives in the name of `crossover' and in search of sales. David Benedict names the guilty men and women
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- August 16, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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You know what? It's over. It's slash and burn time as classical
record labels drastically reduce their lists. If you're not a stadium-
sized star or nubile enough to be flatteringly photographed semi-
deshabille, you can forget it. Classical repertoire, goodbye.
Crossover? Come on down.
Record company executives adore crossover because it bridges the
gap between a bunch of difficult divas (of both sexes) and the
immeasurably sexy popular market. You can hear executives clocking
the three tenors: "Thank God they sang some English stuff, not just
that fancy schmancy stuff in foreign languages. We don't want arias,
we want showbiz, we want West Side Story..." Ooops. Even Leonard
Bernstein ...