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I have two criteria for choosing whom I consider to be the greatest tenor of all time. The first would be beauty of voice,(with a voice that speaks to me), and the second would be presentation....that is, style, facility with languages,stage presence. Now, remembering that this is all personal, in the first instance, I'd have to say that the tenor who had the most beautiful voice I've ever heard was Jussi Bjoerling. The Swedish tenor, who died at 49, in 1960, had a very unique timbre to his voice. I've never heard anyone quite like him. He was short and stocky, and not the world's best actor, but the sheer beauty of the tones that came from his throat was extraordinary, and there were two factions that debated endlessly over which tenor was the greatest--Bjoerling or Caruso. As a second choice (because, remember, I'm the moderator), I have to mention another Swedish tenor, Nicolai Gedda.(I can't explain why they're both Swedish.) Gedda covers all the bases and to me is the compleat tenor. His voice is exquisite, he speaks 5 languages fluently, and sings in more, is tall and looks wonderful onstage, and was stylistically correct in every opera I heard him do. A singer wouldn't sing Puccini the same way he'd sing Mozart, for instance. Or sing an Italian role the same way he'd sing a French role. There are vocal and stylistic differences. And Gedda was right on the mark in all cases. And his vocal technique was better than anyone's. If I were rounding out the top 5 tenors, I'd add Placido Domingo, Carlo Bergonzi, and maybe leave room for a certain tenor who has all the attributes to be one of the great ones, beginning with a voice of great beauty. All he needs is time, more hard work, and seasoning.

While reading about Anthony Kearns' start, I often come across reports that while he was studying with Dr. Veronica Dunne, Patrick Healy was also his voice coach. Why did he have two coaches at the same time? Could you please explain their different roles? Also, I have read that Mr. Kearns still studies voice. How can he do this with his hectic travel schedule?

The statement that Patrick Healy was (is) Anthony's voice coach is actually a false one. Patrick has said on more than one occasion, that he is NOT Anthony's voice coach. They work together on repertoire. Anthony has studied voice with Dr. Veronica Dunne, and Conor Farran. He currently has an excellent voice teacher in New York, whom he sees whenever he has the time and opportunity. A voice coach, or voice teacher, develops and trains the voice, by teaching the actual singing technique, vocal exercises, breathing exercises, and some repertoire. A repetiteur, or opera coach works with the singer on operatic roles, concert material, new material, possibly languages. A singer would have the technique, and a basic repertoire before going to an opera coach. Some voice teachers are also opera coaches, and take on one or two extremely talented singers, to help them with particular roles. Since Patrick is such an accomplished pianist, and musicologist, he makes a wonderful repetiteur. He knows so much music. He also has accompanied some very famous singers, such as the famous Italian coloratura soprano Toti Dal Monte. I'm sure that was an education in itself. As for Anthony still studying voice, the most famous singers continue to study voice all their professional lives. With globe-hopping everywhere, and singing in one city one night, and another city the next, the voice can develop bad habits, which even the singer doesn't hear. But others do. It take a pair of fresh ears to discern if there is a problem vocally, and what to do about it. So a smart singer takes a voice lesson periodically, whenever he or she can arrange it. Since Anthony is a very smart man, and very dedicated to his singing, I'm sure he makes it his business to find time, when he's in New York, to schedule a singing lesson.

he Irish Ring is actually a group of 3 operas written by 2 Irish composers and 1 German composer, with Irish themes. Although they are occasionally performed separately, they are most often performed together under the collective name The Irish Ring. The 3 operas are The Lily of Killarney by Sir Julius Benedict, The Bohemian Girl (which is the one most often performed alone), by Michael Balfe, and Maritana, by William Vincent Wallace. The plots are not easy to follow, but the music is wonderful. In September 2002, a cast of well-known Irish singers, led by Anthony Kearns, sang three performances in the United States, on the east coast. There are some standout pieces in the operas, including "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls", "The Harp in the Air", "With Rapture Glowing", and 2 marvelous arias that Anthony sang gloriously: "There is a Flower that Bloometh", which he also sang on the Belfast video with the Irish Tenors, and "Eily Mavourneen", which he sang in 2002, in his solos, and during the Irish Tenors' summer tour.

