A journalist friend forwarded a press release earlier today that included this:
XXXX, the feisty mezzo-soprano from Kansas who was born to
play Rossini’s equally feisty comic heroine, Rosina, fell and broke
her right leg early in act one of The Barber of Seville on Saturday,
July 4th, the opening night of an important revival at London’s Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden. She returned to the stage to finish the
evening’s performance, and blogged into the night about her adventure
and its aftermath. She then showed up on every operatic weblog in the
world. The Kansas City trouper said “the show must go on”, and she
plans to be back on stage in the sparkling production tonight
(Tuesday, July 7), as well as in subsequent performances on July 10,
13, 15, and 18.
Every operatic weblog IN THE WORLD??? In the world? The whole wide world?
Who counted?
Publicists – myself included – are notoriously over-the-top; I like to think it’s part of our charm. But this kind of melodramatic PR boilerplate really slays me: the best of anything in the world, the greatest anyone of their generation, the most unique performer/performance (which isn’t even grammatically correct, because something can’t be the most-superlative, but – no matter).
That’s not to say that this isn’t a fantastic story. (Sister is apparently going to perform in a wheelchair??) But I think in press release-writing and bio-writing we sometimes out-promote ourselves. Where the artist has performed, what he or she has accomplished, what the critics have said about him or her should be enough to “prove” that someone is “one of the greatest artists of their generation” without a publicist having to explicitly say it.
Of course then I remember writing my college essays: apparently, my first drafts were completely un-self-promotional. (“I’m pretty good at the harp.” “I do some community service.”) My guidance counselor said that everyone else was going to exaggerate their accomplishments in their essays, so I certainly shouldn’t downplay my own for the sake of modesty. So if I never say my clients show up on every blog in the world, does that put them at a disadvantage?
No disadvantage at all. Because no one ever believes the hyperbole, and most of the time it just gives the impression that someone’s trying too hard. Even if you know that the “someone” is an agent or PR person, that still reflects not-so-well on the artist. I’m more impressed by a genuinely interesting story and genuinely impressive facts.
I have to say, this story DID appear on every major opera blog…
Indeed, and “appeared on every major opera blog” would have been a great way to say it! Thanks for commenting. -AA
get a grip! The only IMPORTANT opera blog it didn’t reach was Ms. Opera Chic, who is probably on vacation on Mars or something.
JG
“She then showed up on every operatic weblog in the world.”
More to the point is that this PR fluff was either written (or edited) by a seventy year old grandparent who probably still refers to the internet as the “world wide web” and has dial up running on MS Office 95.
It’s more troubling that an opera singer would pay for their PR with an agency that writes such eye rolling filler.
In the immortal words of Big Daddy Kane, “Pimpin’ ain’t easy.”
That’s the single most egregious example of overstatement in the ENTIRE HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS.
Kidding aside, a simple qualification would have done the trick.
And yet, and yet…you added to the buzz by writing about it, albeit in an ironic sort of way.
Though I’m with you on the nauseating hyperbole and fully admit to being guilty of it myself, consider that this release probably went out to lots of non-classical press who have very little context for understanding the world of opera.
Personally, I think that Joyce’s blog was a huge part of the buzz, probably more than any release. Her voice (pun intended) is so distinctive and delightful. And the pic of her in a wheelchair with Mr. Handsome Juan Diego was icing on the cake. That’s the authentic, behind-the-scenes stuff that opera audiences eat up. Kudos to her for taking a potentially awful situation and using it to her advantage. It’s going to go down in the annals of opera legend.
Indeed I have added to the buzz. Maybe another press release will be issued announcing that “all the classical music PR weblogs written by people whose first name rhymes with ‘panda’ in the world” have covered the incident. -AA