Stage Names

What do you think about stage names? It seems that very few modern classical musicians choose to use a stage name. As everybody knows, it's common among modern musicians to use a stage name. Why do classical musicians usually not prefer to use a stage name? Almost every opera castrato bore a stage name but it doesn't seem to be the fashion today.

Stage names back then would seem to me to be a way provide an illusion of the star. Like being in character in a play. I personally don't go for stage names myself, but with a name like Chris Sparks, I don't think I need one! :-)

chris

It just dawned on me that in a sense I have a stage name. "Mr Ada". Granted I got the title a long time ago when I was programming software for a living and Ada is a programming language. But now it is kind of an oxymoron of a name. Male/Female.

So ignore what I said before. Obviously I am oblivious! :-)

c.

as you both know i have one (ildivorenatello= il divo Renatello= The divine Renatello)

Baroque castrati often chose stage names to honor those persons who initiated their careers or sponsored them and paid for conservatory fees. Those castrati who felt truly greatful would create a name based upon the surname of the sponsor(s), as did Farinelli. I suppose that, today, voice coaches or sponsors might feel embarrassed if a singer followed that antiquated practice; and the singers probably feel more comfortable using their own names.

Eerie! That sounds in a funny way what I have with my "stage" name. So maybe I was a castrati in a past life! :-)

c.

I had forgotten this custom. Due to vast changes in society this would indeed be very odd today. However, there are other valid reasons for choosing a stage name. For example, the male soprano Frank Colman chose the stage-surname Ivallo because it sounds Italian and is therefore preferable for marketing. I'm not sure however, how one would make stage names for classical singers acceptable today as they would generally be considered silly.

Yes you had your nickname for a similar reason but I'd have to say it's relatively common that people get a nickname for such reasons today. But of course, stage names are a whole another matter.

You might be surprised if you knew how many people I have talked to, live or online, who deeply wish they could sing like the great castrati of the Baroque era, such a deep desire to sing that some have wondered about the possibility of past lives. I played on my piano for a group of friends a Riccardo Broschi aria (the one I posted), and they were amazed and impressed with the beauty and the dramatic quality of the vocal line. And to think how many such arias remain unsung and unheard.

Well try adding many dreams of events and situations which I can hear myself sing and it sounds almost like a woman singing but in fact I am a male in the dream. I don't normally have wishful dreams, they tend to be cryptic and obtuse. When I get something that is very specific I take notice as they aren't the average dream. I have also meditated and got similar input. I am not going to say who I was, however, the desire is there that is for sure. In a way it plays games with my head. I am big believer in reincarnation and I have had a lot of recall of quite a few lives.

So did you sing Riccardo's (I was going to say Rico's, don't know why) song? If so can you post something for all of us to here. There is now a members only section for songs.

chris

Me sing a Farinelli aria? You must be joking! I have a bargain-basement bass! No, I play both the orchestral and vocal parts on the piano. Besides, no person today can sing that aria the way it was intended.

As for reincarnation, I am aware of some astonishingly clear "memories" that have been verified historically. Also, both my colleague and I each have read books by two psychiastrists who, although they formerly did not hold much belief in reincarnation, were astonished with the extensiveness and precision of some patients' memories during hynotherapy. I would not say that I "believe," but I certainly am open to evidence. From a therapeutic point of view, if reincarnation is real, that might account for some "old baggage" that some people drag along throughout their lives. (However, we digress. Let's get back to music! )