Monday, November 7, 2011

Adele and Denyce Graves Share the Same Vocal Surgeon

U.K. singer Adele
"The biggest-selling pop artist of the year has gone silent. The British pop/soul singer Adele was forced to cancel the rest of her 2011 tour. Earlier this year, she suffered two vocal hemorrhages and will need to undergo surgery. Singers are in a high-risk business. Many famous singers have needed similar treatment. 'Essentially, people who sing are vocal athletes,' says Dr. Steven Zeitels, director of the Voice Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. 'So you can look at this as a not unusual scenario as an athlete getting an injury in that area.' Zeitels is now working with Adele. He says that after surgery, Adele will most likely need 'a number of months' to recover. The list of Zeitels' patients is like a who's who of great singers: Julie Andrews, Roger Daltrey and opera singer Denyce Graves. Graves says that in 2000, her vocal cords hemorrhaged while she was backstage, in the middle of an engagement. 'I sneezed. It was that simple,' she recalls. 'I sneezed and I hemorrhaged.' Graves says it was clear something serious had happened. 'I lost my voice immediately and it was most frightening, terrifying experiences ever,' she says. She had surgery, but kept it a secret for fear the news would hurt her career." [Source]
American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves