WHAT LIES BENEATH THIS IS OPERA!

The opera industry is a lot like the Matrix. There is a cyber world and a real world. Often people who have a high standing in one do not even exist in the other. There is no better example of this today than the infamous singing teacher Jeremiah Silver, who despite being a master of the cyber seas, in reality cannot even claim to be the proud owner of a rubber duck. While this analogy might seem a little harsh it is entirely supported by fact, as Mr Silver has never held a position of any significance within opera, neither has his teaching produced any meaningful results at the professional level. 

Unfortunately, for most people the environment is an enigma, where the lines between reality and fantasy have become blurred. This has resulted in an undeniable rise of power amongst cyber maestri, who today do wield significant influence over our artistic environment. In this article I am going to expose the truth behind one such attempt at artistic influence, and yes, in case you’re wondering, Captain Silver was once again at the helm!  

 

THE GANGLANDS OF OPERA

Like all underworld figures, Captain Silver goes by many different names. For years he has been disseminating his ideology over the web through multiple pseudonyms. Identifying these different guises such as "Mr Cafiero" and others has long been the best kind of schadenfreude because his terminology is so easily identifiable. What set this particular chapter of the Matrix apart is that on this occasion our Mendacious Morpheus recruited a group of underlings to do his bidding for him. In circumstances which make this whole event even more bizarre, these underlings never physically met their online Master. Due to this inconvenience a traditional blood bonding ritual could not be performed, so instead the gang pledged their allegiances over Skype. They each swore the Vow of Omertà, promising always to keep their identities hidden from the outside world. Bonded together by the historic tonal ideals of chiaroscuro (and YouTube) they felt unstoppable. The battleground was set. The lines were drawn. THIS IS OPERA! had arrived. 

 

BIKER’S LAW

Outlaw motorcycle gangs are not experts on portamenti, despite this they do have their own traditions. One of their sayings is "a secret is safe with three people if two of them are dead”. Such pragmatism was obviously not shared by this gang of five who made the mistake of extending the same degree of idealism towards each other as they did to their beloved opera. Unfortunately loose lips prevailed and the Vow of Omertà was broken. Subsequently, the Loggione was able to uncover their identities, and their names will be published later in this article. The Loggione loves a scandal as much as anyone else, but this whole event represents much more than a scandal. The fact is that THIS IS OPERA! became a movement of significance, one which a large number of people identified with. This enormous groundswell of support only occurred because their message resonated with a deep-seated resentment amongst opera enthusiasts. The coup d'état may have ended but the resentment remains and the question on everyone’s mind is, what happens next? 

 

A DISCONTENTED PUBLIC 

Opera fans today are a miserable bunch of souls. Some put on a brave face and head out to the theatres desperately seeking a thrill. In general, these people leave the theatres with a sense of disappointment. Audiences no longer applaud as they once did and for many, a glass of red wine and a 1950s recording is more satisfying than the live performances on offer today. This upsetting phenomenon is in plain view for anyone who has the integrity to confront it. Sadly, many people within the industry are incapable of doing this, probably because doing so means acknowledging their own contributions as part of the problem. I think this is a very pertinent consideration, because if those within the "real world" have a bias which prevents them from seeing the truth, then perhaps it is up to a cyber maestro to save opera from its decline? 

Certainly the public believes it might be the case as evidenced by the huge following THIS IS OPERA! received. The fact is that an enormous amount of people agreed that the singing and conducting of today cannot hold a candle to the standards of the past. Any measurement of the public's enthusiasm towards THIS IS OPERA! indicated great support, but considering these events took place within the constraints of today’s political correctness, makes what occurred nothing short of extraordinary. After all, the whole exercise (aside from its educational value) was a coordinated trolling of today’s operatic superstars. The fact that so many members of the public took part confirms the widespread disdain which opera enthusiasts hold towards modern opera singers. The silent majority has been awoken and like it or loathe it, Captain Silver's rhetoric has struck a chord within the opera-going public.

