Huh?

OK, so I just read something fairly silly in BBC Music Magazine. In a list of the 20 Greatest Tenors of All Time (a fairly silly prospect on its own), number 13 was...

Juan Diego Florez?

Now I think Mr. Florez is a fine singer. His Met debut as Almaviva had me pretty excited and I'm going to see him in Daughter of the Regiment in April.

But one of the 20 Greatest tenors of all time? He must have a great publicist. What has he been singing on the international circuit, something like 5 minutes? A few more august names were notably absent from the list: Giovanni Martinelli, Mario Del Monaco, Giuseppe DiStefano, Leo Slezak, Fernando DeLucia, Richard Tauber etc. Presumably a list that includes the words "Of All Time" should admit names like Mario, Rubini, Schnorr, or Manuel Garcia. I would think that even José Carreras would rate a mention before Mr. Florez.

Mr. Florez has great ability and I expect we will rank him as a great tenor. But I just can't imagine that at this point in a career, anyone would rate anyone "Greatest of All Time."

Yes, pretty silly if you ask me (and you didn't).