I'm not really an expert on this topic, not being a male singer. I think that Carlo Bergonzi also began life as a baritone. The really simplistic answer would be that the singer doesn't decide. God decides. A singer may begin life as a baritone, but if the voice is meant to be a tenor voice, there will be signs along the way, and a good voice teacher will pick up on it, and work with it. The great coloratura soprano Joan Sutherland began as a mezzo-soprano. That's because her mother, herself a voice teacher, had a very heavy voice, and began teaching Sutherland to sing the same way. Years later, Joan met her husband-to-be, the famous conductor Richard Bonynge, who recognized that when she did her vocal exercises, she could go higher and higher, and make her voice lighter, without being aware of it. So he tricked her. She didn't have perfect pitch-she had relative pitch. So when she would be singing very high, she would suspiciously ask "what note is that?" Bonynge would lie, and tell her it was lower than she thought, until he realized how high she could really sing. After that, the jig was up, and they worked on a much different type of music, and the rest is history. She was one of the greatest singers of the century, with an enormous vocal range. But the fact is, that all the years she sang low and heavy music, those high notes were just waiting for someone to discover them, and polish them up. I don't remember reading that Anthony once thought he was a baritone, but I would guess that once he started training his voice with Veronica Dunne, they both realized that he was a tenor.

In a recent newspaper interview Anthony is quoted as saying that he loves Van Morrison but would never sing his music. "It's not what I'm trained to do," he says. "Van can belt out his songs until the cows come home, but singers trained in an operatic style have to be more careful about what they sing and, more important, how they will sing it. Your voice is an instrument, and along with knowing how to use it you have to know how to take care of it." Perhaps Berta would explain, drawing on her own training and experience, why operatically-trained singers must be careful about what they sing, and how singers takes care of his/her voice.

Of course, he's absolutely correct. And I would hate to hear that lovely voice singing Van Morrison! Different genres of music each have their own stylistic qualities. As I've said before, a singer wouldn't sing Puccini the same way he or she would sing Mozart. And a singer wouldn't sing an aria the same way he or she would sing "If I Loved You", from Carousel, for instance. In fact, very few opera singers have "crossed over" into popular music. One great success was Eileen Farrell, a wonderful soprano of the 60's and 70's. But in order to be successful in popular music, she almost totally changed her voice, and lost her operatic edge. So, while it was successful, I don't know as it was wise. Singers of music other than classical do not as a rule have the same training and understanding of the voice that opera singers do. Of course, they also don't have the voice or career longevity, and they practically stick the microphone down their throats, in order to be heard. So they don't really have to bother with any kind of vocal training. The microphone does all the work for them. In the opera, there are no microphones. The singer must have the technique and stamina to project the voice out over 5,000 seats, so even those in the last row, or the 3rd balcony can hear. Anthony's last sentence just about says it all, and proves how dedicated a musician he is. "Your voice is an instrument, and along with knowing how to use it, you have to know how to take care of it." And belting out a song in the manner of Van Morrison, would NOT be taking care of it.

As far as I can determine, the Bernoulli principle has to do with fluidity,
air or liquid taken in, and the design of an airplane wing. Meaning, that
it's flat on the bottom, and curved on top. Air is taken in on the top and
bottom, and flows in slower on the bottom, and faster on the top, therefore
keeping the plane up. I guess I can vaguely see how that might have
something to do with the voice. My guess is that he means the physical
appearance of your mouth as you sing, is one of flat tongue, and lifted
soft palate. And air being taken in, would be the breath you need to
support the voice. I have never known anyone who used that principle in
the study of voice, and I can already feel my throat constricting, thinking
about air coming in and out, and airplane wings. It is important to know
about the placement of the voice in the "mask", and supporting the voice as
if on a column of air. But the throat needs to be relaxed to sing well, and
so do the shoulder muscles. To me, it seems as if thinking about all those
things would tie me up in knots. If you're going to continue to study with
this person, he needs to be clearer on what he wants from you, and how you
can achieve it. Ask him to go over it with you again, very slowly. And
ask him if there isn't another analogy he could use to give you a better
mental picture of what you need to do. Singing should be a joyous
release; it shouldn't tie you up in knots. Can you let me know how you
make out?

I'll answer the second question first. Vibrato can be overdone, but not by choice. If a singer has too much vibrato, it tends to sound like a "trembling" in the voice. Hence, we use the term "tremolo", which means tremulous, in Italian. Tremolo is not a good thing, and singers definitely don't try to get it. I went back and listened to the Sacred CD, to see if I could hear too much vibrato in Anthony's voice. I don't hear it. I think his voice sounds much richer on some notes than it has, and maybe you're mistaking that for excessive vibrato.