 

THE METHOD WITHIN THE MADNESS

The thing that made THIS IS OPERA! so powerful was that it delivered its message through sound. Where singing is concerned, sound conveys in a manner that no other form of communication can. While each of the channel’s YouTube videos did outline a key concept, it then convinced its audience of its premise by comparing examples of great singing with examples of lesser quality. As a result of this, thousands of people for the first time gained a clearer idea of what many of the historic tonal ideals are. These ideals gave the listener a tonal frame of reference which allowed them to critically evaluate singing in a more informed way. Essentially, the channel’s content raised the vocal IQ of the public and in doing so performed a great service to the artform of opera. It needs to be acknowledged that some of the content did in fact express an intelligent point of view, and the channel’s creators must have toiled for hundreds of hours to produce the many videos which were made available to the public at zero cost.  

Lamentably, toxicity which had always existed within the group eventually took its toll. Venom which had formerly been directed to the outside world was now being spewed upon each other as these little people struggled with the immensity of their newfound cyber fame. The underlings, no longer content with being glorified editors, believed they owed it to the world to offer their own distinguished viewpoints, this lead to the development of content which was not consistent with Jeremy Silver's ideology and understandably he became irate. The underlings soon found themselves in a quandary, as Mr Silver, who had originally wanted the benefits of arm’s length protection, now knew that he needed more control in order to protect his reputation. In his attempts to achieve this, ultimatums were made and the underlings were threatened with having their identities exposed. During this period the underlings took the channel offline and the following statement was posted. 

"The reason behind our decision was an enormous pressure that we felt from a nasty situation that someone closer to us created that had nothing to do with either the channels content or ideas" 

(The overly dramatic nature of this post, flowery writing style and the modus operandi of removing online content from the public’s view would later be recognised as the hallmarks of "Miss TIO", who considers herself to be the head underling. You can learn more about "Miss TIO" here on the Loggione blogsite as she is the subject of an upcoming article titled “The Psychology of an Anonymous Troll”)

In reality, the nasty incident which "Miss TIO" attempted to sensationalise was nothing more than reasonable demands by Jeremy Silver. Remember that it was Silver’s name that the world connected with THIS IS OPERA! and now the underlings (who refused to reveal their own identities) were misrepresenting him. Despite his frustration, Mr Silver could do little to prevent this because although he was the mastermind behind it all, the YouTube channel was not registered in his name. Opting not to expose his former students, Mr Silver very honourably made statements online, acknowledging that his ideas and terminology were the key ingredients behind the channel's success, he also disavowed from any future content produced by the group. These facts are disputed by the underlings who informed their friends and family that they developed the concepts, claims which are simply untenable in light of the fact that Mr Silver has publicly disseminated this same ideology for years and was also their online singing teacher. Accordingly it should be understood that any statements made by the underlings to the contrary are nothing more than symptoms of their delusional ideations.

Once free of their online Master the underlings did the only thing they knew, which was to spew venom into the eyes of each other in a haggerous narcissistic power struggle which ultimately resulted in the death of the channel. Viewers around the world were disappointed as once again "MISS TIO" removed the content from the public view. Following the aftermath, each underling took possession of the videos which they had created and while some have made efforts to relaunch content under their own anonymous brands, none of these attempts have managed to garner the same level of support as the original movement. 

 

THE LONE RANGER

During the period that these events took place, one man stood against this group and his name was Philippe Castagner. A professional operatic tenor, Mr Castagner publicly denounced this group, stating that the real reason for their anonymity stemmed from their complete inability to demonstrate that which they so confidently preached. This provocation resulted in a backlash of cyber sledging and before long Mr Castagner, without knowledge of who his enemy was, found himself the target of a vicious and coordinated trolling campaign. For over a year the Loggione watched this unfold from a neutral standpoint until a decision was made to enter the fray.

