Dear Greg Pritchard,

1. I thought only perverts enjoy watching a castrato sing. How can people tolerate the excruciating pain of cutting one's manhood prior to the era of anesthetics - in the name of music? That, followed by a lifelong indignity of being an incomplete man. I can still recall the scene of wrinkled eunuchs carrying their preserved ahem balls as they were driven out the Forbidden City in "The Last Emperor".


( Uneasy gulp )


Then I discover Vitas.


A prince must have galloped out of fairy tale books on his white horse. However when he sang "Ave Maria". Mamma, I heard the eerie similarity to Alessandro Moreschi no...it's better than Moreschi. It's Farinelli in his prime!


I ain't a dumb blonde who would doubt your manhood. I don't need thick glasses to see that your goatee is genuine. By now we all know you can sing like Freddy Mercury and a castrato can't.


( Smacks forehead in disbelief )


However, I almost thought Vitas was a castrato - he is not hairy, he is not musculine, the feminine facial features and the ethereal high pitch of the Greek mythical Siren.


Until the camera zoomed to his Adam's apple.


0 _ 0 >>>>>>>> So relieved he is "intact".


I ain't a Catholic and I don't fancy stepping into Catholic Churches after reading about "The Bad Popes" and the Inquisition. Well... I might stand a wee bit outside to hear this seraph.



( Does that make me a pervert now? )


Vitas sang for the Olympics in China. His songs in Russian are given Chinese sub-titles, receive rave reviews from the Chinese press. Ah...


$_$


Countertenor + clean cut image + Chinese subtitles = China Market$


2. Well, you might be reluctant to sacrifice that goatee of yours.


There's a countertenor who sells millions of CDs by singing he's a slave of his dirty baby and he'll let her whip him if he misbehaves.


X_X ( Wonder how does his mother take that ? )



I haven't seen him shaved for years.


He doesn't show off his high range that often.


Doesn't matter, he plays piano and he is a great dancer.


Errr I guess THAT infamous wardrobe malfunction turned on girls to buy his CDs.


$ _ $


Countertenor + Unshaven image + Wardrobe malfunction = American Market$


3. Classical countertenors. The only one I like is that Japanese short short guy who plucked his eyebrows.


( Shudders - males plucking their eyebrows with tweezers are freakier than males singing female voices )


A poverina cannot imagine how you will generate that kind of cash to get an education to sing opera. Besides, a poverina doesn't have the chance to fathom the $ in this tight high class niche.


4. Rock Opera ? Freddy Mercury's cool but he reminds everyone of AIDS and it doesn't help to sing like Freddy and looking like Adam Lambert.



Hope to hear more of you,


Muaks~~