Does a musician’s personality matter to us?

I think Philippe is determined to exterminate myths around the castrati to people whose only knowledge is based on the Farinelli film. I can see how it can get tiring trying to defend yourself against journalists etc who fall into that category.

On the subject of musician's personalities in general, I wrote a blog post about that a while back, concerning David Daniels. It upset me a little at the time, but as you can see I took another post to apologize..

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Don't get me wrong, I appreciate very much the work that carolineleiden has done. It explained many things to me. But the conscious part of my mind doesn't like men who are looking perfect. In nature, P looks quite different to YouTube or HDTV. No baby scheme. There are some wrinkles and even the typical shade of beard in the evening. It's undoubtedly a male face what you see, and when he starts to speak, there is nothing left of his "angelic" or "posterboy" image. Perhaps it is this ambivalence what has the fascinating effect, just like the castratos had...his sexual orientation is his business. Just like Tuffy wrote before, I wish he'll meet his other half.

Duffy

I agree with you. We can continue this discussion here, maybe . Choose between the two topics there, please! It is really exciting theme, let us speak about it!

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My mistake! (Clicked wrong)

carolineleiden

No idea why you deleted your posts.
I moved them already here....pity.

I took them out because I had put them up in the wrong topic! Let me think...

First one was a reaction the the perfect-imperfect discussion that Duffy mentioned.

All the pictures we get to see from the management are of course fotoshopped, which is todays curse. Everybody looks perfect, everybody looks boring and the same and our daughters go even more insecure than girls of that age already are. Meanwhile the plastic surgeons are sharpening their knives.

But on the other hand, before the digital era all photographers used tricks with lense opening, exposuretime, lighting and different films and lenses to stylize their pictures. They were artists, and Simon Fowler, who does Philippes portraits, is an artist too, only with modern technology.

Before there was fotography, painters did the same thing, only with a brush and paint. No painters shows something completely lifelike. No art lover minds that. It is simply the artists' view of his subject. Even Holbein and Willink, close to nature as they were. That is how different styles appeared, which is the good thing about art. Otherwise it would all look the same.

So, Fowlers work with Philippes portraits is simply his view. The pictures are not Philippe, they are only an image of Philippe, and that is allright. It gives Philippe a mask to hide behind, to not have to show even more of himself than he already does. Like women use make-up for a party. Right?


Second post also had to do with perfection and was a reaction to the ambivalence Duffy mentioned. Women are ambivalent, we react different to different men because of the different hormonal balances that come and go every month.

Perfection may be boring, but it is necessary. That is something evolution has programmed us to be: sensitive to perfection, because that means a balanced genome and the promise of a strong and surviving offspring. Perfection means a strong man who can defend his family against the dangers of everyday life and who can hunt for food. We fall for that guy instinctively.

During conception time, that is what women are sensitive to. To the real men, so to say. Strong, rugged, handsome. (Russel Crowe in Gladiator must ring a bell ladies!) Cavemen, basically. No normal nice guy understands why the arrogant bastards get the girl everytime, but we can't help ourselves. It's evolution. The modern translation of a good hunter is being rich and famous, and smart and succesfull with a smooth car and a big career. After all, there aren't many sabre tooth tigers left to fight.

All the other days of the month we need something else: we need a provider who will stay with his vulnerable partner and children. (That normal nice guy.) Nature has invented the human bond between to people to make sure that happens. That bond has nothing to do with looks. That bond comes from the inside. It is the uniqueness of somebody that makes us want to bond with that person and none other. Imperfections make us unique and all the more lovable-well, to that one person of course.

Bonding requires all those other qualities. Be sensitive, understanding, caring, loyal, dependable, kind, patient, trustworthy, funny, interesting. In short: everything that makes a good husband.

And that is why nobody gives a damn about Philippe being gay, because gay guys usually would make great husbands. I have yet to meet a gay man who is a rugged caveman with the manners of a goat. That is the last piece of the mystery solved. His being gay is not detrimental, it is even attractive, at least during all those 27 other days of the month. (We already have Russel Crowe for that one day.)

carolineleiden

I see, you have a lot of luck to meet in your life this fairy kind of "gay guys, who usually would make great husbands", hehe. I don´t know well , how close do you know them, but tell me please- were they not even just a bit selfish, capricious and sometimes haughty?

Btw, I liked Russel Crowe in "Gladiator". He has there such endless lost and yearning eyes, full of sadness and loneliness....


P.S. If I may feel free to share my humble opinion - our Forum is not the right place to discuss the private life of the artists.