 

THE INVESTIGATION

The Loggione's investigation into discovering the identities of the underlings took place over a six-week period. This investigation included entering the dark world of internet trolling, forensic analysis of the group’s online activities, and interviewing numerous people. After discovering the underlings’ identities, the Loggione took significant measures to carefully corroborate the information, thereby ensuring its accuracy. While the Loggione will never give up its sources it would like to state that in the vast majority of cases the leaks stemmed back to "Miss TIO", who in addition to being the public "spokesperson" of the group was also the "chronic whisperer". The Loggione has contacted the underlings numerous times and they have all had ample opportunity to give their accounts of these events. Upon learning that their identities had been uncovered, the underlings responded in a manner which can only be described as less than gracious. 

"MISS TIO" once again decided to do the communicating and in a transcript which will be published in "The Psychology of an Anonymous Troll" she expresses the belief that she is actually the victim of this whole affair and that the real fault rests with almost everyone else. "MISS TIO" states that attempts made by the Loggione to uncover her identity could have lasting effects on her safety, as the group has been the recipient of death threats. She then, in the midst of singing the necessity of her own anonymity demanded my contact details and address. To follow up, "MISS TIO", despite being a student of law, astonishingly while engaged in libel, makes defamatory remarks about Philippe Castagner, calling him a stalker and stating that she is reasonably fearful of him "lynching" her. Then for her encore "MISS TIO" in a haggerous spew of venom goes on to state that if such a vigilante style killing does occur, the Loggione will be to blame!

Mr Castagner responded to these allegations in a comment section of this site. He stated: 

"This is the same level of danger I had that time ninjas chased me through the woods before school.  Which is why I was late!  Stupid teacher just wouldn’t believe me, because he didn’t care about my safety."

As the Loggione also publishes critical content about today’s operatic stars I am well-positioned to assure readers that the claims of danger made by "Miss TIO" are nothing more than an attempt at manipulation, and that Mr Castagner’s response addresses these absurd allegations with the level of concern which they deserve. It is also my sincere belief that the only thing which Mr Castagner ever did was attempt to discover the identities of these anonymous critics and request an interview. You can find out more about Mr Castagner's account of these events by visiting his YouTube channel Mister Opera. 

 

INTELLIGENT REFLECTION

On face value these embarrassing events look like nothing more than infantile nonsense. But as already stated, cyber maestri do have a significant influence over our artistic community making "infantile nonsense" and "events of significance" entities which are no longer mutually exclusive.

This reality has been recognised amongst leaders of the "real world" opera community who correctly assess that the cyber maestro phenomenon has now become so influential that it can no longer be ignored. This realisation has led to revered figures speaking out against these "cyber maestri" in instances where they would have been inclined to ignore them in the past. 

Accomplished tenor and voice teacher Jack Livigni is one such example. Mr Livigni is on faculty at the Curtis Institute, the Royal Opera Covent Garden and is also the founder of the respected Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival, making him one of the most respected voice teachers in the world. In his online content Mr Livigni references certain YouTube videos (created by THIS IS OPERA!) describing them as part of a cultural problem containing limiting and even dangerous vocal trends. While the Loggione is an advocate for everyone exercising freedom of expression, it believes that our current environment needs to re-evaluate how to approach the issue of anonymity.  

In an attempt to highlight this need I invite you as a member of our artistic community to consider the following question. 

When a man with the standing and pedigree of Jack Livigni enters into a cyber debate with an empty screen does it benefit, or not benefit us, to know that there is actually a 22 year-old law student with no experience on the other side?   

 

WHY ARE WE ACCEPTING THIS?

If these events have illustrated anything it's that a susceptibility exists within our community allowing anyone to ordain themselves a cyber maestro without any accountability whatsoever. Our society has become so frightened to challenge people that we now set zero requirements for our experts, not even a name! Then when these anonymous maestri are exposed they cry foul play and act like they have been victimised. In this particular instance one of the anonymous experts was a 22 year-old delusional soprano who thought that she was saving opera despite being too afraid to show us her own singing. In reality, the only contribution she has ever made is creating YouTube videos where she anonymously criticised a lot of people who are not afraid to face an audience. Now she is threatening to involve police and lawyers in an infantile attempt to repudiate those who benefitted the environment by exposing her. This young charlatan's most recent anonymous brand was the YouTube channel Floria Tosca which once again she has taken offline. Her tactic is to lie low until things blow over, after which she plans to upload her content back online and resume business as usual. When or if she resurfaces it would be fitting for us to request she turn her video editing talents to content which compares her own singing with those she anonymously criticised. 

