Classical
The endless and loud controversy of Elvis’ relation to the blues and to black music has not only generated any number of falsehoods and prejudices about Elvis, inverting the truth to Elvis’ disadvantage, it has served to give a very skewed impression of the composition of Elvis’ music. The remarkable thing about the Elvis songbook is the extent to which rock’n’roll is only one part of it. In fact, it is striking how little there is of it given Elvis’ status as king of rock’n’roll. There’s a lot of country in Elvis’ catalogue, and a lot of ballads. Of particular interest to me is the substantial number of songs which derive from European classic and operatic music. We should know this from ‘It’s Now or Never,’ which is Elvis’ biggest hit. Had this been an original blues written by black artists we can imagine the furore. The song is Italian and operatic and derives from ‘O Sole Mio.’ There’s quite a list of Elvis sons with similar origins:
Classic FM in the UK lists 8 times when Elvis Presley borrowed from classical music:
"It's Now Or Never" from "O Sole Mio", "Surrender" from Torna A Sorrento", "Tonight Is So Right For Love" from "Bacarolle and The Tales of Hoffman", "Today, Tomorrow And Forever", from "Liebestraume no. 3 in A flat", "Can't Help Falling In Love" from "Plaisir d'Amour", "Sleepy Heads" from "Guten Abend, Gut Nacht", "Also Sprach Zarathustra" by Johann Strauss II, and "Tonight's all Right For Love", from Strauss "Tales from the Vienna Woods".
(as published on 14 February 2018).
There are more, ‘No More’ from ‘La Paloma,’ for instance. And then there is ‘Santa Lucia,’ which Elvis sung in original form. Robert Matthew Walker writes: ‘The Neapolitan song “Santa Lucia” is a surprise choice, but Presley rises to the challenge. His strong baritone voice copes well with this classic, but he is no Caruso.’ I don’t actually think Elvis is remotely trying to be Caruso on this song, seeing as it lasts barely one minute. It moves a scene on in the film ‘Viva Las Vegas.’ I like it, though. I got my love of opera from Elvis and this song in particular. I used to sing it a lot.
I think we really need to shift the axis in the Elvis world away from controversializing over the blues. The issues there have been done to death and the truth is plain for all those who want to know it. I’m interested in Elvis the ballad singer, and in the appreciation of Elvis that comes from classical and operatic sources. The comparison between Elvis and Glenn Gould, one of the greatest classical music pianists of the 20th Century, is not indolent. Gould’s biography Peter Goddard draws a direct parallel:
‘As far as I know, Presley and Gould never crossed paths. A media-mediated symbiotic relationship existed between the two of them, however, which extended beyond their dependencies, night-crawling work habits, and inner circles of hard-core loyal friends. Like Gould, Presley had the hermit’s need for sanctuary in the studio, where his genius, every bit the equal of the pianist’s, harnessed the full potential of playbacks and editing to sharpen and refine even the most thrown-off sounding uh-huh. The degree their sexuality was groomed for media consumption was another shared attribute.’
Peter Goddard, in his biography of Glenn Gould, The Great Gould 2017: 94
That’s quite some praise of Elvis from the biographer of the richly gifted Glenn Gould. Elvis’ genius is ‘every bit the equal of the pianist’s.’
There are greater comparisons, though, with reference to voice. A great many opera singers rate Elvis Presley very highly. I find this incredibly interesting to explore. There is a wide appreciation of Elvis among this with trained voices. This tends to be overlooked in the histories and critiques of rock and pop, probably considered to be irrelevant and of no value at all. Opera, after all, is not rock’n’roll. The problems come when rock critics dismiss Elvis’ operatics as schmaltz and substandard crooning. The simple fact is that such critics are musically dumb. I’ll listen to the likes of Spanish tenor Jose Carreras instead. In an interview for the Times, Carreras had stated that no pop singer was capable of taking on classical music:
‘As the "The Times" correspondent reminds him of Elvis Presley, he pauses, then reconsiders, "Oh yes, I think he was a fantastic artist and the best in his field. Absolutely.”’
Carreras qualified his remarks: no pop singer other than Elvis can take on classical music.
Of course, it would require training. The top soprano Kiri Te Kanawa started life as a pop singer. She had a good voice and trained and became a leading opera singer. She was asked by Michael Parkinson to name the greatest voice she had ever heard. She replied: ‘The young Elvis Presley, without any doubt.’ (as published in Blabbermouth.net, 3 January 2007). I’ll bet that went down well with the Sinatra worshipping Elvis loathing old reprobate.
Asked by Peter Culshaw as to how he feels to have been labelled the "Elvis of Opera," Dmitri Hvorostovsky answers:
‘As long as I can continue doing what I love, I don't care how I'm described. Maybe I should be flattered - after all Elvis was a kind of revolutionary. Actually, if he had trained he might have been a great opera singer.’
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, in an article published by the Telegraph on April 9, 2002
Had Elvis trained I have no doubt that he could have become a great opera singer. He just wouldn’t have been the Elvis we know and love. You can’t do both.
Placedo Domingo also singled out Elvis as the best voice from across the field of popular music, the one voice to compare with the great opera voices:
‘His was the one voice I wish to have had, of all those emanating from singers in the popular music field.’
Placido Domingo, in an interview given to "Hola" Magazine (Spanish version), as published in June of 1994.
When mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly was asked what she would consider to be her musical guilty pleasure, she chose Elvis:
‘The black leather concert from Elvis Presley’s 1968 Comeback Special.’
as published in the Guardian's March 6, 2016 edition.