This is a serious forum and not the tabloid press. So, any private details about anyone we would not like to be reveiled about ourselves to stay out here forever on the World Wide Web either should remain unknown and private. The interview in The Sun/Herald, well, it just made me happy to read he had found someone to share his life with, and whether that is a man or a woman is of no significance, really.


(The gay guys I happen to know I actually like very much. The not so nice ones I bump into, I simply choose not to get to know them further personally, like one does with anyone one does not hit it off with. )

Artaserse
I agree with you. We shouldn't discuss this topic in the forum, in public. Of course, some conjectures and speculations arise from ordinary human curiosity, especially if the topic relates to a person who is known and liked,but I think it's great that he didn't say too much about his priv life. He said about himself as much as he wanted, that's all.

We should remember that we are ‘borrowing’ Phillipe’s name for this forum to talk about his performance, therefore talking about gay men and sex etc. is not only irrelevant but inappropriate. The first post is asking about personality and not sexuality. We should also remember that this forum can be accessed from search engines like Google and Philippe’s name can be easily linked with gay for just the sake of curiosity or worse.

Karenpat’s likn is very interesting.

temp wrote:

We should remember that we are ‘borrowing’ Phillipe’s name for this forum to talk about his performance, therefore talking about gay men and sex etc. is not only irrelevant but inappropriate. The first post is asking about personality and not sexuality. We should also remember that this forum can be accessed from search engines like Google and Philippe’s name can be easily linked with gay for just the sake of curiosity or worse.

Karenpat’s likn is very interesting.

Adding to this,
All of these opinions, topics, etc that people like to share just go to show that in some ways we are all lonely for company who we feel understands what we are saying. I know I am very lonely in my music tastes and I love having found this great place to vent and share. Having said that there is no doubt that nowadays there is less privacy than there ever has been. Lucky Callas, Pasta, Caballe, etc, etc, who never had to deal with so much graphic exposure and instant debates. I have been amazed about the things people air out in YouTube commenting without any qualms about a performance or any other event. The stuff that poor Philippe has had to deal with, from physical opinions to all manner of offensive remarks is a sign of the times we live in and the internet's immediacy where everything is known instantly and people get made and destroyed in seconds if not minutes.
Having said this, I also am grateful for the good side of all this, such as the instant exposure and pleasure it gives us to see remarkable individuals such as the self same Philippe, sharing lovely moments with all of us who would never have had the chances we have to see him and listen if not for YouTube. And all is happening practically as we watch.
So, private lives are less private than ever and I am sure since he is a smart guy he knows and accepts the fact. After all he owes a lot of his fame and fortune to this very internet .True, he has had to develop a tough skin and I hate that he has been made to feel bad but at the same time he must know how many of us love what he brings us and see his spirit and wonderful qualities shine through each performance.
The fact we have shared some touchy subjects is normal and this forum has filled a need to visit together as it were, over a cup of tea or coffee, chatting as friends even if we have not met "in the flesh". And this is because we have the common ground of admiration for a special talent and charismatic artist. I for one give thanks for the chance to read and sometimes chuckle - lol - over some funny remark or joke one of you tells or an interesting opinion voiced in the forum, as well as fresh news, interviews or meetings that get posted and that give all of us the illusion of almost having been there. And I promise I will tell all of you about my next time in heaven, next May in Salzburg. Long to wait but…..all good things come etc etc.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]I do not like to speak about Jaroussky's private intimate life.

I'm only interested about his voice,his beauty and the sensations and sentiments that they brings to me.

Reading this topic I've remembered this four videos:

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I think they are really interesting... and hope you'll think the same!

Thank you, Mercè!
A very interesting programme indeed!!!

Rosamunda:

You too, CONGRATS!!! I totally understand what are you talking about.

My boyfriend is always laughing at me, he thinks I am obssesed or insane

But you feel the same way, thanks God, I'm not alone

Pilarddcc wrote:

My boyfriend is always laughing at me, he thinks I am obssesed or insane

Just like my family!
My mom scorned me just today, she thinks it's abnormal for a young mother of two children to travel to the other end of Europe for a concert. (I still don't get it what does the number of one's children do with it, as long as I don't drag them with myself... they are absolutely able to function without me for 2 days!)

OMG are you coming too till La Coruña? I live very near so it is easy for me. And you're right! your children will enjoy having their mother happier afterwards!!

But I get it, I feel that hearing Philippe is such a mesmerizing experience that if you have the opportunity to do it LIVE it worths the effort.

I am trying to keep my obssesion low profile but it is difficult, because my family can hear him also

No, not there, that would be too far away for me, to Essen in June

But you are right, hearing him live definitely worths the effort! I'm already an addict after only two occasions...

