IT AIN'T OVER UNTIL THE TALL, THIN BLONDE WITH THE HIGH CHEEKBONES AND THAT VANITY FAIR LOOK HAS SUNG
OPERA NEWS: It's no longer enough to have a sexy, romantic voice, filled with artistry and musical allure. The visual criteria in opera have become almost as stringent as those of musical theater. Rare voice types, such as dramatic sopranos and Verdi mezzos, are allowed some leeway and some girth. But if you're a lyric mezzo or a Mozart baritone, you'd better hire a trainer, and fast.
TELEGRAPH, LONDON: The classical record is almost played out. The five big labels that command five-sixths of world sales have lost the will to produce. The minnows that swim between their cracks have lost the means to survive. This summer, it looks as if the game is up. It began with an aborted merger between EMI and BMG - one British-based, the other German. Classics never came into the equation. BMG has halted classical output and may shut it down altogether. EMI Classics has reverted to desperate gimmickry, signing 12-year-old Becky Taylor to warble movie and musical hits. Will they never learn? Six years ago, EMI spent a promotional fortune on the swimsuited Vanessa-Mae Nicolson, who played pop medleys on her violin but was dressed up as classical. Ms Nicolson, having reached the age of informed consent, switched to rock. A parallel course is being charted by Charlotte Church, Sony's pre-teen sensation who, at 14, is off to rock, and good luck to her. There is no point in sticking around once the classical marketing cow has been milked dry. Among other majors, Deutsche Grammophon are down to four discs a month and Decca fare no better. To sustain market share, the group is issuing a flood of Westminster reissues from the Fifties family favourites conducted by the likes of Hans Knappertsbusch, Hermann Scherchen and Pierre Monteux - giants beside today's stickmen. Warner has shut its Erato and Teldec labels in France and Germany, centralising a diminished trickle of recordings in London with - guess what - another teenie fiddler. Will it never end? Well, yes it might. A tremor along the Californian faultline is bringing matters to a head. Tower Records, the Sacramento-based retail chain, is in trouble. With 229 stores in 17 countries, a Tower crash would endanger the entire classical species. Corporate record labels would survive, but dozens of independents, especially classical and jazz, would be wiped out