Why vocal recitals are a clear loser

One of the least appreciated elements of classical music is the vocal recital. It is a double rite of passage for vocal majors in that they are required to produce both a junior and senior recital. However, outside the academic sphere the vocal recital is neglected.

It isn’t nonexistent but when compared to other classical music concert activities it is a clear loser. Off the top of my head I can think of at least 45 professional chamber music concerts in San Diego over the past 12 months. There was one vocal recital—that I know of. That recital was San Diego Opera’s One Amazing Night with Lise Lindstrom and Greer Grimsley which wasn’t really a vocal recital. It was “amazing” though.

Were there some professional vocal recitals which I missed? Probably. But if I did miss them it wasn’t more than three or four.

What gives? Why is the vocal recital so neglected?

I’ve got to confess I have no idea. I could spit out a bunch of conjecture about classical music organizations and their general lack of understanding regarding vocal music, save the opera, but I feel as though I’ve done enough of that in the past.

If we take a financial look, the vocal recital should be easy to pull off. All that is needed is a singer and an accompanist. Some singers are going to be more expensive than others but only paying two artist fees seems as if it should be attractive to musical organizations.

There is no lack of repertoire to present. There are thousands of high quality songs written by dozens of top tier composers such as Mahler, Brahms, Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, Richard Strauss, Debussy, Ravel, and on and on and on.

Is there a lack of singers? Yes and no. There is a lack of name recognition for every type of classical performer outside of a few elite violinists, pianists, and one cellist.

The elite vocal performers are all opera singers. Yet a vocal recital can be based on operatic repertoire. The problem is that singing an all opera recital is a herculean feat for any singer. Lindstrom and Grimsley both have vocal chords forged of tungsten steel but even they lighten the load by singing not just opera but musical theater as well.

There are a few song specialists such as Ian Bostridge but the list is stunning in its brevity. Artist name recognition is an issue.

On the other hand, there is no problem with name recognition when it comes to the composers mentioned above.

I’m sorry I have no answers to why the vocal recital is either disappearing or hiding. It just dawned on me that I haven’t been to an actual professional vocal recital in years. The last one I can remember was Rene Barbera presented by The San Diego Opera at The Balboa Theatre in 2015.