Talk:Harolyn Blackwell

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[edit] Formatting references and external links

It's much more helpful to readers and in accordance with the Wikipedia Manual of Style to give the actual name or description of the reference not just an "http" link. I've formatted the references in this article to conform. For details on how to do this, see Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#External_links Best wishes Voceditenore 08:26, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Thank you! Nrswanson 13:42, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm dubious about the link to the Met database (ref #4), which only takes the reader to the front page. It seems to me that refs ought not to be used if it isn't possible to get to the page in question (and furthermore the Met database isn't all that user-friendly). Secondly, there's no point in having an External links header if there aren't any external links, so I've zapped it. --GuillaumeTell 20:40, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

It's not a good idea as an external (supplementary link), because it's too generic. But, in my view, it is highly desirable in the actual references. If the article asserts that X sang 47 times at the Met or Y made their Met Debut in 2003 in Z opera, or Z opera has received 600 performances at the Met and that information came from the Met Database, it needs to be cited. Linking to the data base, allows others to verify that information quite quickly. I don't find the Met Database hard to use at at all. It's been invaluable in some of the articles I've written. Just type a singer's name in the Key Word box (you don't need to fill in any other fields), and it will give you every performance they've done at the Met including cast lists for each performance, any available photos, articles in Opera News etc. In the case of some of the very early performances, it even has reviews from the press at the time, some of which are real eye-openers. Ditto using an opera title in the Key Word search. Best, Voceditenore 06:41, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lyric?

Is she really regarded as a lyric now? I heard her as Oscar in the 1990s when she was a soubrette/coloratura. -- Kleinzach 11:22, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

In the programs I have from Tulsa opera she was reffered to as a lyric soprano. None of the resources I have found on-line have described her voice type. Nrswanson 13:40, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
She was referred to as a lyric soprano in this article in the New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E6DF163BF935A25751C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print I personally think she is a lyric simply becuase of the warmth in the sound of her voice. I usually think of coloratura's as having a colder timbre if that makes sense. She certainly can sing the coloratura rolls though.Nrswanson 13:55, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
Well, the article says light lyric which is not quite the same thing. But that was some time ago. What is she singing now? -- Kleinzach 14:22, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
Good question. I saw her recently as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto and Juliette in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Other than that I can't tell you. And there is a comma between light and lyric so it's not 'light lyric' but light, "lyric soprano". Nrswanson 14:33, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
Hmm. Sounds to me as if she is still a coloratura or light lyric (leggiero). -- Kleinzach 14:49, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
You could be right but until we find a source that says so I stick with what's there. Lyric soprano is the only voice type association I have been able to find in all the articles I have read. Most of the articles simply say things like "silvery soprano" etc. instead of using voice types to describe her voice.Nrswanson 15:03, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
OK. I suggest taking out the word 'lyric' and leaving just 'soprano'. -- Kleinzach 15:08, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
Check out this article. It talks about how her voice has changed over the years and now she is singing heavier roles. http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=4048607&date=20001019&query=Harolyn Nrswanson 18:52, 14 June 2007 (UTC)
Hmm. Lucia is a coloratura role. -- Kleinzach 00:52, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
I contacted Harolyn Blackwell through her e-mail listed on her web-site and recieved a reply today from Peter Greer who works for her. Aparently Miss. Blackwell describes herself as a lyric coloratura. I am not sure what the policy is reguarding putting in information that is gathered from a direct source in an e-mail rather than a book or newspaper article etc. So I am not making changes to the article until then. Nrswanson 20:27, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More sources

'For Seattle Opera, 'Hoffmann' is a tale of triumph', By R.M. Campbell, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 9, 2005 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/classical/223391_tales09q.html

'Soprano Harolyn Blackwell' sings the praises of her mentors By Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times, May 1, 2005 http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=opera01&date=20050501&query=Harolyn

'Treat for the eye, imagination' By Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times, May 9, 2005 http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=opera09&date=20050509&query=Harolyn

'Soprano Harolyn Blackwell believes in making her own opportunities' By Melinda Bargreen, Seattle Times, October 19, 2000 http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=4048607&date=20001019&query=Harolyn

+ More Seattle articles and reviews for Blackwell here (including Lucia di Lammermoor and Don Pasquale): http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/search?searchType=date&period=archive&maxReturn=20&skip=0&source=search&sectionID=&spg=hi&query=Harolyn&Go.x=12&Go.y=12

Voceditenore 08:33, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Request For More Information

In researching this article several questions have come up, particularly in relation to Miss. Blackwell's voice classification. In order to clarrify this issue and others i have sent the following e-mail to Harolyn Blackwell (or her representatives anyway), harolyn@hotmail.com. To whom it may concern,

I am interested in purchasing Miss. Blackwell's all through the night CD. Also, I am interested in getting some more information about Miss. Blackwell. I am not sure who is recieving these e-mails so I don't know if you can help me or not. I am an active member on Wikipedia the on-line encyclopedia and I am a member of the Wikipedia Opera-Project. I recently wrote an article on Miss. Blackwell for the Wikipedia encyclopedia. In researching some questions have come up. First, different sources have described Miss. Blackwell's voice as a lyric soprano and others as a soubrette/coloratura. I was wondering if you could clarify her voice type for me. Second, I was unable to find any information about Miss. Blackwell's education. I was wondering if you could tell me what school's she has attended and voice teachers she has studdied with. Lastly, do you know of any recent opera performances Miss. Blackwell has appeared in. Thank you for your time. Nrswanson 18:43, 14 June 2007 (UTC)