If there’s one artist
who has truly mastered the art of singing in a non-native tongue, it would have
to be Orriel Smith. This classically
trained vocalist studied under William Herman, the teacher of the famous New
York Metropolitan Opera diva Roberta Peters.Smith’s first album was the 1964
folkie classic A Voice in the Wind.
Her latest release takes a somewhat different approach to down-home music.You might call it closer to the ground.
The World’s Favorite Cluckoratura
Arias treats us to excerpts from
well-known operatic arias by Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Offenbach and Meyerbeer
as a chicken might have performed them.And an extremely talented chicken, I might add.She clucks, ba-gawks
and trills her way through lovely melodies with unexpected grace, hitting high
notes with more verve then most of my hens ever demonstrate, even during
egg-laying sessions.
Once you recover from the
initial shock of the concept, step back and experience awe at Smith’s
range, control and humor.
On Dinorah’s
“Shadow Song”, our accomplished hen is even accompanied by a cat,
which made our poultry slightly nervous when I played this in the barn.
Overall, they thought the cd was clucking wonderful.
(www.orrielsmith.com)
