Tuesday 9 February 2010

Return of Rolando Villazon?

First performance (?) of Rolando Villazón singing "L´Alba" on the Popstar to Operastar show on January 29th after his vocal chord surgery. And the questionmark? I suspect it is play-back. Am I wrong?

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you're right - hmm too bad. And he should get a haircut...

/anna

SofiaX said...

It's playback.
And if he has not fully recovered from the surgery this playback singing is very dangerous for his vocal cords...
Such a pitty...

The Kyles said...

It absolutely looks like a playback! what a shame. I hope he is back to full vocal health soon.

blogger said...

Totally! what a shame. shame on you mr villazon! shame on you!

Anonymous said...

You're wrong -- I'm glad to say! Unless I've misunderstood entirely what you mean by 'playback'.

Bear in mind that there's often a lag between sound and image when a file is ripped from an online source.

The vocal is surely live. What are you comparing it to? I'm listening to three versions, two live and the studio recording from CD. They're all different from one another. That's a lot of effort to pull off a scam, no? Specifically, why would anyone record two tracks to mime to and have a third studio-perfected version?

Have faith people; it's easier and more accurate than cynicism or doubt. To my ears, Villazon is in good voice and this is a really encouraging sign that he'll soon be back singing on stage.

Hurrah to that!!

And -- whatever is supposed to be wrong with his hair? I like his hair...

Anonymous said...

It's playback...... Looser!

Anonymous said...

sadly this is playback based on live track just before he went ill again.

Anonymous said...

Please give link to 'live track just before he went ill again' and explain why the two live versions of this last week have been different to one another. That's a weird investment of effort for one supposedly struggling with his voice! Don't you see that? If there are so many pre-recorded versions to pass off a 'scam' then he may as well have gone ahead and done (what he has done): sung live!

:o)

I'm at present unconvinced that people who are saying 'playback' have evidence and I will listen fairly to any persuasive recording.

In lieu of that, I suggest that you visit Intermezzo's site and listen to the two live versions, and invest 79 pence downloading the CD version from iTunes. That's my full disclosure of source. Compare all three honestly and then please do have the grace to come back and shake hands on the matter.

Many thanks
BG

Gandharva said...

"Playback" must be a European term. Are you saying he is lip-syncing to a recording he previously did? And you are basing that on ... what, Mostly? Is it doubt over whether he could have returned in such fine vocal form? Is it speculation based on the quality or timing of the performance that it appears to have been lifted from a CD? Is it because of some apparent audio/video sync issues that you see in the YouTube clip?

I'm not familiar with the TV show, but it does seem an odd venue for an opera stars' return.

mostly opera... said...

With "play-back" I indicate that what we hear is not a genuine live performance - ie. we hear an old recording, while he may be either lip-synching or performing live in the studio. I am basing it only on the sync issues + it doesn´t really look like he is singing.

But, as I stated, I really have no idea.

curzon said...

I can't be absolutely certain but I'm pretty sure that it is playback. There are some moments when the visuals don't match the track but it is not constant so it can't be a technical mismatch. Also looking at his throat there doesn't seem to be enough movement for live singing.
There were plenty of rumours that Danielle De Niese was also miming on the programme.
I don't think anybody should be that surprised. Any programme with such lamentable artistic credibility that it is fronted by Katherine Jenkins is hardly going to worry about cheating the public.

Anonymous said...

Hmm. I don't find the tracking inconsistently good-bad-good. I find it consistently out, on both of the live performances.

It's funny really and this is where I'm completely at peace with what this blog and its commentators are asserting - the doubt about whether Villazón is singing live lies in the strength of the performance. That's a nice compliment to him.

BG

curzon said...

Believe me no compliment is intended! If he is singing live then great. If he isn't then that's tantamount to lying.

opera fan rosie said...

I would almost certainly say he is miming/lip synching to the track.
Unfortunately on most of these reality talent shows, the performances done by professionals often are lip synched.

Deb said...

How can anyone judge synching issues by watching a video on youtube? I saw the thing live (on tv) last friday and imho it was bona fide (breathing, tremor etc).

would love to know where the orchestra is hiding for the alan titschmarsh one but, then again, I'm not familiar with entire cello sections made of hot women. I suppose its ok for the backing track to be pre-recorded as long as you're singing live? Or is this part of the 'playback' outrage above?

Anonymous said...

Deb is absolutely right. I watched the live transmission and there was no doubt it was live.

What pompous garbage to judge the veracity of a TV performance from a clip on youtube.

curzon said...

I don't wish to point out the obvious but unless you were standing next to Rolando in the studio there is no way you can state "without doubt" that he was singing live.
I shall be interested to see what he is like at the RFH next Monday when he clearly will "without doubt" be live.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...