OMG !!!!!!!!!! Did anyone see the 17 yrold soprano from NZ

[Racenut20]

On CBS Sunday morning.
Hailey Weston ???? I am not sure the name.
What an absolutely fantastic voice, and I am not really a fan of that type music. Do not have surround sound on my tv, but the house is still ringing with her voice.
Think they said she was to be releasing an album and coming to States for concerts.

[DemonFighterLives]

1. I saw/heard that

What a heavenly voice!

[DemonFighterLives]

2. Hayley Westenra

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2004/07/04/at_17_new_zealand_soprano_has_a_voice_to_be_reckoned_with/?rss_id=Boston%20Globe%20--%20Living%20/%20Arts%20News

[Gildor Inglorion]

3. She already has a CD out named "Pure"....

and I own it! I ordered it from NPR music, and it's great. I highly recommend it.

[Nlighten1]

4. Her website.

Intro has her singing if you are interested.

http://www.hayleywestenra.com/

[pagerbear]

5. What, is she another Charlotte Church or something?

I am not a fan of Charlotte Church!

[Misunderestimator]

6. Ditto....

she's a media darling though... forget all the talented singers who never get those kind of opportunities.

[pagerbear]

7. Gotta give Charlotte credit for one thing, though

She won't let the media/entertainment industry tell her how to live her life. She won't buy into the Madison Ave./Hollywood image of emaciated "beauty", and she speaks her mind.

I think my biggest gripe is with her marketing machine. She shouldn't be marketed in the same way as classical singers who have put years of work into becoming true artists. She's a young woman with a pretty voice. I have nothing against that at all, and of course there is an audience for that type of music. But it's not the same as so-called "legit" singing, and no one should be made to believe it is.

[Misunderestimator]

8. Unfortunately, opera is a dinosaur in this country...

I learned the hard way. When opera companies routinely produce broadway musicals instead of operas because they can't sell tickets if they don't... when regional companies go bankrupt because there is no federal funding left for them... when most conservatories cost far more than ivy league universities to attend (except for the Curtis Institute which is all scholarship, the last remaining one)... and when music programs in primary and secondary school receive no funding... opera is essentially dead here.

Unfortunately, it also appears that Germany is starting to go down the same path, but at least the audiences there still appreciate opera.