I agree with every word of your post immediately above, and I think it's likely that your excellent points are very much along the lines of what Sondheim may be thinking in terms of opera vs. musical.
Whether or not it's primariy due to training, it does seem that relatively few opera singers have been effective in musical theater roles -- even in the sung sections, let alone the dialogue. For example, Terfel and Fleming are both considered in the first rank of acting ability in opera, but certainly not in musicals. Of course, there have been some notable exceptions, like Robert Weede :-) |