Hello!
I have as well the impression that my family does'nt include my passion for PJ. I listen to him in secret, because they do not want to hear him all the time. And I write on this forum silently, because my mother, my daughter and my husband find strange this obsession! They don't understand that this music and the voice of P help me to live! Friendly
B.

If someone would tell me two moths ago thata I woulb be obssesed like a fan girl about an artist I would have laughed...

This is the result of Philippe's amazing talent, we all are under his spell!

Don't worry girls. Just turn around during the concert and take a look at the others! You'll see, the theatre is full of lovesick fools, both male and female! And isn't that wonderful? And artist and audience make each other happy. Enjoy it !

Pilarddcc wrote:

If someone would tell me two moths ago thata I woulb be obssesed like a fan girl about an artist I would have laughed...

Never say never!

Next Sunday I'll try to tape something, so maybe you can have some pics!

I think none of us has many people in his/her immediate circle of family and friends who understand our appreciation of Philippes voice, or even baroque music, for that matter. Well, baroque opera is not the most accessible of musicstyles, that much is true. I can only play it when no one is around.

My husband actually calls him Mickey Mouse. When I replied that, as a mezzo, I sound just the same, he started calling me Minnie Mouse. :

So what – thousands of people all around the world are filling the concert halls when Philippe sings and are celebrating him enthusiastically - and we should encounter only lack of understanding for our enthusiasm??? Thank god I have enough people around me to share my love for especially Philippes voice – and all of my friends, who saw him live in concert or where happy enough to meet him after the concert and talk to him also share or at least understand the adoration of his personality and character as well.... (although I have to admit – my husband doesn’t belong to them. He´s listening to the music, yes, but only because I play it and he doesn’t accompany me to the concerts – but of course that doesn’t hinder me.... )
So – hang in there!!!

There are what laugh: my husband will lead me to the concert of Brussels, on Tuesday and his friend - he's also fan JP- will come listen him with me... during this time, my husband will go to the circus with the wife of his friend
Who says better?

I am pretty lucky, since my best female friend shares my love for this music and the affinity to PJ. My husband calls him "your castrato" . But I also made a complete different experience with a male collegue. I showed him the video
"Ninna, Nanna" with L'Arpeggiata, not letting him see who was singing there. He
said "That's fantastic" and when I showed him, he was was ravished. No he wants to go and see PJ.

bpidouxl wrote:

Hello!
I have as well the impression that my family does'nt include my passion for PJ. I listen to him in secret, because they do not want to hear him all the time. And I write on this forum silently, because my mother, my daughter and my husband find strange this obsession! They don't understand that this music and the voice of P help me to live! Friendly
B.

OMG I am so glad to be in good company!! Both my daughters, my son and my husband think I am insane, I listen to Philippe in the car by myself ! I will be going to Salzburg with my husband but I will be going with friends to the opera, to avoid silly comments. Philippe has reconnected me with my spirit and love for music which my parents gave me (but they are dead now) . So you in the forum help me share my love for this divine man!

Dear friends, some solutions: buy headphones, walking the dog out often (to play a whole opera, choosing instead the summer!), always have a CD of PJ in the car and play it as soon as one is alone. ..
Who has any other ideas?
Friendly

-

Well, I have converted ONE person to Philippe, (a friends husband), and he really was the least likely candidate because he is into dance and trance and house and other awful noise.

But I let him listen to Heroes, and he got all emotional, wanted to run away at first, but then I explained that music is supposed to make you emotional, because why else would you bother listening to it? Then he just let himself go with it and experienced the healing power of the white voice of Philippe and now has a whole stack of Philippes CD's.

I'm back from Philippe's recital yesterday in La Coruña and I am deeply in LOVE....It's great reading your yesterday comments, I feel so much in company, even if I am lucky enough to have a boyfriend who is also hypnotized by Philippe's talent!!

I promise, I'm going to write about his last concert, and I also have a photo, maybe I can upload it in this forum if you like to see him?

I've just post a comment about yesterday concert in Latest events, just in case someone is interested. I hope my English would be enough good to express my feelings...

Hullo, fellow Jaroussky addicts! It's so nice to read all your comments and discover that I am not the only one who plays Philippe's CDs all the time in the car - he has got me home on long journeys on dark roads in the rain, he got me through three operations and two stays in hospital listening on my MP3 player! Like most of you, hardly any of my family and friends share my obsession, so it's wonderful to find others who do. In England there is very little interest in the countertenor voice or baroque music in general really - it's a bit of a cultural desert!

Does anyone know of any concerts in England this year? I have followed Philippe to Spain and France but it would be nice to see him again nearer to home. I haven't seen him since July 2011 and am starting to get withdrawal symptoms!

