Join us for an informative talk on opera and popular music

The Kingston Library (55 Franklin Street), welcomes Warren Boroson, a music teacher at Bard and Marist, to give a presentation titled Should Opera Singers Sing Popular Songs? on Saturday, April 25, at 2 PM.

Some opera singers call it “slumming” to sing the fetching songs of Gershwin, Berlin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and so forth. In fact, there was a famous fight between the Met’s director, Rudolf Bing, and one of his singers, Helen Traubel, over whether she should also sing in nightclubs. Cecilia Bartoli, the great mezzo, still refuses to sing popular songs.

In this program, Boroson will review the pros and cons of such a practice. He’ll also announce who’s winning the fight, those who favor crossover or those against it, and he’ll play recordings of opera singers going “slumming.”