Sound Sweet No More

Frittered the morning away, focussed on
the child prodigy phenomenon, Amira’s
pure voice is lovable, but it drove me to
tears to hear her SanRemo rendition of
O Mio Babbino Caro - Oh My Beloved
Daddy - her voice sounded strained, so
unlike her previous performance at the
Holland Talent Contest; I discerned no
sign of improvement & phrasing worse
than ever with an excuse: pre-recorded
music’s tempo too slow for Amira’s ren-
dition, hence forced gulps of air - but

Listen to the gritty sound as she strains
her voice - the lack of unhindered free
flow of air through her throat on the high
notes: the powerful voice so unforced &
sweet on her first DVD now seems to be
loosening at the seams - why won’t her
parents insist on voice tuition to teach
how to take care of her heavenly sweet
vocal chords that sound sweet no more,
but seem to stagger under the attack of
endless repeats of the same repertoire:
when will practise bring strong breathing

And elastic vocal chords which do not
become gritty on frequent use, but add
resonance & balance to the songs she
choose - it would be wonderful to hear
her doing age-appropriate work instead
of these English interviews which leave
her dumbfounded whenever she should
be looking and saying thank you…