My wife is taking a few courses right now, and as a musical history project, was assigned a presentation on Gershwin.
As part of her presentation, to show the extremely heavy jazz influences on, and the versatility of their more serious, classical music (natch, after all, they were a couple of jazz musicians out of Tin Pan Alley), she played some of the music they wrote, Porgy and Bess, Rhapsody in Blue (quite possibly my favorite classical piece), as performed by different composers.
Part of this included Summertime, as sung in full operatic style by the Met singer, Leotine Price, and by Janis Joplin and the Full Tilt Boogie Band. Her teacher said that her choice ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime.
Funny, I'd never thought Leotine Price to be all that ridiculous, had you?
Frickin' classical music snobs.............(Don't get me wrong, I love classical, but damn it, if Johnny Cash wrote musical theatre, I'd sing it country, not after the style of Gilbert and Sullivan..........and you called Janis Joplin ridiculous?????!!!!!!!! DIE BITCH DIE!!!!!!!!)