What I've been watching on TV. Not.

So somebody had the idea to try and get some popstars to sing opera.

This performance is particularly improbable, as it contains high notes too high even for most operatic sopranos to reach.

What's more, despite the hype and the belief of the studio audience that they were listening to something sung live, you can see that the singer's throat is not actually producing the sounds. Your throat moves when it's doing that, especially when you sing vibrato (which is precisely what the word looks like). She's miming.

When Glenn Close played an opera singer in Meeting Venus, obviously she had to mime, but she was singing full volume along to the mime, so she looked as if she was making the actual sounds.

I really resent people trying to con me like this, and succeeding in conning others. It also demeans the talents and achievements of real opera singers. Of which I have, in an amateur capacity, been one.

Sorry I was unable to edit the film, neither of my programmes seems to recognise things downloaded with the new RealPlayer, and I didn't have time to convert it. I recommend fast forwarding to the start of the actual performance.