Regarding personality, I have met him six times now (last time, in Versailles, he actually kissed me - such an honour) and he is such a charming, modest, sincere person, always smiling and friendly. His voice could not be so warm and tender in interpretation were he not so sensitive and intelligent. So yes, I think a musician's personality does make a difference.

So far as being gay is concerned, who says he is? And is it anyone's business but his own? This newspaper interview in the Sun/Herald - which country are we talking about? Do you know where I can read it? Sorry, I'm starting to get angry now because I have him on such a pedestal!

Happy new year to everyone.

Hi Broschette!

OMG, do youa ctually think that England is a cultural desert? I would love to live there! I was in London for a year and it was a great cultural experience. I'm from Spain and I have to say that there is no musical tradition in my country, I mean from the educational point of view. It's a pity!


Here you have the interview: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The personal remarks in this interview are the only one that you can read in a "trustful" source but I must say that as JaRoWi said, I don't think they are very trustworthy since it doesn't seem to be quotations from Philippe's words. He has been very keen of his privacy so let it be like that. It makes him more atractive and mysterious, I am kind of fed up about those marketing products who are always talking nosense. He is a normal guy with a god-like talent, so I imagine he only wants to live a normal life when he's out of the theaters


Your are su a lucky girl/boy(?) Philippe kissed you I think I would faint...
and I agree his warm and kind personality makes a great different. Maybe you love someone's talent but if you actually admire someone's work I believe you need something more than talent.

He is a gifted man but not only from the music point of view also because of his personality. His voice is intoxicating and his character is magnetic so this mix makes him a quite powerful figure. I'm not a classical music lover, not even a music lover, I can't define myself as a very musical person but when I first hear him (it was LIVE!!) something was broken inside me. I don't want to sound very dramaqueen but it is true. His voice touched something very deep inside me, that I don't even know I had. So as I said elsewhere, and I think I talk for everybody in this forum we all are under his spell

You see, 4.00 in the morning, I0m actually insane posting at tthis hour...tomorrow I have to work. I blame Philippe for this...(Only once more time "presso le onde tranquille" and I promiso I'll go to bed [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

broschette

Please, don´t start to go angry, we ´re all just human beings and who cares, that some of us are gay or straight , married or singles, with children or without....we all try to be happy , to do our job properly, to go our own way and to make happy our family, friends and our beloved ones !

Pilarddcc

Quote :

He is a normal guy with a god-like talent, so I imagine he only wants to live a normal life when he's out of the theaters.

Point.

Hi Pilarddcc,

Thank you so much for the link to the article. Very interesting, but I agree with Jana that it doesn't sound totally trustworthy, because there are so many inaccuracies and false impressions (such as that he just played the violin at school, when in other articles and interviews he has said that he went to the Conservatoire from age 11). I also read a transcript of an American telephone interview with him from 2011, when again he was asked about sexual orientation and he refused to comment, saying that he preferred to keep his private life private (quite right too!). The odd thing is that I do not detect any sexual vibe coming from him, either gay or straight, so he probably is an angel! And about the kiss - yes, I am a woman!

Regarding Spain and its musical heritage, what about zarzuela and flamenco? And, of course, Farinelli lived there for 22 years as criado familiare to Philip V and then Ferdinand and Maria Barbara, putting the Madrid court on the map musically.

Of course England has a great cultural heritage, but not much happens here musically. Classical music is very much an "elite" minority interest - there are no TV stations here like Arte or Mezzo, for example. It appears to me that on the continent classical music and opera are far more generally enjoyed. The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden and Glyndebourne put on very little in the way of 18th century opera, and when they do they invariably use mezzos in trouser roles. The countertenor voice is hardly heard of here except for the James Bowman/Michael Chance English Choral School dirges. I think they think it is "unEnglish" to enjoy the brilliant high voices around nowadays. I know I am considered an oddity when Philippe or Max Emmanuel Cencic's lustrous tones come pouring out of my car!

Anyway, lovely talking to you - your English is wonderful!
And please, everyone, look out for any English dates this year for me.

Hi Broschette!

Thanks for your interesting reply.

You're right we, spaniards, have Farinelli and also a few great Spanish musicians (I love Tomás Luis de Victoria) but common people is very far from classical music. When I speak with Germans or Italians, they actually enjoy classical music no matters their own background. I think in Spain is much more a thing for a small part, and sometimes I have to tell you very snob. I was once in Covent Garden to see Le nozze di Figaro and I loved it. Unfortunately London is very expensive for a Spanish salary, so I can't travel often... It is very interesting to hear about what are your opinons related to English point of view on contra-tenor voices. I'm very curious about national identity in that kind of things. I lived in Italy and in UK fro a while so for me is very itneresting trying to understand our differences and our similarities as European citiziens. Maybe it is a silly idea but I truly believe that music and art are great evaluators for that kind of matter.

