What is the closest he gets? Probably nothing at all that so slightly resembles opera, but I need to know 100% without any doubts.

The reason I ask this is because my friend and I are trying to compare Prince and another singer in terms of vocal ability. Of course I say P's better, but that's just me. This guy is a baritone who has performed in several operas, and I've heard him singing in falsetto and normal modal on various modern tracks. The only way to truly compare the two in my mind is to hear Prince attempt something operatic, which obviously would do his voice no justice.

But Prince kills this guy as far as r&b and popular music go.
[Edited 3/22/08 6:31am]

iv always felt solo has a very operatic tone to it - but at the end of the day, prince isnt an opera singer - like pavrotti would not be able to sing a metal song.

zsasz said:

Of course, but I have to slightly disagree. I think there are some roles he could perform perfectly, if he worked on his vibrato. There's not much he can't do. It would be much easier for Prince to learn opera (obviously not as strong) than for Pavarotti to learn R&B, and all the licks that go with it. P has more maneuverability within his vocal chords, where as a Pavarotti has substantial vocal chords incapable of ever trilling or moving in and out of falsetto seamlessly.

Solo is one I'm yet to hear, so I will have to chase that one up.

underthegraffitibridge said:

underthegraffitibridge said:

How about 3 Chains of Gold.

If it's vocal range you're after then try the song For You. Quite a bad song really but it shows what a brilliant voice P has.

There is a very brief moment in "Undisputed", half-way through the song, where his voice definitely sounds opera-like. It's just a series of 'Aaaaahhhaaahh'. The only thing is that it's being done tongue-in-cheek, in a kind of satirical way. Indeed this operatic sound is completely out of tune among the hard-pounding beats of this R&B kind of song. Quite funny.

I don't know if 'Solo' is of operatic caliber, but I find the a cappella piece at the beginning breathtaking.

zsasz said:

God.

What about that song Wedding Feast from The Rainbow Children. That sounded close to opera-ish to me...

Okay This Thread is pure comedy

Prince really doesn't have that much of a range..

He can do a few notes in his regular singing voice + a bit of falsetto & then he goes into screaming.


His falsetto is way 2 thin 4 opera..u guys crack me up.

Martinelli said:

What's even funnier is that you could even think any of us believe him to have a strong enough voice for opera

Opera is Opera...Prince is Prince...and although I love to hear opera singers...I'm not gonna sit around that often listening to Opera records...I'll play Prince over and over again. Now....Pat Benetar as an opera singer, is a different story to me.... I'd listen.

SOLO !!!! HANDS DOWN



from baritonesto falsetto his delivery touches on opera to a dark...deep...beautifully- painful-felt-blues hymn.

utopia7 said:

the same one i was gonna say .

The problem seems to be that most of you don't really know what opera is...

Prince is, of course, a very versatile and flexible singer in what he does. And yes, there are plenty of baritone opera arias and other classical repertoire that I actually do believe he could sing, as far as hitting the correct notes.

But of course, opera is so much more. First of all, it requires a certain voice technique just to even be heard over a full orchestra, without a microphone. Also, there are stylistic preferences; due to hundreds of years of tradition, an opera singer is supposed to sound a certain way. You can't just go in and sing with your regular voice the way it is, and be accepted.

If Prince, at this point, were to study classical singing, I think most experts would agree that he's a tough (if not impossible) case. After years of developing his own vocal style, his voice is now full of what would be considered "flaws" in the classical world.

Also, his falsetto doesn't really matter. That's something male opera singers rarely use. It's all about the chest voice (which technically might be the weakest element in Prince's voice, in my opinion...)

RealMusician said:

Every singer has a natural delivery, regardless of how long they have been performing for. There are artists like Mika who are classically trained but also have a contemporary side to their voice. There is no "correct" way of singing, just different, so I don't necessarily agree with your perspective. We know Prince can sing, so of course initially he has more potential than the average person seeking operatic training. He would learn the correct diction and production just as fast as any other decent singer.

Falsetto is featured prominently in certain classical styles, particularly roles for countertenors and bariton-martins. So the fact that Prince would not be classified as a lyric or dramatic baritone does not discredit his ability to sing opera.

underthegraffitibridge said:

Well, personally I agree with that, absolutely. But in the opera circuits, I'm afraid they don't. These people tend to be very conservative, "this-is-how-we-do-it", and everything that falls out of the ordinary is generally frowned upon - especially if it's associated with popular music. At least that's my experience.

If Prince would sing an opera role with the voice he has today, my guess is that opera people would just laugh at him - while his usual fans would of course consider him even more genius than before... (And this is regardless of whether he did it well or not, since the opera audience probably would have made up their minds in advance, and the average Prince fan would have no clue anyway)

Now, if he would learn to use his voice in a more "proper" classical manner, actually passing for a decent opera singer, there would still be about the same reaction. The opera crowd might laugh a little less, but they wouldn't really praise him either. At least that's what I think.

underthegraffitibridge said:

Prince is by any mean a great singer

A good singer at best

His head voice is one of the weakest in r&b music, his falsetto makes him just above average...

Well what comes to mind is "3 Chains o Gold".