Another seldomly acknowledged fact about THIS IS OPERA! is that it has given birth to a movement of anonymous copycats, who in an attempt to increase their subscriber base employ the tactic of pushing the envelope further and further in regards to disrespecting today’s singers. An example of one such copycat is the YouTube channel called Barone Scarpia, which is another anonymous channel operated by a baritone who is even younger than MISS TIO. My advice to the young Barone is that life imitates art, and should he not desist in his activities, then just like in the opera he will soon be sharing the same fate as Tosca. 

The Loggione is taking this stance because this type of behaviour is not helping anyone and it would do our artistic environment a great deal of good if we all stamped it out. The method by which this can be achieved is simple.  

We no longer accept anonymity. 

 

WAGNER DID NOT FEAR NINJAS

The reality is that there is no need for critics to be anonymous. What opera needs is people who can offer balanced and intelligent criticism without the need to hide. Mozart and Wagner were amongst the worst trolls of all time, but they were also history's most creative geniuses. The scathing reviews that these men offered their peers enriched the environment and they also got plenty of criticism back in return. But the defining element which differentiated these great men from modern day internet trolls is that they made their criticism out in the open. It’s a shame that the creators of THIS IS OPERA! lacked the decency to do the same. Instead they acted like cowards, with their identities hidden they launched attacks on other artists who were not given the basic right of knowing who their accusers were. In committing this shameful act these people broke the artist’s code and it would be completely understandable if other singers made the decision to never share a stage with them. 

Before I cast them into the salivating jaws of the cancel culture allow me to offer a few points for consideration. Four of the five names belong to young people and while this is not an excuse we have all been there and made our own mistakes. Their actions have been disgraceful, but they are also not opera's equivalent of the Unabomber, they have not sent mail bombs to opera houses and nobody has been hurt. With this in mind let’s make sure the punishment, whatever it is, does not exceed the crime. 

 

THE LIST OF NAMES

Captain (Jeremy) Silver - singing teacher - USA

Borna Erceg - pianist and composer - Croatia

Jelena Pletikosa - mezzo soprano - Croatia

Georgia Tryfona - soprano - Greece

Anna-Maria Trikka (MISS TIO) - soprano - Greece 

 

TO THE FANS OF THIS IS OPERA!

I am among you. Like you I adore the virtuosic singing of the 50s and 60s and like you I want it to return. Do not confuse the issues. This was never about the content which was well made and did contain elements of truth. This was only about the issue of anonymity which combined with the internet has become a blight on our artistic environment. I know what you desire and I desire it also but these pretenders and their dumbed-down ideology were never able to help us achieve it. Now that they are exposed you will hear that they sound nothing like Caruso, Ruffo or Destinn and their simpleton’s logic which failed to work for them will also be of limited value to you. If there is a moral to this story perhaps it's that "the ability to recognise what’s wrong is not the same thing as knowing how to fix it". The Loggione blogsite will publish a number of related articles about the TIO content subjecting it to intelligent review. While everyone is welcome to join in the discussion do not expect a contribution from them, because it is not in their nature. They are not advocates for intelligent and open debate. Their modus operandi is to hide in the shadows, attacking other artists from cover. 

 

ADDENDA

1) Faced with Anna-Maria Trikka's response, the Loggione adopted the position that it was necessary to bring as much attention to this group as possible. To achieve this end their names were sold to the public in a fundraising event. The vowels were sold for €10 and the consonants were sold for €5 with the proceeds going to the repair of five hand-driven water pumps in remote Cambodian villages. Upon the completion of this work, details of the repairs will be posted here. 

2) The Loggione acted alone in this investigation. While it is true that Philippe Castagner was one of the people who was questioned he did not undertake any active part within the investigation.

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Copyright Brett Goulding 2020