I'll keep an eye on English dates for you!

And thank you for your kind words abotu my English

Hi Broschette,
I basically agree with you referring to the lack of TV Stations, but what about Andreas Scholl ? I know he is adored in England, especially for performing Purcell... He was the first CT to sing at the last night of the proms, and there is a beautiful version of Rodelinda of Glyndebourne given in 1998, quite a long time ago. Has something changed in England ?

broschette

Hello.

I guess, Artaserse answered you already.

The " personality" of an artist means not only the sexual preferences. So please, let him keep his private life even private.

I don´t want to discuss this on my forum.

For the concert - dates take a look at the schedule or on the official site of Mr. Jaroussky.


Thanks.

Jana,


Perhaps, just to unbend the local situation, we could discuss how handsome he is?

Ladies, I hope, you won´t have any objections?

OK, just let's not forget: the "personality" of an artist means not only his looks!

SJuli,

we can only guess about the real personality of an artist, but not about his looks!

Artaserse wrote:

Perhaps, just to unbend the local situation, we could discuss how handsome he is?

Ladies, I hope, you won´t have any objections?

Arta, NOOOO! I've just BEEN to confession!

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Pay attention!

On 14 janvier 2012, at 20:30 h, on MEZZO: ORLANDO FURIOSO

That's much more interesting that Jaroussky's private life. OK?

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His private life must be boring anyway. All he does is work!

Mr. Artaserse: You're right, mylord, we can only be sure about his beauty and of course abouty his amazing god-like talent

Artaserse wrote:

SJuli,

we can only guess about the real personality of an artist, but not about his looks!

Absolutely true. I just couldn't resist teasing you.

Actually, when I read "we could discuss how handsome he is" in this personality-topic, the first thing I thought of was what Caroline wrote elsewhere: that she didn't found him so handsome until she saw him smile. So - back to the original question in the title - what we think about his personality might be all just assumption, but it still matters to us, even when we talk about such obvious things as his looks.

SJuli

I understand your innocent teasing , for sure! And as a true gentleman I know to savour the moment!

I was enchanted from the first glance. Honest. ( The smile made the rest)

Broschette: I just read your post of the day 5 you left me so amazed as pilardcc when talking about his country and says:
"In England there is very little interest in the countertenor voice or baroque music in general really - it's a bit of a cultural desert!"
But if England is the country adopted the countertenor voice!!!
And you continues to write:
"Of course England has a great cultural heritage, but not much happens here musically. Classical music is very much an "elite" minority interest - there are no TV stations here like Arte or Mezzo, for example"
I could subscribe to those same words, but much more categorical, referring to Spain.

Everything you say is true, the Golden Age, Tomas Luis de Vitoria, Farinelli .... But if we talk about the current situation, I can not imagine England under Spain in the field of classical music.
The zarzuela is a musical genre minor ("género chico" is called), very funny, very witty, rooted in the popular life-century Spanish 18, 19 and early 20 over all. If I have to compare it with something, would be halfway between musical comedy and operetta.
Personally I like his music but even charming or funny frames are sufficient for the average listener barely knows Spanish nor esteem.
Flamenco is a very different story: This is an extremely popular genre in Andalusia, with complex roots Arabic, Hungarian, Egyptian and Andalusian popular songs among others. But it has nothing to do with classical music. To sing flamenco does not require any prior preparation of the voice, nor any music studio, and absolutely nothing that requires any type of classical music: It is usually sung by people (men or women) deeply rooted in the common people and can move to tears or make it completely cold.. Flamenco is not Spanish classical music. Could you compare the celtic music of Ireland and Scotland?. Maybe, but I'm not at all an expert in flamenco.

Finally he writes:
. "I know I am considered a rarity when the bright tones and Max Emmanuel Philippe Cencic come out of my car!"
I feel the same, and when I'm in "defiantly mode" (what happens to me many times) I like being in the car with Philippe singing loudly with the windows down and sing to them (of course absurd claim). This little insolence gives me great joy, do not know why.

I think what happens to you and me and almost everyone on this forum is that we need to see and hear Philippe MAAAANY times and it is almost impossible as we blame the cultural desert of the country concerned.

But Philippe is only ONE, and we are legion. I have abstinence syndrome as much as you, I assure you, and I suffered from the moment you end the last concert he ever attended. And it's so bad that sometimes I do not want anything else in this world.