Except that the choice of Elvis comes with no connotations of guilt. His vocal qualities are becoming more and more recognised and appreciated. When asked to name her favourite female and male non-classical singers, top US soprano Aprile Millo singled out Elvis:
‘My sister could sing opera if she wanted, and we used to sing duets together like the Ponselle Sisters, and I also enjoy classic Bette Midler, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Judy Garland. Of today's voices, Madonna, Mary J. Blige - people who know how to communicate. And I love Elvis Presley. Quite a nice mix!.’
Aprile Millo, as published in Playbill, on 17 November, 2009.
Just as in pop and rock, they all wanted to be Elvis:
‘Nobody ever asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and all I wanted to be was Elvis Presley. But listening to Elvis was not allowed.’
Top Israeli cantor and performer Dudu Fisher, as told to the audience at the Chabad Jewish Center of Monroe, LA, and as reported by The Cranbury Press on September 29, 2011
Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez, considered the possible the successor of Luciano Pavarotti, explains the great influence that Elvis has had upon him:
‘As a youngster I discovered what I could do almost by accident. I grew up in Lima, where my father was a folk singer and my mother managed a pub that presented live music. So, as a teenager, I would sometimes sing a variety of popular songs from Elvis Presley onwards. I was drawn to music from the start so I started guitar lessons at 11 and began to learn music theory at about 14. Then I started to write my own songs but always this was pop-oriented. It was only when I entered the National Music Conservatory at age 17, that I started to discover classical music. In fact, I came late to classical music, preferring instead pop music and Elvis Presley.’
Juan Diego Florez, in an article published on the Independent on May 7, 2010 and entitled Opera's superstar: Why Juan Diego Flórez is the heir to Pavarotti
That’s a familiar story:
‘I grew up playing sports and listening to Elvis Presley, whose music I favored; in fact, when an opera singer came on the "Ed Sullivan Show", I'd think “Turn this off.”’
Samuel Ramey, the world's top bass baritone, as told to "Opera News", and published in ENotes.Com
‘I want to do an Elvis Presley song...’
Andrea Bocelli, as suggested to musician and producer David Foster during the rehearsals for a television special taped in Portofino, Italy, on August 11, 2012. They settled on "Love me Tender", one of Bocelli's favourite Elvis songs, with Foster playing the piano. Bocelli has recorded Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love,’ too. Of course critics being what they are – utterly useless empty vessels creating noise – have to make a point of saying that Bocelli’s version is better than Elvis’. Just give me a break from these dullards! I love Bocelli and have all his CDs. I don’t waste my time playing neurotic games as to whose dad is bigger than whose, and whose whatever is bigger than whatever someone else has to flash around.
I read that according to Reba McEntire, Elvis is one of Bocelli's favourite singers. I can’t find any source for that claim, but I have heard it before. It seems likely to me. I just can’t find a quote to that effect.
I do know that one of my favourite opera singers, bass baritone Bryn Terfel, very much appreciates the voice of Elvis Presley. In explaining why Elvis is the only soloist whose music he listens in his iPod, Terfel said this:
‘Presley was very classically orientated with his voice, and diction, and very sincere and wanting to get everything perfect.’
Bryn Terfel as told to NYT's Classical Music critic Vivien Schweitzer, and published on that paper on November 10, 2007
I agree in the main with that statement, apart from qualifying that reference to wanting to get everything perfect. It depends on what we mean by perfect. Elvis was not interested in soulless technical delivery, however flawless.
Irish bass/baritone and classical singer Conor Biggs, a founding member of Psallentes, a Gregorian chant ensemble, explains how he looks to the best pop singers – with Elvis the best of all – for clues as to how to communicate better with a listener:
‘Intensity of communication, emotion, how the fusion of poetry is related to me as a listener. I’m disappointed by the bland and perfect vocal accomplishment, which I hear on so many recordings. Which is not to say that classical singers shouldn’t try to become vocally masterful. I take my cue more and more from good pop singers. The other day I was looking at an early concert of Elvis Presley. It was fascinating to watch, the body language, the vocal suppleness.’
Conor Biggs, explaining to Michael Dervan, of the Irishman, for tips he looks for in a recital, as a way to better communicate with a listener, as published on that paper on February 1, 2013
With Elvis, singing is about more than technical range and technique – although he has both – but about the expression of feeling and meaning, the communication, the ability to stir and move the emotions.
‘Being an opera singer is easy,’ says Terfel. Saying that he loves experimenting with different genres, he is asked if there is anything that he wouldn’t sing. “If somebody asked me to do an album of Elvis Presley songs, I wouldn’t go there.” Does he not like Elvis Presley? “I adore Elvis Presley,” he protests: “I just think that might be taking it a bit too far.”
When he was a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Terfel chose Elvis’ ‘Return to Sender.’
German countertenor Klaus Nomi, noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona, names Elvis as his ‘spiritual father.’
Elvis Presley is my spiritual father and, as you may know, Maria Callas is my spiritual mother.’
Make of it what you will. Elvis has a lot of fans in the opera world:
‘I just love Elvis' singing. And I am his biggest fan.’
US soprano Marguerite Piazza, in an interview with the AP, after meeting Elvis on October 1, 1957
Marguerite Piazza is a name I love. I am lost in restaurants. I have no idea what I am looking at on menus. I look for lasagne and pizza. Even the different kinds of pizza baffle me. My default position is the Margherita Pizza.