Anton and Boris

tlb wrote:

tlb wrote:Note that the text implies that the original Helen (but certainly not Cathy) had heard him sing in a church choir, with no hint of the result (except for the desire to hear him in a secular role).

cthia wrote:Could it be that he had an extraordinary vocal range and Cathy was aware of it? Tim Robbins has a 10 octave vocal range with notes so low only elephants can hear it. And who knows what "technology" - or results from genetic tampering - can do to assist that range in the Honorverse.

What you are saying about the possibilities of genetic modification is true, but the quoted text implies that he was unknown to her: note that it takes a bit to connect him to Helen Zilwicki.

I see, but does unknown to her in a personal sense, also imply unheard of?

Disregard this post. You meant Anton.

Paul Green wrote:Contrary to Cathy Montaigne's suggestion, the role of Boris Gudenov calls for a bass-baritone, rather than a deep bass such as Anton Zelinsky is described as. Is this Cathy's error or David Weber's?

We are many centuries in the future. Middle C may have drifted considerably, just as notes have drifted appreciably upward since Telemann's day. Alternatively, the record of the score after all these years may be simply wrong.

phillies wrote:

Paul Green wrote:Contrary to Cathy Montaigne's suggestion, the role of Boris Gudenov calls for a bass-baritone, rather than a deep bass such as Anton Zelinsky is described as. Is this Cathy's error or David Weber's?

We are many centuries in the future. Middle C may have drifted considerably, just as notes have drifted appreciably upward since Telemann's day. Alternatively, the record of the score after all these years may be simply wrong.

Or maybe Cathy just wants to make a nice remark, and is a bit sloppy about the details here. Or there's a deep bass version of Boris Gudenovs part - there are other examples of music being transcribed to other instrumens, or adapted to the capabilities of a singer, see the "Sound of Silence" versions from "Disturbed" or "Pentatonix", which are art of its own while still paying tribute to the original by Simon&Garfunkel.