In a moment of madness I announced to Opera-L that I am conducting a poll of the favourite opera singers singing today, and, furthermore, I would promulgate this on blog and Twitter.
What I actually wrote was:
As an experiment/illustration, I will ask list members to nominate their
favourite five singers currently singing. Post in the comments, or just send to me privately at [email protected]*. You have
until 31 October - Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere. I will publish
the top twenty by votes and provide a link to a list of more detailed
breakdown of all votes cast (anonymised, of course). Hopefully, I will
be able to process the results within a week or so after.
To kick things off, my current five favourites currently performing are
Plácido Domingo, Iestyn Davies, Gerald Finley, Jonas Kaufmann, and
Carolyn Sampson.
This list excludes people who are currently 'off sick'
or I haven't heard for at least a couple of years, and it excludes
singers who I like almost as much. I reserve the right to change my mind
next week next month or next year! And I accept that I might end up not
liking the final result!
The more people vote, the more 'valid' the results. Although, of course, the results will only illustrate who is the most popular from a self-selected electorate. Oh, and any entries that include 'Kathryn Jenkins', or 'Paul Potts' or anyone else who cannot claim to be a professional opera singer will be wholly disqualified.
* the sharp-eyed will notice a slight difference from the contact details on Opera-L
